# Wilhelm Hester

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**Wilhelm Hester** (1872–1947) was a German-born American photographer and businessman who worked in the [Pacific Northwest](/source/Pacific_Northwest) and [Alaska](/source/Alaska) from 1893 to 1906.

## Early life

Hester was born in [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg), Germany in 1872 and moved to the [Pacific Northwest](/source/Pacific_Northwest) in 1893.

## Career

His photographs mainly recorded ships, crews and maritime activity on [Puget Sound](/source/Puget_Sound) and the ports of [Seattle](/source/Seattle), [Tacoma](/source/Tacoma,_Washington) and [Port Blakely](/source/Port_Blakely,_Bainbridge_Island,_Washington). Hester was able to establish a commercial business selling these photographs, often to the crews of the ships that he photographed. He also took a series of photographs in [Chinatown, San Francisco](/source/Chinatown,_San_Francisco), in the 1890s.[1][2]

In 1898, Hester relocated to Alaska during the [Klondike Gold Rush](/source/Klondike_Gold_Rush). He had successful mining claims at [Anvil Creek and Snow Creek](/source/Cape_Nome_Mining_District_Discovery_Sites) in Alaska, during the [Nome gold rush](/source/Nome_Gold_Rush) which, in addition to other business ventures, earned him a significant profit. While in Alaska, he photographed early scenes of [Nome](/source/Nome,_Alaska) and the surrounding areas.[1]

He returned to the Puget Sound area in 1899 to resume his photographic business there, but appears to have visited Alaska again in 1900.[1]

In 1906, he gave up his photography business and became involved in [real estate](/source/Real_estate).

## Death

He died in [Seattle](/source/Seattle) in 1947.[1]

## Legacy

His legacy is the lasting historical record of his photographs. The Wilhelm Hester Photographs Collection of the [Suzzallo Library](/source/Suzzallo_Library) consists of 1213 of his photographic prints and 85 glass plate negatives.[2][3] The [San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park](/source/San_Francisco_Maritime_National_Historical_Park) has 837 items in its collection, mostly 8 x 10 inch [glass gelatin dry plates](/source/Glass_plate).[4] The [J. Paul Getty Museum](/source/J._Paul_Getty_Museum) in Los Angeles and the [Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco](/source/Fine_Arts_Museums_of_San_Francisco) also have some of his photographs in their collections.[5][6]

## References

1. ["::: Wilhelm Hester Photographs :::"](https://content.lib.washington.edu/hesterweb/index.html). *content.lib.washington.edu*. Retrieved 2020-01-26.

1. ["Browsing items in: *Hester (Wilhelm) Photographs*"](https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/hester/search/). *digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu*. Retrieved 2020-01-26.

1. ["Archives West: Wilhelm Hester photographs, circa 1893-1906"](https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv80111). *archiveswest.orbiscascade.org*. Retrieved 2020-01-26.

1. ["Wilhem Hester Photographs, 1893-1905"](https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt6v19r1f1/entire_text/). *oac.cdlib.org*. Retrieved 2020-01-26.

1. ["Wilhelm Hester (American, born Germany, 1872 - 1947) (Getty Museum)"](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/artists/2849/wilhelm-hester-american-born-germany-1872-1947/). *The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles*. Retrieved 2020-01-26.

1. ["Wilhelm Hester"](https://art.famsf.org/wilhelm-hester). *FAMSF Search the Collections*. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2020-01-26.

## External links

- [Wilhelm Hester - University of Washington](https://content.lib.washington.edu/hesterweb/index.html)
- [Wilhelm Hester Photographs Collection](https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/hester/search/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wilhelm Hester](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Hester) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Hester?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.