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HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

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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.

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135 results for: Government and Public Services

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Image of Framed placard for school children, ca. 1910

Framed placard for school children, ca. 1910

This placard listing the "Street Car Don'ts For School Children" was hung in a classroom or at a street car stop to deter kids from potentially harming themselves on or near the community transit vehicles. How well these rules were heeded, we will never know!
ID Number:1961.2455
Date:Circa 1910
Image of Railroad combination punch and register, ca. 1874

Railroad combination punch and register, ca. 1874

Mr. John Booth Button, a conductor on the Front Street Cable Railway around 1900, used this punch to check in the cable car riders. It rings a bell each time is it used.
ID Number:1961.2491.1
Date:Circa 1874
Image of Telegraph key, ca. 1912

Telegraph key, ca. 1912

This telegraph key was manufactured in Seattle by Frank W. Cameron and Sons, and used by Ollie F. Schulz, the Seattle Superintendent of Postal Telegraph from 1902-1935.
ID Number:1962.2539
Date:Circa 1912
Image of WAVE work jeans, 1943-1946

WAVE work jeans, 1943-1946

These jeans belonged to Lieutenant Isabelle K. Moe who served with the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) during World War II. The formal uniform for the WAVES was a tailored skirt suit, but WAVES who served as aviation machinists, metalsmiths, and parachute riggers needed something more practical for daily work. The pants have deep pockets, a side…
ID Number:1962.2865.8
Date:1943-1946
Image of Kerosene lantern, Seattle Engineering Department, ca. 1900-1920

Kerosene lantern, Seattle Engineering Department, ca. 1900-1920

This was a work lantern for the Seattle Engineering Department in the early 1900s.
ID Number:1963.2890.2
Date:Circa 1900-1920
Image of Bench seat from a Seattle streetcar, ca. 1900-1940

Bench seat from a Seattle streetcar, ca. 1900-1940

This wooden, two-person bench seat is the from the last electric streetcar on the Phinney line. The line was discontinued in 1941.
ID Number:1963.3086
Date:1900-1940
Image of Street flare or highway torch from the City of Seattle Water Dept., ca. 1950

Street flare or highway torch from the City of Seattle Water Dept., ca. 1950

Prior to the invention of reflective markers and strobe lights, the Seattle Water Department used round metal "smudge pot" highway torches that burned oil, such as this example from the 1950s.
ID Number:1963.3131.2
Date:Circa 1950
Image of Slat back side chair, 1860-1880

Slat back side chair, 1860-1880

This chair, one of twenty-five, was used in the First Washington Territorial Legislature. Established in 1853, the Washington Territory consisted of what is today Washington State, and part of Idaho and Montana. President Franklin Pierce appointed Isaac I. Stevens as the first Washington Territorial governor, and Stevens called for elections to the legislative assembly. The Legislature consisted of a nine-member…
ID Number:1963.3191.1
Date:1860-1880
Image of Wood and glass inkwell, 1854

Wood and glass inkwell, 1854

Arthur Denny gave this inkwell to his brother David. It was used in the first territorial legislature of Washington in 1854.
ID Number:1964.3230.18
Date:1854
Image of Inkwell used by Arthur A. Denny, ca. 1860

Inkwell used by Arthur A. Denny, ca. 1860

In 1851, Arthur Denny (1822-1899) led a contingent of his family west from Illinois to the Pacific Northwest, where he helped found the city of Seattle. He served as Seattle's first postmaster, was a delegate to the Washington Territorial Legislature, was one of King County's first commissioners, and he was instrumental in founding the University of Washington.
ID Number:1964.3230.19
Date:Circa 1860
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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
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