Columbia Valley Lumber Co., September 1922 - Souvenir Photo Album

DONOVAN, JOHN JOSEPH [VICE PRESIDENT & PHOTOGRAPHER]

Publication: Columbia Valley Lumber Co, January 30, 1923, Bellingham

5 1/2" x 8 1/2" in beige printed wrappers with title printed in blue and red. Punch-sewn at gutter margin and tied with blue silk braid. [40] leaves on thick beige paper stock offering 36 sepia-toned 3 1/4" x 5 1/2" photographs, one picture affixed to each leaf. Woodcut borders and with printed captions at bottom of each page. Signed by Donovan to Ed Ballinger, manager at Withrow lumber yard. First edition of this uncommon souvenir album published by Donovan of the logging and lumber company operations, employees, and locales under the Columbia Valley Lumber Co., a subsidiary of the Bloedel Donovan Lumber Mills. Founded originally in 1898 as the Whatcom Logging Company by Julius Bloedel, John Joseph Donovan and Peter Larson, the firm would become later known as the Bloedel-Donovan Lumber Mills. In September, 1922, the Loedel, Prentice Bloedel, W.C. Miller and Donovan made an automobile excursion to the Columbia Valley Yards East and West of the Cascade Mountains, during which Donovan took photos of their stops. The photos include street scenes of Wenatchee, Waterville, the Great Northern RR shops in Wenatchee, company advertising signs, including an image of Ed Ballinger in front of the company signage and building in Withrow, and warehouses in Omak. A photo of a letter sent to H.J. McMahon of Tonasket dated Sept. 28th, 1922 details the perils of automobile travel at the time, with Donovan writing, "We were very sorry on our recent trip that road conditions between Mansfield and Bridgeport delayed us and compelled us to defer our visit to your city." Donovan (1858-1937) was not only a driving force of founding the city of Bellingham from Bellingham, Whatcom, & Fairhaven, but also was an enthusiastic advocate of the "Good Roads Movement," and encouraged the building of trunk highways. Columbia Valley Lumber Co. operated until 1945, and the lumber yards and operations were finally taken over by Weyerhaeuser in 1999. Light soiling and with light wear to the extremities. Very good.

Inventory Number: 48423