Photograph of a portion of the ship, Aleutian, as viewed from the side and close-up in Valdez. The photograph appears to tilt downward towards the right. The ship is in partial view and is viewed from the side. Three decks enter frame at right and extend towards the left. Cabins and walkways line all three decks. Two passengers stand near a stairwell on the middle deck, left-of-center. In front of them, a life saver hanging from the guardrail reads, "[S.] S. ALEUTIAN [...]." On the upper deck, a lifeboat sits at right. On its side it reads, "S. S. ALEUTIAN [?]02 [...] [?1] PERSONS." The cabin on the upper deck sits recessed back at center. Atop it, a sign reads, "ALEUTIAN." Beyond the ship, mountains are visible in the far distance at left.
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 the Standard Oil Company tanker, J. H. McEachern, sailing through Port Valdez. The waterway occupies the majority of the image. It spans the foreground and extends back into the distance. The tanker sails just below the top edge, left-of-center. It is viewed at a slight distance from the side as it sails towards the right. Birds are visible flocking around the tanker. Hills rise across the opposite shoreline in the far distance.
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.
Photograph, from left to right, of a ship's officer, Mertie West and Frances Wells conversing on the bridge of the Aleutian. A rail along the deck runs across the foreground, jutting towards the camera at center. Behind the rail, the ship's officer, Mertie West and Frances Wells stand on the deck and converse in the near distance at center. The officer leans against the rail as he faces towards the women to the right. Mertie West and Frances Wells stand facing towards the camera, but look to the officer at left. Directly behind them, a lifeboat hangs from rigging. At left, a cabin enters frame at left and stretches back towards center. A ladder rises up along the side of the cabin at far left. Beyond the cabin, a ship's funnel extends out-of-frame. The waterway the ship sails through is visible at right. Tree-covered hills rise from the shore in the distance at right.
Photograph, from left to right, of an officer of the Aleutian and Mertie West chatting outside the bridge on the top deck of the Aleutian. Mertie West and the officer both stand in partial view in the lower right corner. Mertie stands along the right edge and is visible from the shoulders up. She faces left to converse with the officer. The officer stands to the left of her. He is visible from the torso up and faces right to converse with Mertie. Behind them stands the bridge or cabin. It stretches on an angle back from left to right. A ladder rises along the side of the cabin behind the officer. Atop the roof and left-of-center, a signboard reads, "ALEUTIAN." At far right, a funnel rises tall behind Mertie; it billows smoke.
Photograph of a local woman standing along a dirt road and feeding pigeons in Valdez, Alaska. A dirt and gravel road stretches up through the image from the bottom edge and towards the left. In the near distance, right-of-center, a woman stands in profile, facing left, along the side of the road. She holds her hands outstretched in front of her. About a dozen pigeons stand in the road to the left of her. Down the road, a man wearing an apron stands along the left frame and holds a camera up to his face. He too photographs the woman feeding the birds. Heavy machinery stands behind the woman at right. A few buildings line the right side of the road as it stretches into the distance. Dark smoke billows from somewhere far behind the man with a camera.
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.
Photograph looking down a street in Valdez towards the pier in the far distance. A wide dirt road extends from the bottom edge and into the distance. It sits off-center to the left. About 3 buildings line each side of the road in the near distance. A cafe and hotel occupy the buildings nearest to camera along the left side of the road. A house appears to sit nearest to camera at right. Cars park along the street. At the horizon, the funnel of a ship is visible; dark smoke billows from it. Mountains rise in the far distance at center.
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.
Photograph of the post office in Valdez, Alaska, as viewed close-up from the front. The photograph appears to tilt downward to the left. A sidewalk of wooden planks stretches across the front of the post office. The post office stands at center and stretches vertically beyond the top frame. A door plastered with notices stands at center. It is flanked by 2 large, glass windows on each side. Etching in the window to the immediate right of the door reads, "PARKING PROHIBITED UNITED STATES POST OFFICE." Above the door and a second row of windows, "VALDEZ POST OFFICE ALASKA," is printed. A small sign to the right of it reads, "SIGNAL CORPS U.S. ARMY TELEGRAPH OFFICE [right pointing arrow]." A nearby building stands in partial view behind the post office and along the right edge. Other structures and mountains are visible in the far distance at left.
Photograph of crates of Darigold Milk being unloaded from the Aleutian in Valdez. The deck of the ship stretches on an upward angle from right to left. Rails line the edge of the right side of the deck. A man leans against the rail at right and faces left. To the left of the man, a gap in the rails stretches across the deck. Over this gap, crates of Darigold Milk and Kellogg's All Bran sit atop a pallet that hangs from ropes over the side of the ship. Beyond the cargo, a group of women stand along the rail. Port Valdez stretches beyond the side of the ship and into the distance. A large mountain rises from the shore in the background.
Photograph of sign for the Richardson Highway posted in Valdez, Alaska. A garage stands in partial view along the lower right edge. Immediately behind it, a sign hangs from a post-and-beam structure. The sign reads, "RICHARDSON HIGHWAY VALDEZ TO CHITINA 131 MI FAIRBANKS 371 MI UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ALASKA ROAD COMMISSION." Between the vertical posts and to the left, a street stretches into the distance. On the right side of the street, a sidewalk extends through the center of the images and is lined by businesses. From front to back, signs for each of the businesses read: "PINZON BAR," "VALDEZ LIQUOR STORE," "LIQUOR," and "AUTHENTIC [...] OLYMPIA." Businesses also line the far left side of the street. Mountains rise across the background.
Photograph, from left to right, of Mertie West and H. H. West posing in front of a car parked along a street in Valdez. The photograph appears to tilt slightly downward to the left. The wood-plank road stretches through the foreground on an upward angle from left to right. Mertie and H. H. West stand, left-of-center, and smile to the camera. Mertie leans to the left as H. H. holds onto her by the arm. Behind them, a car is parked. It is viewed at an angle from the side; its front end extends past the left frame. Businesses line the far side of the street. An awning hangs over the sidewalk. A barber shop sign hangs down from the awning behind and to the right of H. H. Etching in the window of the business at far right reads, "CORDELL TRANSFER STORAGE CO. Phone 28 FUEL." A few people stand on the sidewalk and along the right edge in the background.
Photograph of the Standard Oil Company tanker, J. H. McEachern, sailing through Port Valdez, as viewed from the side of another ship. The waterway occupies the majority of the image. It spans the foreground and extends back into the distance. The edge of a ship stretches along the left edge. In the near distance, people stand in a line along the rail of the ship. The tanker sails in the distance, just to the right of the near ship. It is viewed at a slight distance from the side as it sails towards the right. Hills rise across the opposite shoreline in the far distance.
Photograph looking up at a pallet of cargo being unloaded from the top deck of a ship. The ship sits in partial view in the near distance. Cargo netting stretches in front of the left half of the ship. The ship's decks stretch horizontally across the image. Both lower decks appear to be lined with passenger cabins. On the upper deck, boxes of cargo sit atop a pallet that is being hoisted from the ship. Rigging and masts extend vertically from the top of the ship to the right of the cargo.
Photograph of the side of the ship, Aleutian, viewed close-up while docked in Valdez. The side of the ship stretches on a slight angle back from right to left. Its name, "ALEUTIAN," is printed near the upper left corner. About 5 portholes line the side of the ship, beneath the printed name. Hawsers stretch along the top edge and towards the right.
