A. W. Lavender Papers and Photographs, 1890-1892

Collection

Identifier: MS 235

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

COLLECTION OF CAPT. A.W. LAVENDER, DEPT. OF INTERIOR 1890-1892, ST. GEORGE ISLAND SEALING STATION.

A beautiful 10 x 14 water color of the sealing station at St. George Island, Alaska, by Henry Wood Elliott, 1846-1930, also two 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 pencil drawings by Elliott, were included in the purchase of this collection. They were removed and transferred to the Alaska State Museum.

The collection includes 32 boudoir size photographs of Alaskan scenes, plus three larger size Alaskan photographs and numerous letters, documents, relating to the Alaskan adventure of Capt. A. W. Lavender. All items relate to Captain Lavender’s command of the sealing station.

Items 1, 2, 3 transferred to the Alaska State Museum. Photocopies housed with MS collection.

1. Beautiful 10 X 14 water color of the Sealing station at St. George Island, Alaska by Henry Wood Elliott, 1846-1930.

2. 6 1/4 X 9 1/2 pencil on paper, of Capt. Lavender, seated by window in rocking chair holding a fishing rod with kind regards of the artist, H. Elliott, July 29, 1890.

3. 6 1/4 X 9 1/2 pencil on paper, The Government House, St. George, Island, for Capt. A.W. Lavender from his friend, the sketch artist H. Elliott, July 25, 1890.

Dates

1890-1892

Conditions Governing Access

Unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Request for permission to publish material from the collection must be discussed with the Librarian. Photocopying does not constitute permission to publish.

Biographical Note

Captain Lavender was a native South Dakotan who was in command of the sealing station for the U.S. Treasury, Dept. of the Interior, at St. George Island, Alaska in early 1890's.

Extent

2 Cubic Feet (2 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was purchased from Antiques and Art, Piedmont N. D. in June, 2007. Accession No. 2007-029.

Processing Information

A complete listing was created for the contents of folder 47 and folder 48, i.e., miscellaneous documents and letters. These items reflect Lavender’s term of service on St. George Island (Pribilofs) as Assistant Special Treasury Agent, beginning in May 1890 and continuing into 1893. He participated in the regulation of the seal skin trade and assured that Native workers were paid for their work in the trade. Many of the documents in these folders concern the wages paid during seal hunting season and the supplies which were requisitioned and provided for the trade. These documents were primarily handwritten and were re-housed in numbered Mylar sleeves for their preservation; then the sleeve

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title: Finding aid for the A. W. Lavender Papers and Photographs, 1890-1892
Status: In Progress
Author: Processed by: Ken Nail, Jr., and James Simard, November 2007. ArchivesSpace Finding Aid by: Freya Anderson
Date: 2019 May
Description rules: Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description: Undetermined
Script of description: Code for undetermined script
Language of description note: English