Photograph of Mertie West standing on a dock in Valdez and toying with a camera she holds. Mertie West stands in the foreground, left-of-center. She faces towards the right and looks down towards a camera she holds in her hands. Behind her, the pier stretches across the image on an upward angle from right to left. A man walks along the pier, behind Mertie, at center. Adjoining, garage-like buildings line the right side of the pier. The building is viewed at an angle from the front, facing left. A sign spans the front of the 2 buildings. It reads, from left to right, "CENTER OF THE Prince William Sound Gold and Copper Belt," "VALDEZ TERMINUS OF A GREAT SCENIC ROAD THE RICHARDSON HIGHWAY," and "SHORT ROUTE TO Interior Alaska Chitina-Fairbanks-Circle." A garage door stands below the sign on the right side of the building. To the right of the door, a person sits on the ground. A dozen or more barrels are loosely lined up in front of the building, extending towards the left, behind Mertie and out-of-frame at left. Mountains are visible in the far distance. Some twisted streaks of white occupy the upper left corner and lens flare appears to radiate from it towards the center of the image.
Photograph of dock workers unloading a pallet of cargo from the Aleutian and onto the wharf in Valdez. Two spectators stand in the foreground at left with their backs to the camera. A pallet sits in partial view on the ground to the right of them. The dock stretches horizontally across the image ahead of the man and the woman. Dock workers attend to a cart laden with cargo at center. Netting hangs down behind the stack of cargo on the dock. The Aleutian is moored at the dock and is viewed from the side. It is in partial view and stretches across the image. The 2 lower decks appear to be lined with passenger cabins. A life saver attached to a guardrail at right reads, "S. S. ALEUTIAN SEATTLE." On the upper deck, equipment and rigging are visible.
An out-of-focus photograph of the Assistant Purser from the West's ship posing on a wharf in Valdez. He dons his uniform as he stands in the near distance and looks to camera. The pier beneath him appears to stretch on an upward angle from lower right to left. A body of water extends across the image beyond the pier. From the far shore, a mountain rises in the distance at right. The photograph appears to be damaged. A cluster of white lines bisect the image on a large diagonal across the lower left corner.
An out-of-focus photograph of a few people riding in a tow cart along the wharf and past a docked ship in Valdez. The pier stretches across the image on an angle back from left to right. In the near distance, at center, a tow cart drives along the pier, towards the left. It is viewed from the front. Two women and a man ride in the front of cart, which is hauling cargo. On the far side of the dock, a ship is docked. It is in partial view, extending out-of-frame at both right and left. It is viewed at an angle from the side. Three decks are visible. Passenger cabins stretch along the 2 lower decks. A few passengers stand along the rails of the middle deck. Lifeboats, rigging and masts sit atop the upper deck.
