This collection includes five photograph albums documenting Northwest history that were compiled circa 1941 by an unknown creator. The albums are housed in a matching leather chest that is embossed with imagery of a conestoga wagon on the front, a cowboy on the back, and a horse (“Red Dust”) jumping a fence on the top. The five albums are approximately fifty pages each. The albums in total contain eight chapters spanning the colonial settlement of... the Northwest. The photographs are attributed to the Whitman College archives, the Eastern Washington State Historical Society, and the Oregon State Archives, private collections, and Northwest photography studios. Pictures cover the area of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming from circa 1805 to circa 1940. Each photo is accompanied by a historical description. The album ends with a 1941 picture of the horse “Red Dust” that is also pictured on the chest. Former head of the Whitman College archives, Larry Dodd, was able to match some photographs from the album to those found in the "Walla Wallan" newspaper published in College Place from 1947-1948. Dodd proposed that the author and photographer, E.R. Alexander, could have been the creator of the albums. The albums and chapters are as follows:

Corral Gate Scrapbook Chapter One: Lewis and Clark Trail, Chapter Two: Era of the Fur Traders, Chapter Three: Early Mission Period, Chapter Four: Along Pioneer Roads

Log Cabin with Green Trees Scrapbook - Chapter Four (continued). Chapter Five: Homes of Pioneers, Chapter Six: Military Forts and Blockhouses

Horse and Log Cabin Scrapbook - Chapter Six (continued), Chapter Seven: River Shipping Days

Cowboy on Horseback Scrapbook - Chapter Seven (continued), Chapter Eight: Early Pioneer Towns

“The Old Mill in the Dell” Scrapbook - Chapter Eight (continued), Chapter Nine: Historic Scenic Views