Alfred Hulse Brooks photographs and papers
Collection
Call Number: WA Photos 444
Scope and Contents
Photographs and papers created and collected by Alfred Hulse Brooks and then probably maintained by Philip Sidney Smith, his successor as Geologist in Charge of the Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources of the United States Geological Survey. The collection provides visual documentation of the work of the United States Geological Survey in Alaska. Most of the photographs were made by Brooks and other employees of the agency. Some images document joint surveys made with the Geological Survey of Canada. The photographs depict mining operations, water and rail transportation, frontier communities, and Native American villages. Locations in Alaska well represented in the collection include Fairbanks, Juneau, Kennecott, Ketchikan, Skagway, Valdez, and Wrangell, as well as sites along the rivers, including the Copper River, Susitna River, and Tanana River. Numerous images throughout the collection also document sites in Canada, particularly in British Columbia. Photographs not created by the United States Geological Survey or its employees consist chiefly of images created by commercial photographers, corporate bodies, and government agencies in Alaska, collected principally by Brooks to supplement those created by him and his subordinates. Significant components include photographs related to the Cook Inlet Exploration Expedition under the command of Captain Edwin Forbes Glenn (1857-1926) in south-central Alaska in 1898; trips made by Robert Steed Dunn (1877-1955) in Alaska, 1900-1908; and the first successful ascent of the eastern peak of Mount Blackburn (later called Mount Kennedy) made by Dora Keen in May 1912.
Most images depict locations in Alaska, except where noted. Each folder in the collection usually contains a single photographic print.
Most images depict locations in Alaska, except where noted. Each folder in the collection usually contains a single photographic print.
Dates
- 1892 - 1955
- Majority of material found within 1898 - 1924
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
The Alfred Hulse Brooks Photographs and Papers is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Vintage Photographs on the Arthur Corbitt Hoskins Memorial Fund, 2009.
Arrangement
Organized into two series: Series I. Photographs and Other Work by Employees of the United States Geological Survey, 1898-1955. Series II. Photographs by Other Photographers, 1892-1936.
Extent
6.17 Linear Feet (13 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Overview
Photographs and papers created and collected by Alfred Hulse Brooks and then probably maintained by Philip Sidney Smith, his successor as Geologist in Charge of the Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources of the United States Geological Survey. The collection provides visual documentation of the work of the United States Geological Survey in Alaska. Most of the photographs were made by Brooks and other employees of the agency. Some images document joint surveys made with the Geological Survey of Canada. The photographs depict mining operations, water and rail transportation, frontier communities, and Native American villages. Locations in Alaska well represented in the collection include Fairbanks, Juneau, Kennecott, Ketchikan, Skagway, Valdez, and Wrangell, as well as sites along the rivers, including the Copper River, Susitna River, and Tanana River. Numerous images throughout the collection also document sites in Canada, particularly in British Columbia. Photographs not created by the United States Geological Survey or its employees consist chiefly of images created by commercial photographers, corporate bodies, and government agencies in Alaska, collected principally by Brooks to supplement those created by him and his subordinates. Significant components include photographs related to the Cook Inlet Exploration Expedition under the command of Captain Edwin Forbes Glenn (1857-1926) in south-central Alaska in 1898; trips made by Robert Steed Dunn (1877-1955) in Alaska, 1900-1908; and the first successful ascent of the eastern peak of Mount Blackburn (later called Mount Kennedy) made by Dora Keen in May 1912.
Alfred Hulse Brooks (1871-1924)
Alfred Hulse Brooks, an American geologist, was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was the son of Martha G. Brooks (born 1850) and Thomas Benton Brooks (1836-1900), a mining engineer and geologist. Brooks received his elementary and secondary education in Newburgh, New York. He studied engineering in the Polytechnik Instituts of Stuttgart (1889) and of Munich (1890), and graduated from Harvard University in 1894.
During his studies, Brooks worked as a junior member of topographical mapping parties of the United States Geological Survey in Vermont (1888) and northern Michigan (1889), and in a geological party investigating potential iron ore lands in northern Michigan (1891). Upon graduation from Harvard, he gained an appointment with the United States Geological Survey and engaged in topographic and geological work in the Appalachian Mountains and Michigan. In August 1897, he attended the VIIth International Geological Congress in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and studied for several months in Paris, France, at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and Collège de France.
In March 1898, Brooks began working for the United States Geological Survey in Alaska. Between 1899 and 1911, he participated in six major expeditions that traversed Alaska to map its topography and geology. From 1903 until his death, he was Geologist in Charge of the Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources of the United States Geological Survey.
Brooks was a vice-chairman of the Alaska Railroad Commission (1911-1912), as well as president of the Geological Society of Washington (1911) and of the Washington Academy of Sciences (1921). In 1913, in recognition of his contributions in exploring and mapping Alaska, he received the Charles P. Daly Medal of the American Geographical Society and the Conrad Malte-Brun Medal of the Société de Géographie (Paris). In 1917-1919, he served as chief geologist of the American Expeditionary Force in France.
In 1903, Brooks married Mabel Whitman Baker Brooks (1876-1962). They had a daughter and son, Mary (born 1906) and Thomas Benton (born 1910).
During his studies, Brooks worked as a junior member of topographical mapping parties of the United States Geological Survey in Vermont (1888) and northern Michigan (1889), and in a geological party investigating potential iron ore lands in northern Michigan (1891). Upon graduation from Harvard, he gained an appointment with the United States Geological Survey and engaged in topographic and geological work in the Appalachian Mountains and Michigan. In August 1897, he attended the VIIth International Geological Congress in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and studied for several months in Paris, France, at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle and Collège de France.
In March 1898, Brooks began working for the United States Geological Survey in Alaska. Between 1899 and 1911, he participated in six major expeditions that traversed Alaska to map its topography and geology. From 1903 until his death, he was Geologist in Charge of the Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources of the United States Geological Survey.
Brooks was a vice-chairman of the Alaska Railroad Commission (1911-1912), as well as president of the Geological Society of Washington (1911) and of the Washington Academy of Sciences (1921). In 1913, in recognition of his contributions in exploring and mapping Alaska, he received the Charles P. Daly Medal of the American Geographical Society and the Conrad Malte-Brun Medal of the Société de Géographie (Paris). In 1917-1919, he served as chief geologist of the American Expeditionary Force in France.
In 1903, Brooks married Mabel Whitman Baker Brooks (1876-1962). They had a daughter and son, Mary (born 1906) and Thomas Benton (born 1910).
Philip Sidney Smith (1871-1924)
Philip Sidney Smith (1877-1949) was born in Medford, Massachusetts. He earned three degrees in geology from Harvard (A. B., 1899; A.M., 1900, and Ph.D., 1904, where he taught geology from 1903 to 1906. In 1906, he began work with the United States Geological Survey in Alaska. In 1915, he became the Administrative Geologist of the Geological Survey and was later Acting Director. In 1925, he became Geologist in Charge of the Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources of the United States Geological Survey. Smith retired from government service in 1944.
Processing Information
Upon acquisition, the Alfred Hulse Brooks Photographs and Papers had no discernible order. Many attributions for images in the collection derive from the material itself and from comparison with digital surrogates available at the United States Geological Survey Central Regional Library, Denver, Colorado.
- Alaska -- Discovery and exploration
- Alaska -- Pictorial works
- British Columbia -- Pictorial works
- Brooks, Alfred H. (Alfred Hulse), 1871-1924
- Cook Inlet Exploring Expedition
- Dunn, Robert, 1877-1955
- Geological Survey (U.S.)
- Geological Survey of Canada -- Pictorial works
- Geology -- Alaska -- Pictorial works
- Geology -- Research -- Alaska -- Pictorial works
- Indians of North America -- Pictorial works
- Keen, Dora, 1871-
- Miners -- Alaska -- Pictorial works
- Mines and mineral resources -- Alaska -- Pictorial works
- Negatives (photographs)
- Photographic prints
- Smith, Philip S. (Philip Sidney), 1877-1949
- Title
- Guide to the Alfred Hulse Brooks Photographs and Papers
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- by Matthew Daniel Mason
- Date
- February 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.