Ship: The "George W. Elder"

Summary

The ship "George W. Elder" used for the Harriman Alaska Expedition of 1899 which was co-sponsored by Edward Henry Harriman, President of the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Washington Academy of Sciences. Originally conceived by Harriman as a big game hunt, it was transformed into a scientific exploring expedition on the advice of Clinton Hart Merriam, Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Many of the specimens collected were deposited in the United States National Museum, now the National Museum of Natural History, including large collections of birds and mollusks secured by Robert Ridgway and William Healey Dall. The expedition departed from Seattle, Washington, aboard the "George W. Elder," on May 31st and returned on July 30, 1899.

Subject

• Harriman, Edward Henry 1848-1909
• United States National Museum
• National Museum of Natural History (U.S.)
• Harriman Alaska Expedition (1899)

Category

Historic Images of the Smithsonian

Contained within

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7243, Box 2, Folder: 1

Contact information

Institutional History Division, Smithsonian Institution Archives, 600 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20024-2520, SIHistory@si.edu

Date

1899

Restrictions & Rights

No restrictions

Topic

• Scientific expeditions
• Boats and boating
• Landscapes
• Collectors and collecting
• Expeditions
• Collecting and collections
• Ships

Form/Genre

• Photographic print
• Landscape
• Other

ID Number

88-16754

Physical description

Number of Images: 1; Color: Black and white; Size: 10w x 8h; Type of Image: Landscape; other; Medium: Photographic print

Full Record

View Full Record