Cornetist Theodore H. “Dad” Wagner arrived in Seattle in the mid-1880s. As leader of the Second Regiment National Guard Band, Wagner’s band gained community fame by providing free concerts at Pioneer Square after Seattle’s Great Fire of 1889. That same year, he led the First Regiment Washington National Guard Band in celebration of Washington’s statehood. His own band, Dad Wagner’s Band, played at Seattle’s 1909 Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition and at many community and state venues throughout the early part of the 20th century.
This photo collage shows images of Dad Wagner and the unidentified members of the First Regiment Band.
Printed on recto: Wagner's First Regiment Band, Seattle, Washington. Organized 1889. Largest Library of Music on the Pacific Coast. Press of Metropolitan P. & B. Co., Seattle. Maring & Ladd, Photo-Engravers, Seattle, Wash.
Caption information source: HistoryLink.org Essay 8876
Physical Description: 1 photographic print on cardboard mount: sepia ; 34.5 x 18 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.
