Merl LaVoy
Archive of Alaskan Photographs, 1900s-20s
Silver prints (147)
From approximately 5 x 3 inches to 8 x 10 inches, most 4 x 5 inches
Some with photographer’s embossed credit recto, manuscript credit in ink recto, stamped and / or manuscript credit verso.
Some with pencil notations verso.
Some with photographer’s embossed credit recto, manuscript credit in ink recto, stamped and / or manuscript credit verso.
Some with pencil notations verso.
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This substantial and dynamic archive of photographs was shot by the adventuring photographer Merl LaVoy, dubbed “the Modern Marco Polo” for his globe-trotting way of life. LaVoy was born in...
This substantial and dynamic archive of photographs was shot by the adventuring photographer Merl LaVoy, dubbed “the Modern Marco Polo” for his globe-trotting way of life.
LaVoy was born in Royalton, Wisconsin in 1885, and moved to Seattle in 1906. In 1907, he began working for the Great Northern Development Company, which was prospecting for copper at the Kotsina River mine in Alaska. There, he became a dog sled musher and amateur photographer. He pursued his photographic career in earnest, marketing his Alaskan views to newspapers and magazines.
Present in the collection are about a hundred prints from this part of his career. Most of these 4 x 5 inch prints show various aspects of Alaskan life in the early 20th-century. There are views of travelers arriving to “the last frontier” via steamer, such as the “Dawson” or the “Sarah,” including two unusual views of children playing with bear cubs on the deck of a ship. There are views of daily life and infrastructure including a shot of main street in Fairbanks, images of Native Alaskan community members and an open air market in Sitka, dramatic scenes of of a raging flood through a town center, exterior view of a road house with an advertisement for the Grand Theatre in Tanana, a shot of the North American Transportation and Trading Company building, and more. The mining industry is well-represented in this part of the collection with photographs ranging from views of bustling, large-scale commercial operations to sensitive portraits of solitary hopefuls panning for gold in the river, the old fashioned way.
In 1910, he returned to Seattle where he met the physicist Hershel Parker and the artist Belmore Browne, both of whom were accomplished mountaineers as well. LaVoy volunteered to help them in their first of their attempts to reach the summit of Denali (then-Mt. Mckinley). The goal of the expedition was to verify the claim that a previous expedition led by Frederick Alfred Cook had reached the summit. The group was unsuccessful, but returned to the mountain two years later. LaVoy joined on this excursion as well, taking photographs and transporting gear on dog sleds from Seward to Muldrow Glacier. The team came within a few hundred yards of the summit but had to turn back due to harsh weather. Included in the collection are fourteen rare views of these expeditions, including portraits of Parker, Browne, and LaVoy himself.
In 1913, LaVoy left Alaska to accompany Chicago Mail publisher Ben Boyce and take photos on a round-the-world journey. During the first World War he shot footage of the French during the 1916 Somme Offensive. After the war, he continued his work as a photographer, documentary filmmaker, and cameraman for Pathé News.
His world-hopping ways brought him back to Alaska in the 1920s, where he carried out a detailed photographic study of Native Alaskan life. There are 39 photographs from this study included in the collection as well. These images reflect his deep, abiding interest in recording indigenous cultures.
MORE IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
LaVoy was born in Royalton, Wisconsin in 1885, and moved to Seattle in 1906. In 1907, he began working for the Great Northern Development Company, which was prospecting for copper at the Kotsina River mine in Alaska. There, he became a dog sled musher and amateur photographer. He pursued his photographic career in earnest, marketing his Alaskan views to newspapers and magazines.
Present in the collection are about a hundred prints from this part of his career. Most of these 4 x 5 inch prints show various aspects of Alaskan life in the early 20th-century. There are views of travelers arriving to “the last frontier” via steamer, such as the “Dawson” or the “Sarah,” including two unusual views of children playing with bear cubs on the deck of a ship. There are views of daily life and infrastructure including a shot of main street in Fairbanks, images of Native Alaskan community members and an open air market in Sitka, dramatic scenes of of a raging flood through a town center, exterior view of a road house with an advertisement for the Grand Theatre in Tanana, a shot of the North American Transportation and Trading Company building, and more. The mining industry is well-represented in this part of the collection with photographs ranging from views of bustling, large-scale commercial operations to sensitive portraits of solitary hopefuls panning for gold in the river, the old fashioned way.
In 1910, he returned to Seattle where he met the physicist Hershel Parker and the artist Belmore Browne, both of whom were accomplished mountaineers as well. LaVoy volunteered to help them in their first of their attempts to reach the summit of Denali (then-Mt. Mckinley). The goal of the expedition was to verify the claim that a previous expedition led by Frederick Alfred Cook had reached the summit. The group was unsuccessful, but returned to the mountain two years later. LaVoy joined on this excursion as well, taking photographs and transporting gear on dog sleds from Seward to Muldrow Glacier. The team came within a few hundred yards of the summit but had to turn back due to harsh weather. Included in the collection are fourteen rare views of these expeditions, including portraits of Parker, Browne, and LaVoy himself.
In 1913, LaVoy left Alaska to accompany Chicago Mail publisher Ben Boyce and take photos on a round-the-world journey. During the first World War he shot footage of the French during the 1916 Somme Offensive. After the war, he continued his work as a photographer, documentary filmmaker, and cameraman for Pathé News.
His world-hopping ways brought him back to Alaska in the 1920s, where he carried out a detailed photographic study of Native Alaskan life. There are 39 photographs from this study included in the collection as well. These images reflect his deep, abiding interest in recording indigenous cultures.
MORE IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST