• 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

774 results for: "al smith collection"

Share:
Image of Baseball game at picnic, circa 1944
Photograph

Baseball game at picnic, circa 1944

In addition to his jazz club images, Seattle photographer Al Smith took many photos of family, friends and other local people in their everyday lives. Here, he photographs a warm-weather group outing in a park, with people relaxing on blankets in the sun in the foreground. They watch a baseball game being played by friends and family of all ages,…
ID Number:2014.49.050.019.02
Date:Circa 1944
Image of Clarence and LaVerna Oliphant in plane, Seattle, circa 1950
Photograph

Clarence and LaVerna Oliphant in plane, Seattle, circa 1950

In addition to his jazz club images, Seattle photographer Al Smith took many photos of family, friends and other local people in their everyday lives. Here, Smith photographs Clarence A. Oliphant (1923-2000) in the cockpit of a plane, with his wife, LaVerna (1923-2016) behind him.Clarence Oliphant was born in Council Bluff, Iowa and moved to Seattle after serving in the…
ID Number:2014.49.050.021.02
Date:Circa 1950
Image of Group of Basin Street nightclub patrons around a table, Seattle, May 1944
Photograph

Group of Basin Street nightclub patrons around a table, Seattle, May 1944

Seattle's Jackson Street jazz clubs flourished in the first half of the twentieth century, with their popularity peaking in the late 1930s through early 1950s. Seattle-born photographer Al Smith was a familiar figure in the clubs, often taking pictures of musicians and patrons, then returning the following week to sell prints.On this occasion, Smith photographed a man in uniform and…
ID Number:2014.49.050.069.02
Date:1944
Image of Group sitting on stairs at a party, Seattle, July 16, 1944
Photograph

Group sitting on stairs at a party, Seattle, July 16, 1944

A postal carrier during the week, Al Smith (1916-2008) spent weekends taking pictures for his photography business "On The Spot." His photographs tell the stories of the everyday people who shaped the dynamic character of Seattle, offering rare views into the city’s Black community, the Central Area neighborhood, and the local jazz scene.Here, Smith photographs a group of friends sitting…
ID Number:2014.49.051.039.01
Date:1944
Image of Lester Catlett and woman on stairs at a party, Seattle, July 16, 1944
Photograph

Lester Catlett and woman on stairs at a party, Seattle, July 16, 1944

A postal carrier during the week, Al Smith (1916-2008) spent weekends taking pictures for his photography business "On The Spot." His photographs tell the stories of the everyday people who shaped the dynamic character of Seattle, offering rare views into the city’s Black community, the Central Area neighborhood, and the local jazz scene.Here, Smith photographs Lester Catlett and an unidentified…
ID Number:2014.49.051.040.01
Date:1944
Image of Couple dancing, Seattle, circa 1945
Photograph

Couple dancing, Seattle, circa 1945

A postal carrier during the week, Al Smith (1916-2008) spent weekends taking pictures for his photography business "On The Spot." His photographs tell the stories of everyday people who shaped the dynamic character of Seattle, offering rare views into the city’s African American community, the Central Area neighborhood, and the local jazz scene. Here, Smith takes a candid shot of…
ID Number:2014.49.051.101.01
Date:Circa 1945
Image of Guests at a house party, circa 1945
Photograph

Guests at a house party, circa 1945

In addition to his Seattle jazz club images, photographer Al Smith took many photos of family, friends, and local people in the city's Black community. Here, Smith photographs a group of friends enjoying themselves at a house party.
ID Number:2014.49.051.011.01
Date:Circa 1945
Image of Marjorie Polk and Kathryn Polk wearing gowns, Seattle, circa 1940
Photograph

Marjorie Polk and Kathryn Polk wearing gowns, Seattle, circa 1940

This image of sisters Marjorie Evelyn (Polk) Sotero (1916-2005) and Kathryn Henrietta (Polk) Coleman (1916-2001), dressed in fancy gowns, was taken in Seattle at an unknown event. The sisters moved with their family from Montana to Tacoma sometime between 1920 and 1930. Marjorie (at right) worked as a hospital ward clerk and department store detective before joining the United States…
ID Number:2014.49.051.037.01
Date:Circa 1940
Image of Friends at a house party, Seattle, circa 1943
Photograph

Friends at a house party, Seattle, circa 1943

In addition to his Seattle jazz club images, photographer Al Smith took many photos of family and friends in the city's Black community. Here, Smith photographs a group of friends enjoying themselves at a house party.MOHAI’s 2022 Curator’s Fellow Brittney Frantece explored the photographs in the Al Smith Collection for how they demonstrate Black worldbuilding in Seattle. Looking at this…
ID Number:2014.49.051.111.02
Date:Circa 1943
Image of Guests at a house party, Seattle, circa 1940
Photograph

Guests at a house party, Seattle, circa 1940

This image of a group of people at house party was taken by Seattle photographer Albert J. "Al" Smith, Sr. (1916-2008). A postal carrier during the week, Al Smith spent weekends taking pictures for his photography business "On The Spot." His photographs tell the stories of everyday people who shaped the dynamic character of Seattle, offering rare views into the…
ID Number:2014.49.051.119.02
Date:Circa 1940
Previous 1 … 71 72 73 74 75 … 78 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