When Johnson Curtis moved his family from Minnesota to Seattle in 1887, Washington state must have seemed to them, the epitome of the wild west. His sons, Edward and Asahel quickly found the region and the surrounding landscapes to be the perfect subjects for their growing interest in photography.

Although Edward Curtis became a famous photographer (much for his works focus on the Native American life and culture) his brother Asahel, remained lesser known. However, a collection of Asahel’s pictures, featuring the many landscapes of Washington state was recently released to the public by Washington State Archives and provide viewers an interesting look into the regions wilderness and the process of photography in the early 20th century. 

In 1911, Asahel began his own studio and shot typical commercial photos like Seattle buildings, the city’s development, and visiting officials. In the 1920’s, Asahel was commissioned by the Washington state Department of Conservation and Development. he shot about two hundred photos of Seattle’s surrounding regions in order to promote the state as a place for tourists and future immigrants. What’s really great about his photos is the process he used. Hand colored lantern slides were a common yet expensive style of photography in the early 20th century that produced a color picture. 

Asahel would take a picture on a hand sized glass slide and (probably like most photographers) send it to a company in New York. Here a group of artists would take the glass slides and project them onto a wall, where they would then color in the original black and white photo according to Asahel’s instruction. They would then send the original black and white and new color photo back to Asahel. The resulting color pictures are extremely captivating as the colors are vivid and it’s almost as if we’re looking at an abstract painting instead of a photo.