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Dobbs (1868-1937) grew up in Bellingham, Washington, and operated a photography studio for 12 years before marrying and moving in 1896 to Nome, Alaska, in search of gold. He continued to earn his living as a photographer, capturing scenes in Nome and the Seward Peninsula along with portraits of the indigenous people. He was awarded a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World's Fair) in 1904 for his portraits. By about 1909, Dobbs was among the first to use motion picture film north of the Arctic Circle. He made a name for himself with Atop of the World in Motion (also called Top of the World in Motion), a collection of his motion picture travelogues detailing the Alaska gold rush. No names or other information is provided about the people Dobbs photographed. Etched into the plate appearing in most of the photographs is "Nome" and Dobbs' name, sometimes shown as BB Dobbs, and occasionally with a date and copyright. A collection of Dobbs photographs was recently acquired by the Bodleian Library in Oxford. Richard Ovenden, head of the Bodleian Libraries, said, "The portraits are remarkable for their intimacy," and provide a record of a "moment of encounter and exchange" between "the international community of prospectors [and] the Inuit communities who had lived in peace for thousands of years". Each of the photographs is printed in sepia-tone on lightly textured matte paper: Inuit man, Dobbs, Nome, no date, 6 6/16" x 8 5/16" Few tiny dust spots, with a small scuff and light edgewear; remnants of paper on the verso Inuit woman with child in backpack, Dobbs, Nome, no date, 7 6/8" x 10 7/8" Few small dust spots; remnants of paper on the verso Group of four Inuit woman, BB Dobbs, no location, 1903, 10" x 7 ¾" Small dust spots; remnants of paper on the verso Inuit man, BB Dobbs, no location, 1903, 7 ½" x 9 ½" Few small dust spots, light moisture stains; remnants of paper on the verso Inuit woman with child in backpack, BB Dobbs, no location, 1903, 7 x 9 5/8" Remnants of paper on the verso Inuit child, Dobbs, Nome, no date, 7 1/8" x 9 6/8" Few small dust spots; remnants of paper on the verso The photographs are from the estate of Pierre Odier (1940-2021), author, educator, and lecturer who traveled to remote places in order to document indigenous peoples. He is the author of The Rock, A History of Alzatraz: The Fort/The Prison (1982).
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