Layers of Meaning

University of Washington Digital Image Archives

Today's links come via two other blogs, In a Minute Ago and Meggiecat. It's the digital image collection at the University of Washington (my alma mater!)

The fashion collection is fun to peruse. You can get an overview of how clothing styles changes throughout the 19th and early 20th century. Equally interesting is how these styles were portrayed. Empire (1806-1813) gowns tended to be shown on models of classical sensibilities, while a century later the Edwardian (1901- 1915) fashion portrait is heavily influenced by art deco and the Japanese print.

The rest of the collection is fascinating as well. I was having fun using the search function to search on various types of animals. Some fascinating results:

• Gitksan totem of a cougar, Kitwanga, British Columbia, 1910


• Chilkat grave totem with carved frog, Klukwan, Alaska, 1894


• Bear totem, Klinkwan, ca. 1899


• Victorian portrait of two girls and their dog


• Bear made out of raisins, 1909


• Indian burial sites with grave markers depicting bears and birds, Tlingit Indian village, Cape Fox, Alaska, July 1899

A big thanks to Sharron Boggon and Meggiecat!