• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

534 results for: Businesses and Corporations

Share:
Image of Watercolor by Marian Gardineer showing a map of Seattle and the real estate enterprises of R.C. Erskine, 1929

Watercolor by Marian Gardineer showing a map of Seattle and the real estate enterprises of R.C. Erskine, 1929

R.C. Erskine was a prominent local businessman who started in real estate in Seattle in 1903. In 1929, Erskine moved his offices into the newly completed Northern Life Tower at 1218 Third Avenue. This map was made that same year, likely to display in his new office space. No information could be found on the artist, Marian Gardineer, but she…
ID Number:1972.5485
Date:1929
Image of Pincushion shaped like miniature footstool, Standard Furniture Co. of Seattle, ca. 1900s

Pincushion shaped like miniature footstool, Standard Furniture Co. of Seattle, ca. 1900s

This pincushion advertised Standard Furniture Co., an early Seattle retailer of imported furniture that was part of the turn-of-the-century economic boom resulting from the Klondike Gold Rush. The enterprise constructed and opened a permanent high-rise on Second Avenue in 1908.
ID Number:1972.5567.65
Date:Circa 1890-1920
Image of Squire Investment Company safe, ca. 1897

Squire Investment Company safe, ca. 1897

This safe, donated by the wife of Watson C. Squire, Governor of Washington Territory from 1884 - 1887, and Washington State Senator from 1889 - 1897, was used by Squire while he was President of the Seattle-based Union Trust Company and Squire Investment Company.
ID Number:1973.5537.2
Date:Circa 1897
Image of Grillwork and molding from the lobby of the Seattle Hotel, then Victoria Hotel, ca. 1905

Grillwork and molding from the lobby of the Seattle Hotel, then Victoria Hotel, ca. 1905

John Collins built the third Occidental Hotel in 1890, but by 1895, it was converted to an office building due to the economic depression at the time. The lobby became a commercial bank (Peoples Savings Bank) with Jacob Furth as President and Arthur Denny as Vice President. When the Klondike Gold Rush brought new visitors to the city, the building…
ID Number:1973.5604
Date:Circa 1905
Image of Metal rabbet plane from Stanley Rule and Level Company, ca. 1890

Metal rabbet plane from Stanley Rule and Level Company, ca. 1890

This metal rabbet plane belonged to Frederick Augusta Philbrick who was a home contractor in Seattle from 1890 to the early 1900s.
ID Number:1973.5656.1
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Shingles in cardboard box, Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing. Co., 1910-1958

Shingles in cardboard box, Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing. Co., 1910-1958

The Seattle Cedar Lumber Manufacturing Co. operated from 1910 to 1958.
ID Number:1973.5738.1
Date:1910-1958
Image of Chinese man's robe which belonged to Goon Dip, ca. 1890-1910

Chinese man's robe which belonged to Goon Dip, ca. 1890-1910

This robe belonged to Goon Dip (circa 1862-1933), one of the most influential Chinese people in the history of Washington state. He worked his way up from poverty to become a wealthy merchant and successful labor contractor who provided employment in the canneries for hundreds of Chinese immigrants. He served as China's honorary consul to Washington State and Alaska. He…
ID Number:1974.5914.10
Date:Circa 1890-1910
Image of Book binding embossing drill press, 1860-1865

Book binding embossing drill press, 1860-1865

This large piece of machinery from Bayless Bindery in Seattle was used for embossing and indenting designs and lettering into leather book covers. Bayless Bindery, formerly Ward's Bindery, was first located on Spring Street in 1918 but moved to Wall Street in 1948, then to Ninth Ave North in 1962. The company grew to one hundred employees and moved to…
ID Number:1974.5991
Date:1860-1865
Image of Printing plates on wood blocks made for Duncan & Sons Saddlery catalogs, 1907

Printing plates on wood blocks made for Duncan & Sons Saddlery catalogs, 1907

Duncan & Sons Saddle Company was a saddle maker and repair company founded in Seattle in 1898 on Western Avenue and Marion Street. The business relocated several times before closing in 2007.
ID Number:1975.6019
Date:1907
Image of Northern Radio Company Radio Telephone, model no. N529E/N620E, ca. 1965

Northern Radio Company Radio Telephone, model no. N529E/N620E, ca. 1965

This radiotelephone was built by Northern Radio Company, a Seattle business established in 1926. This communication equipment was widely used by various Alaskan salmon canneries, bush airlines, oil explorations and drilling during the 1960s and early 1970s. An advertisement for the Northern Radiotelephone states: "Versatility, clean uncluttered lines and genuinely rugged construction characterize the new N529 transmitter and N620 receiver.…
ID Number:1975.6036
Date:Circa 1965
Previous 1 … 12 13 14 15 16 … 54 Next

Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved