• 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

138 results for: Maritime

Share:
Image of Spike from Imperial Russian Navy sidewheel gunboat, the POLITKOFSKY, ca. 1850s

Spike from Imperial Russian Navy sidewheel gunboat, the POLITKOFSKY, ca. 1850s

Built by the Russians in Sitka, the POLITKOFSKY came under United States ownership in 1867 when Russian Alaska was sold to the US. The gunboat was then sold into civilian service as a tugboat, Polly, working the northwest coast of North America until 1896. It was then converted to a schooner barge and carried eager gold seekers to Alaska during…
ID Number:1961.2403.4
Date:Circa 1850-1860
Image of Drawing of USS Decatur,

Drawing of USS Decatur, "Seattle-1855," by Hewitt Jackson, ca. 1961

Hewitt Jackson (1914-2007) was a seaman, marine draftsman, and artist. He is best known for his maritime drawings of ships that sailed the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest. The MOHAI collection contains seven of Hewitt's works. This particular drawing features the USS Decatur which was an armed vessel anchored in Elliott Bay during the "Battle of Seattle" that took place…
ID Number:1961.2441.1
Date:1961
Image of Life preserver ring from sailing vessel Fantome, ca. 1930s-1950s

Life preserver ring from sailing vessel Fantome, ca. 1930s-1950s

The schooner Fantome was built in 1927 and was moored in Portage Bay from the late 1930s until the 1950s. She changed ownership many times, belonging to the Guiness family during most of her time in Seattle.
ID Number:1961.2489.6
Date:Circa 1930-1950
Image of Ship's bell from the SS Victoria, formerly the passenger liner Parthia, 1870

Ship's bell from the SS Victoria, formerly the passenger liner Parthia, 1870

The Parthia was built at Dunbarton-on-the-Clyde, Scotland, in 1870, and was a London-New York passenger liner for her first ten years. She continued as a passenger service in various parts of the world until 1892, when she was renamed the "Victoria." At that time, she served passage to and from Asia and Tacoma, Washington. In 1904, the ship was sold…
ID Number:1962.2514
Date:1870
Image of Ship's Bell,

Ship's Bell, "Hikawa Maru," 1929

The "Hikawa Maru," owned by Nippon Ysen Kaisha, was the first modern Japanese passenger vessel in the North Paciific and the last. It launched on September 30, 1929, in Yokohama, Japan, and it's final voyage was on September 17, 1960, from Seattle.
ID Number:1962.2602.1
Date:1929
Image of Champagne bottle from the SS Islander, ca. 1901

Champagne bottle from the SS Islander, ca. 1901

This champagne bottle is one of several items in the collection that were salvaged from the SS Islander which struck an iceberg and sank in Stevens Passage off the coast of Juneau, Alaska, in 1901. The SS Islander was a Canadian Pacific Navigation Company steamship built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1888.
ID Number:1963.2927.15
Date:Circa 1901
Image of U.S. Navy periscope used in World War II submarine and obtained from the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, ca. 1940

U.S. Navy periscope used in World War II submarine and obtained from the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, ca. 1940

This 43 foot high periscope on loan from the Navy was used in a WWII submarine and obtained from the Mare Island Naval Shipyard. A daytime attack periscope, it may be trained in any direction and photos can be taken through it using any single lens reflex camera. About 30 feet of the periscope is highly ground to precision so…
ID Number:1963.3121.1
Date:Circa 1940
Image of Oil painting,

Oil painting, "Scraping and Painting" or "Chipping Rust," part of "Men Who Work the Ships" mural by Kenneth Callahan, 1936

Kenneth Callahan (1905-1986) was born in Spokane and lived in Seattle, becoming a nationally known artist, most celebrated for his murals. Self-taught as a painter and sculptor, he is best known as a leading figure in the Northwest School along with Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, and Guy Anderson. Commissioned in 1936 under the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), Callahan painted…
ID Number:1963.3128.1
Date:1936
Image of Oil painting,

Oil painting, "Life Boat Drill," part of "Men Who Work the Ships" mural by Kenneth Callahan, 1936

Kenneth Callahan (1905-1986) was born in Spokane and lived in Seattle, becoming a nationally known artist, most celebrated for his murals. Self-taught as a painter and sculptor, he is best known as a leading figure in the Northwest School along with Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, and Guy Anderson. Commissioned in 1936 under the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), Callahan painted…
ID Number:1963.3128.2
Date:1936
Image of Oil painting,

Oil painting, "Engine Room," part of "Men Who Work the Ships" mural by Kenneth Callahan, 1936

Kenneth Callahan (1905-1986) was born in Spokane and lived in Seattle, becoming a nationally known artist, most celebrated for his murals. Self-taught as a painter and sculptor, he is best known as a leading figure in the Northwest School along with Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, and Guy Anderson. Commissioned in 1936 under the Treasury Relief Art Project (TRAP), Callahan painted…
ID Number:1963.3128.3
Date:1936
Previous 1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 14 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