Ohio-born curio collector Joseph Edward "Daddy" Standley (1854-1940) came to Seattle in 1899 and opened Ye Olde Curiosity Shop on Second Avenue and Pike Street. He moved the shop to the Colman Dock on the waterfront in 1904, and since 1988 the shop has been located at Pier 54. Still a family-run business after five generations, the store attracts about one million people a year who come to see natural history specimens such as whale bones, narwhal tusks, and the two human mummies, Sylvester and Sylvia. The store also sells art and displays its collection of culturally significant items, including Northwest Coast Native American totem poles, woven cedar mats, and fir needle baskets.
Standley is show here with a young girl, probably his granddaughter, at his home in "Totem Place" in West Seattle. He had as many as 13 totem poles at his home at one time.
Caption on image: Alaska Indian Totem Pole at "Totem Place" West Seattle, Home of J.E. Standley. Pierson Photo Co. Stamped on verso: Pierson Photo Co. Commercial Photographers 401 Bay Bldg. Main 0204 Seattle, Wash.
Caption information source: 1001 Curious Things: Ye Olde Curiosity Shop and Native American Art by Kate C. Duncan; Ye Olde Curiosity Shop website (www.yeoldecuriosityshop.com)
