The Schwabacher Brothers, Louis (1837-1900), Abraham (1838-1909), and Sigmund (Sig) (1841-1917), were pioneering Bavarian-born Jewish merchants, important in the economic development of the Pacific Northwest. They owned several businesses bearing their family name, and opened an branch store in Seattle in 1869. Within a short time, the firm became Puget Sound's major wholesaler of canned goods, dry goods, and other materials to the logging camps, mill towns, farming communities, and, after 1897, to departing Klondike gold miners.
In 1938, Schwabacher Brothers & Company participated in Seattle’s summertime Potlatch Parade. Here, the firm's parade float carrying costumed children and a miniature version of the steamer PORTLAND stands in front of Schwabacher’s Wharf. On July 17, 1897, the original PORTLAND landed at Schwabacher's Wharf, carrying the first gold from the Yukon and setting off the Klondike Gold Rush. The company's float won first prize in the parade's commercial category.
Signs in image: Crankcase Service Storage; Gold Shield Coffee; Marine Garage Open All Night.
Caption information source: "The Schwabacher Family" by Jean Roth at http://www.jgsws.org/schwabacher.php Caption information source: The Seattle Daily Times, July 30, 1938.
ID Number: 2015.30.5
Date: 1938
Physical Description: 1 photographic print mounted on cardboard : b&w ; 9.25 x 7.25 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
