Beverly Bennett Dobbs (1868–1937) was a photographer and filmmaker in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. The

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

has his work in their collection. He was born near

Marshall, Missouri Marshall is a city in Saline County, Missouri, United States. The population was 13,065 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Saline County. The Marshall Micropolitan Statistical Area consists of Saline County. It is home to Missouri Val ...

. He moved with his family to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

when he was eight. In 1888, Dobbs moved to

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...

, and partnered with F. F. Fleming at Dobbs & Fleming between 1890 and 1891. Dobbs had a photography studio in Bellingham for 12 years until 1900 when he moved to Nome, Alaska. He took a small schooner from Seattle to try and film the emergence of islands in the Bogoslof group. In Nome he photographed the town, the

Seward Peninsula The Seward Peninsula is a large peninsula on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska whose westernmost point is Cape Prince of Wales. The peninsula projects about into the Bering Sea between Norton Sound, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi ...

, and

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

. He also reportedly prospected for gold. He partnered with A. B. Kinne to form Dobbs & Kinne in Nome.

Achievements

In 1909, he established the Dobbs Alaska Moving Picture Co. and made films about the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

including

travelogues Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

. He also photographed the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition taking place in Seattle that year. By 1911, he shifted his focus to filmmaking, selling off his negatives to Lomen Brothers. He moved back to Seattle by 1914. He ran the Dobbs Totem Film Company until his death in 1937. His work includes photographs of fish processing operations at Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) in the

Fairhaven, Washington Fairhaven (or Fairhaven Village) was a settlement in Washington state founded in 1883 by Dan Harris. In 1903, it became part of the city of Bellingham. Description The Fairhaven area is situated on the south side of Bellingham, and borders Be ...

area of Bellingham. He was awarded a gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (St. Louis World's Fair) in 1904 for his "Eskimo" photographs.

Personal life

In 1896 Dobbs married Dorothy Sturgeon in Bellingham.

Filmography

*''At the Top of the World'', ''Atop of the World in Motion'', also known as ''Top of the World in Motion'', a collection of his travelogue films *''A Romance of Seattle'' shot in and around Seattle in 1919

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbs, Beverly Bennett 1868 births 1937 deaths People from Marshall, Missouri People from Lincoln, Nebraska People from Nome, Alaska People from Bellingham, Washington 19th-century American photographers 20th-century American photographers Photographers from Missouri Photographers from Washington (state) Photographers from Nebraska Photographers from Alaska People from the Territory of Alaska