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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.

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85 results for: Innovation and Invention

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Image of Paper clothes, circa 1921
Photograph

Paper clothes, circa 1921

Some ideas have trouble catching on. In the early 1920s, German and Austrian manufacturers showed off their paper clothing and accessories in Seattle. The clothing was not very stylish, compared with other clothing of the time. On the other hand, it might have been an interesting and inexpensive new product idea for Seattle's wood products industry to investigate. In this…
ID Number:1983.10.2113.2
Date:Circa 1921
Image of Snow vehicle, circa 1926
Photograph

Snow vehicle, circa 1926

Because Seattle was the closest major American port to Alaska, a number of Arctic explorers came through the city. Some tried out their equipment in the area. This photo, probably taken in 1926, shows a snow vehicle being tested near Snoqualmie Pass. This early snowmobile seems to have been part of the equipment considered by the British air explorer Hubert…
ID Number:1983.10.3112.1
Date:Circa 1926
Image of Horseless carriage, circa 1916
Photograph

Horseless carriage, circa 1916

Early automobiles looked so much like carriages or buggies that many people called them "horseless carriages." The vehicles were small, lightweight, and had large, narrow wheels which were well-suited to the dirt roads of the time. Most of the earliest cars were powered by steam or batteries.This photo shows R. Hopkins' battery-powered car, thought to be Seattle's first automobile. By…
ID Number:1983.10.10334
Date:Circa 1916
Image of Artist's concept drawing of Fourth Avenue and Westlake Avenue monorails, Seattle, circa 1920
Photograph

Artist's concept drawing of Fourth Avenue and Westlake Avenue monorails, Seattle, circa 1920

As early as 1910, inventors and businessmen believed that a monorail would solve Seattle's downtown traffic problems. The Universal Elevated Railway Company tried to convince the city to build monorails on Fourth and Westlake Avenues, but the city decided to develop a ground-level trolley system instead. About fifty years later, a monorail was built along part of Westlake Avenue to…
ID Number:1983.10.10813
Date:Circa 1920
Videorecording

Oral history interview with James W. Haviland, July 15, 1985

James W. Haviland (1911 – 2007) was a Seattle doctor and specialist in Internal Medicine, co-founder of the University of Washington School of Medicine and co-founder of the Northwest Kidney Centers.James Haviland was born in New York and completed medical school and residency training at Johns Hopkins University. From the late 1940s through the 1970s, Dr. Haviland was a leader…
ID Number:1985.135.12
Date:1985
Videorecording

Oral history interview with Dr. William Hutchinson, July 18, 1985

William B. Hutchinson (1909 –1997) was an physician and surgeon, and the founder of both the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in his native Seattle, Washington. The latter facility is named in memory of his younger brother, Fred Hutchinson, a Major League Baseball pitcher and manager whose life and career were cut short by…
ID Number:1985.135.13
Date:1985
Image of Medics and patient model inside Medic One unit, Seattle, 1971
Photograph

Medics and patient model inside Medic One unit, Seattle, 1971

Stamped on verso: Spence Chamberlain [...] Seattle, Wash.
ID Number:1995.31.17
Date:1971
Image of Production worker Steve Taylor at Aldus checking packages of PageMaker, June 1, 1987
Photograph

Production worker Steve Taylor at Aldus checking packages of PageMaker, June 1, 1987

Aldus Corporation was a software company founded in Seattle by Paul Brainerd in 1984 that developed PageMaker, one of the earliest desktop publishing (DTP) software products, which was released in July of 1985. The company is named after fifteenth-century Venetian printer Aldus Manutius. Three former Aldus executives (Jeremy Jaech, Dave Walter, and Ted Johnson) left the company to establish Axon…
ID Number:2000.107.005.34.01
Date:1987
Image of Paul Brainerd, president of Aldus Corporation, Seattle, May 1987
Photograph

Paul Brainerd, president of Aldus Corporation, Seattle, May 1987

Paul Brainerd (1947-2026) and four partners founded Aldus Corporation in Seattle in 1984. The company’s 1985 release of PageMaker software for Apple Macintosh drastically changed the look of printed text and graphics that could be produced by individuals on personal computers. Before PageMaker, one would have to hire commercial typesetting and printing companies. Now, an individual or company could produce…
ID Number:2000.107.025.42.01
Date:1987
Image of Paul Brainerd in his office at Aldus Corp., March 1986
Photograph

Paul Brainerd in his office at Aldus Corp., March 1986

Paul Brainerd (1947-2026) and four partners founded Aldus Corporation in Seattle in 1984. The company’s 1985 release of PageMaker software for Apple Macintosh drastically changed the look of printed text and graphics that could be produced by individuals on personal computers. Before PageMaker, one would have to hire commercial typesetting and printing companies. Now, an individual or company could produce…
ID Number:2000.107.025.42.02
Date:1986
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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.
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