REFERENCE CODE: AkAMH

REPOSITORY NAME:
Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center
Bob and Evangeline Atwood Alaska Resource Center
625 C Street
Anchorage, AK 99501
Phone: 907-929-9235
Fax: 907-929-9233
Email: resourcecenter@anchoragemuseum.org

Guide prepared by: Sara Piasecki, Photo Archivist

TITLE: Roy Barron Collection

COLLECTION NUMBER: B1980.050

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Dates: circa 1894-1924

Extent: 45 items

Language and Scripts: The collection is in English.

Name of creator(s): Elbridge W. Merrill

Administrative/Biographical History:
Elbridge Warren Merrill was born in Massachusetts in 1868. He worked as a newspaper
photographer there before coming to Alaska in 1897. He settled in Sitka and operated Merrill
Studio. He also worked on the restoration of totem poles shown at the St. Louis World's Fair,
and was later in charge of erecting them in the Sitka Totem Park (later the Sitka National
Historical Park under the U.S. National Park Service). Merrill died in Sitka on October 27, 1929,
of pneumonia.1

Scope and Content Description:
The collection consists of 45 black-and-white photographs, primarily of Sitka and Tlingit
Indians in the period 1904 to 1924. The subjects include portraits of Tlingit people, including
Rudolph Walton, Chief Tom and others. Other photographs depict Tlingit activities such as
tanning, totem carving, and ceremonies. The Sitka potlatch in 1904 for the Gaanaxteidi clan is

1 “Guide to Collection, Elbridge W. Merrill Photograph Collection, ca. 1897-1929, PCA 57.” Alaska State Library
Historical Collections.


also featured, along with locations in Sitka such as St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Russian
blockhouse. There is one image of President Warren G. Harding with his wife and others
taken at the Sheldon Jackson School in 1923. Most of the photos in the collection were taken
by Elbridge Merrill at the Merrill Studio. For more information, see Detailed Description of
Collection.

Arrangement: Arranged by photographer’s number.


CONDITIONS GOVERNING ACCESS AND USE

Restrictions on Access: The collection is open for research use.

Physical Access: Original items in good condition.

Technical Access: No special equipment is needed to access the materials.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:
The Anchorage Museum is the owner of the materials and makes available reproductions for
research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from the
Anchorage Museum before any reproduction use. The Anchorage Museum does not
necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission
for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.

Preferred Citation:
Roy Barron Collection, Anchorage Museum, B1980.050

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Acquisition and Appraisal Information
Purchased from Roy Barron in 1980.

Processing Note
Original album disassembled upon purchase.


SUBJECTS
Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865-1923
St. Michael the Archangel Cathedral (Sitka, Alaska)
Tlingit Indians—Alaska—Sitka
Shamans—Alaska
Potlatch—Alaska
Sitka (Alaska)
Mount Edgecumbe (Alaska)


Detailed Description of the Collection
 1 — Harbour of New Archangel in Sitca or Norfolk Sound, drawn by Capt. Lisiansky, engraved by I. Clark [copy of engraving, 1805] [6.5 x 9]
 2 — [exterior of St. Michael’s Cathedral in Sitka, winter. With Merrill Studio stamp] [9 x 7]
 3 — [street scene with St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka Trading Co., Baranoff Restaurant, and hotel, Sitka] [7.5 x 9.5]
 4 — [view down Lover’s Lane, Sitka. With Merrill Studio stamp] [7 x 9]
 5 — [street scene with Alaskan Herald Office at left, rear of St. Michael’s Cathedral in center, tower at right, Sitka] [7.5 x 9.5]
 6 — [Winter scene in Sitka. With Merrill Studio stamp] [7 x 9.5]
 7 — [small boat harbor, houses, buildings, St. Michael’s Cathedral at right, Sitka] [7 x 9.5]
 8 — [Russian church bell, 1816, St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka] [9 x 7]
 9 — [Tlingit woman scraping seal skin on stretching frame] [9 x 8]
 10 — [group of Tlingit men carving a large totem pole outdoors; at AFN 2013, man third from right identified as Ray James of Kiks.adi Raven clan; at AFN 2015, man at right identified as surname Eleshansky] [7 x 9]
 11 — [Tlingit women selling berries in front of Sitka Trading Company, two women turning faces away from camera. With Merrill Studio stamp] [7.5 x 9]
 12 — [Warren G. Harding and company on Sheldon Jackson Campus 1923 en route to open Nenana Railroad. Identified on verso as left to right: unknown (possibly nurse), Dr. Condit, Harding, Ted Kettleson, Mrs. Harding, unknown] [7 x 9]
 13 — [Tlingit women in Sitka making baskets. Identified on verso as right to left Mrs. Morris White, Jennie Anderson (Eedee AA Nax), Mrs. George Davis] [7 x 9]
 14 — [portrait of Tlingit shaman wearing headdress and button blanket and holding rattle, American flag in the background. Identified by Alaska State Library as Deikeenaak'w, Chief of Chichagof Island. With Merrill Studio stamp] [9 x 7]
 15 — Copyright by Merrill [portrait of Tlingit man wearing ceremonial dress and holding dead raven, dance staff propped against wall. Identified on verso as Rudolph Walton, carver] [9 x 7]
 16 — [portrait of Tlingit man wearing ceremonial dress holding dance staff. With Merrill Studio stamp] [9 x 7]
 17 — [portrait of Tlingit man wearing ceremonial dress and carrying two octopus bags holding shaman’s wand and feather fan] [9 x 7]
 18 — Copyright by Merrill [portrait of two Tlingit men wearing blankets and hats] [9 x 7]
 19 — Copyright by Merrill [portrait of Tlingit man with nose ring in ceremonial dress holding staff and rattle and standing on boardwalk. With Merrill Studio stamp] [9.5 x 7.5]
 20 — [display including Tlingit dolls, baskets, drum, Chilkat blanket, and carved goods [7.5 x 9.5]
 21 — [group portrait of six Tlingit men posed on beach at Sitka Potlatch, 1904, one man wearing Western style clothes, five men in ceremonial dress, buildings in background. With Merrill Studio stamp] [7.5 x 9.5]
22 — Copyright by Merrill [group portrait of men and women, most in ceremonial dress, posed outside building, four people holding rifles, man at upper left draped in American flag. Klukwan Tlingits, Chilkat group, Gaanaxteidi clan, Sitka Potlatch, 1904.] [7.5 x 9.5]
 23 — Copyright by Merrill [portrait of three chiefs of the Kagwantan clan in ceremonial regalia standing around the Panting Wolf carving, Sitka Potlatch, 1904. Identified by Alaska State Library as: right, Wush-kin-aw; center, Yah-Kwan. With Merrill Studio stamp] [7.5 x 9.5]
 24 — [portrait of Chief Thom with regalia, including Chilkat robes, crest hat (lower right), staff and rattle. Sitka, circa 1894. Note on verso: “He is dressed and equipped for the dance called “Yake-oo-Tĭ or the Spirit Dance.” [9.5 x 7.5]
 25 — [Killer Whale canoe in clearing near two small cannon, church and other buildings in background. Canoe was gift to Governor Brady & Alaska from Chief Saanaheit of Kasaan, 1904] [7.5 x 9.5]
 26 — [group portrait of hosts and Yakutat guests, Sitka Potlatch, 1904. Cf. plate 212 in Frederica de Laguna’s Under Mount Saint Elias (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1972), which includes individual identifications] [9.5 x 7.5]
 27 — [two Tlingit men seated in room next to casket set on dais covered with Chilkat blanket, ceremonial objects including hats, staff, and octopus bag on display, button blanket, clock, and portrait hanging on wall. With Merrill Studio stamp. Duplication restricted] [7.5 x 9.5]
 28 — [still life with two Tlingit spruce root hats] [7.5 x 9.5]
 29 — [group portrait of ten Tlingit men in ceremonial dress outside building, some holding staffs, wearing face paint or with nose rings, young man seated at left holding rifle and dead raven, Sitka Potlatch, 1904. With Merrill Studio stamp] [7.5 x 9.5]
 30 — [totem poles in Sitka National Monument] [6 x 4]
 31 — [Tlingits dancing at Sitka circa 1880-1899, snow on pine trees in background] [photographic postcard 3.5 x 5.5]
 32 — [bird’s eye view of St. Michael’s Cathedral, mountains in background, Sitka] [modern copy print 10 x 8]
 33 — [Mount Edgecumbe. Same as .45] [modern copy print 8 x 10]
 34 — [still life of Tlingit carved wooden headdress with furs, circa 1924] [6.5 x 4.5]
 35 — [Douglas World Cruisers in Sitka harbor, April 1924 “Around the World Flight,” waterfront in background with Castle Hill, buildings and docks] [copy print 8 x 10]
 36 — [interior of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka] [7.5 x 9]
 37 — [interior of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka] [7.5 x 9]
 38 — [interior of St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka] [7.5 x 9.5]
 39 — [Madonna icon, St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sitka] [10.5 x 6]
 40 — [still life, flower arrangement in glass vase] [9 x 7]
 41 — [Still life with hunting tools, Indians of North America] [7 x 9]
 42 — [scenic unidentified river in Sitka] [modern copy print 8 x 10]
 43 — [Sitka small boat harbor with boardwalk and small cannons, St. Michael’s Cathedral at end of Lincoln Street, right] [modern copy print 10 x 8]
 44 — [Russian blockhouse, Sitka] [modern copy print 10 x 8]
 45 — [Mount Edgecumbe. Same as .33] [modern copy print 8 x 10] Guide updated: November 2, 2015