At the turn of the 20th century, Asahel Curtis was a prolific photographer who traveled throughout Washington. His work captured the state as it underwent big changes, owing to rapid industrialization. For decades, a massive collection of Asahel’s glass plate negatives has been held at the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma.

The plates are aging, however. In the 1980’s, historians and staff were able to digitize around 3,000 of his most essential photographs. That left about 58,000 to go. Now, thanks to renewed interest and funding, historians are working on capturing the rest of Curtis’s images.  

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Guests:

Margaret Wetherbee, Head of Collections at Washington State Historical Society