Welcome!
Our sight has been in circulation for over ten-years. To our knowledge, there are no other web sites with as much eclectic information and links about  Alaskana and related collecting. Please feel free to browse the sight and check back: We add to this site often.

Chief Joseph with a Pendleton blanket worn over his shoulders.
"All men were made brothers. The earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have equal rights upon it".

Native American Blankets
By Pendleton


The 2009 collection is stunning! There are many BEAUTIFUL new designs. 2009 is a big year for Pendleton and they will not disappoint. Pendleton wool blankets made their introduction to Alaska during the gold rush of 1898. We proudly feature  Alaska's largest selection of Pendleton blankets including patterns such as Raven, Tlingit,  Spirit of the Peoples, White Raven's Moonlit Flight and Geronimo. We carry most Pendleton blanket designs with near 50 displayed throughout the store. We can also special order any size or style request you desire. We also offer special quantity blanket pricing for potlatch, forty day and pay-off parties, gifts or other traditional based needs. Please call or stop in anytime for friendly, respectful assistance.
      

Raven by Pendleton

We take trade ins!
It takes two to Tango! And that is what trading is all about! If we have an item on display that you want but don't want to fork out the DO-RE-ME, then maybe you would like to trade. We will entertain all trades, trade-ins, and lay-a-ways. So come check out some rare Juneau, Douglas and vicinity photos, paper and mining artifacts. From Nome to the Klondike, we have it!


Ray Troll
Spawn Till You Die
Our Price $395 FRAMED!
Flat Prints also available at $175.

Totem Poles of Alaska and Indian Mythology by Lloyd W. Mcdowell was published in 1906 by The Alaska Steamship Company in Seattle.

It contains a mix of color and black and white illustrations. One of a small series issued by ASS Co. and also one of the most colorful.

Norman Edson photographs are being actively sought by my friend Bill Taylor. Edson lived from 1876 to 1968 and spent time both in the U.S. and Canada. If you have any Edson items that you're looking to sell, trade or inquiry about, you can click on Bill's WANTED card and it will direct an e-mail straight to him.

The U.S.S. Hornet is tied up in Alameda, California at what was the Naval Air Station Alameda. It's designated a National Historic Landmark and rightfully so: She earned 9 battle stars for service during World War II. She was also the recovery vessel for Apollo 11 and 12: The first men on the moon in 1969. World War II played a pivotal role in the building of Alaska. The Urban Eskimo has always had a soft spot for learning about Pacific Ocean Battles and the occupation of the Aleutian Islands. Visit the U.S.S. Hornet Museum's web site and help support this incredible vessel.


What's an Urban Eskimo?

That's a good question!  Although not an Eskimo, I have lived in Alaska for most of my life and grew up with a respect for the North. I have and have had many good Eskimo and Alaska Native friends. I started buying & selling antiques and art nearly 25 years ago using the name The Urban Eskimo. The name represents an attempt at meshing modern technology with earthly qualities. Nothing PC here, just sincere, honest dialog. We hope we have succeeded!

The Urban Eskimo!

The North American Indian by Edward S. Curtis is one of the most significant and controversial representations of traditional American Indian culture ever produced. Issued in a limited edition from 1907-1930, the publication continues to exert a major influence on the image of Indians in popular culture. Curtis said he wanted to document "the old time Indian, his dress, his ceremonies, his life and manners." In over 2000 photogravure plates and narrative, Curtis portrayed the traditional customs and life-ways of eighty Indian tribes. The twenty volumes, each with an accompanying portfolio, are organized by tribes and culture areas encompassing the Great Plains, Great Basin, Plateau Region, Southwest, California, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska. Featured here are all of the published photogravure images including over 1500 illustrations bound in the text volumes, along with over 700 portfolio plates. The digitization and presentation of these materials by the Northwestern University Library was supported by an award from the Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library Competition.


The Elmer E. Rasmuson

Library's Alaska and Polar regions collection has an online store that offers hundreds of early Alaska photos and maps for purchase.
 


Site Information

The Urban Eskimo!
217 Seward Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801

907.796.3626 Phone
907.500.7326 Fax

360.809.3626 Cell

Last updated on November 8, 2009

Contact us


So far, in 2009

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Hogan Makes Front Page!
Every dog has his day including my long time companion, friend and unofficial security guard. His photo was prominently featured on page one and Tony Carroll of The Juneau Empire did a great story on The shop dogs of Seward Street. Unfortunately, my old friend went to the happy hunting grounds in January 2009. But we had 17 good years together and he did not stay one more day than he wanted to be here. Adios old buddy!
 


Photo by Michael Penn
Juneau Empire

 

 

Welcome!
We are glad you stopped in.

You have found the web site for Juneau's only combined art and antique gallery: The Urban Eskimo. We are located on historic Seward Street, in downtown Juneau. Our summer hours for are from 9:00am to 6:00pm, every day and our winter hours are a bit sporadic: We suggest you call ahead.  We look forward to your visit and we are sure that you will find that we have one of the nicest, most eclectic shops you'll ever visit!  We have a large selection of small antiques with an occasional choice large piece thrown in. Our art focus will be mostly Alaskan influenced with an occasional stand-out item from other "lower 48" artists. Photographs and photogravures focus on Alaska and Washington and feature great photographers such as Edward Curtis. Even rare coins, books and philatelic treasures can be found here! Our Pendleton blanket selection is unequaled in Alaska with the state's largest selection: Please see more information below and in the right side-bar for details.  In addition, we also offer custom framing without the custom price: Let us provide you with a quote. The pictures below are a few examples of the many limited edition prints that are available. We also have lots more flat art, antiques, historic Alaska paper, ivory etc. that we have in stock but not displayed. That means ask for it and we may just surprise you! We will also take consignment items, broker the sales of select items and can also assist or perform estate sales.

Directions to our Humble Abode.
North to the Future

We are located at 217 Seward Street, named after William H. Seward, who negotiated the acquisition of Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 or about two cents an acre! Once you're in downtown Juneau, just head up! There are only three streets up: Franklin, Seward and Main. The downtown McDonalds' is a good land-mark. Use your nose. We are 1 and ½ blocks up Seward on the other side of the street. If you see the Subway restaurant, you're on the right track. Just 4 doors more and you can't miss us. If you look up Seward Street from McDonald's, you'll see our signs. Right past Subway is Nana's Attic, a mix of several dealers (see below) but this is NOT the Urban Eskimo. Continue up two more doors until you see our well lit hanging sign and voilá, you are here. We hope to see you soon! 

Another place to buy our stuff
Nana's Attic
As mentioned in the before mentioned paragraph, there's a new store in our neighborhood! Opening last May, Suzanne Hudson fullfilled her dream to have an antique and collectibles shop. Nana's Attic is located one door up from Subway and two doors down from the Urban Eskimo at 205 Seward Street. Nana's shop features a wide variety of stuff such as vintage clothing, costume jewelery, perfume bottles, old toys etc. The store is filled with Nana's own treasures as well as those of several other vendors and consignors. And to further accrue more good Karma, I not only welcomed Nana's to the neighborhood but went ahead and rented her largest vendor space for some of our other cool things. Items that usually don't fit the Urban Eskimo's mold but are still worthy like; vintage  glass, old toys, tokens, Coca-Cola collectibles, dolls, vintage local art and on and on!  So in effect, the Urban Eskimo's space at Nana's Attic is now our outlet for offering you more GREAT stuff. So go check her out and welcome Nana.

Brave Star. Contemporary interpretation of the American flag is a celebration of the patriotism of Native American soldiers. The design marries modern asymmetry and vintage Americana. IN STOCK!

Pendleton Blankets

Shipping Statewide

We LOVE our remote Alaska customers (including  Anchorage) and ship state-wide frequently. With Alaska's LARGEST selection of  Pendleton Blankets and by using our toll free ordering line, we make it easy for you. Of course, phone orders don't pay sales tax and we ship Priority Mail (in Alaska) for only $10 bucks. Toll Free 866.996.3626

'tis always the season

If you have never owned a Pendleton Native American Blanket, there has never been a better time. We feature Alaska's largest selection and we are always happy to show and share our knowledge of these fantastic products. Ask to see the wonderful, traditional whip-stitched edge blanket Tlingit: One of our favorites! We also have a GREAT selection of accessories and home products. Look for our large blue and yellow Pendleton sign. We also have many discontinued and hard to get blankets. Call us toll free at
866.996.3626 and we'll take it from there! 

Looking to Sell?
Buy, Sell, Trade and Consign

You can hardly miss our eagerness to BUY, SELL and TRADE items, but there is another venue you might not know about: CONSIGN. Simply, you bring us an item (or we will come to you), we decide if it fits into our eclectic mix and then we agree upon terms and how much to ask for the item. Then, when it sells, we receive our consignment fees (commission) and you get CASH! We can even try to sell it for you online. And if it is something really special, we could feature it at trade shows or sell it through our network of specialized collectors and dealers. So what are you waiting for? Show us you treasures!  And please see us first for a fair, reasonable offer. We will travel NATIONWIDE to buy your stuff and can offer a rare modern treat: Honesty, integrity and respect. References happily provided.     

Got some neat stuff! We are interested!
Tell us about your treasures!

I collect and actively pursue Alaska, Klondike and Gold Rush related ephemera, paper, photographs, artifacts, china, books, ivory and nearly anything else related to the Great North. I am also interested in other high quality antiques of all descriptions but concentrate on advertising, the wild west, ephemera, black Americana, paper and especially items from Juneau, Douglas and Washington Territory (like Seattle and Tacoma). We know buyers and sellers worldwide who are just as active in their pursuits. If you would like to sell, trade or just chat about your treasures, please contact us via email or call us toll free at 866.996.3626. We can also help you identify and value anything Alaska, Klondike or Yukon.  

If you see it and you like it you better buy it!
Words to Live By

I regularly inform people that if they see something in an antique shop that they really want, they better buy it or else risk it being gone, perhaps forever. This is not just a sales pitch, IT'S A FACT! Just recently, a young gentleman, who earlier had been looking at a very nice hand tinted Trevor Davis photo, returned ready to buy. The only problem: It was gone; it sold earlier the same day. At antique shows, this is common and it is not unusual to have four or five people return later the same day or the next day looking for something they passed on but now is gone forever! I feel their pain but at the same token: You need to establish how bad you want something. If the item I am offering is relatively common and you are just shopping price; more power to you. But if it's RARE and you want or need it for your collection, you better grab it! Believe me, I have learned from the school of hard knocks and I've left more than one show with a sick feeling because I was too late returning!


New Stuff!

Recent acquisitions for sale

NEW! Fresh from an Anchorage estate, a wonderful Sidney Laurence 20 x 30 original just re-framed in a 22k Thanhardt Burger frame. Selling for appraisal. Full provenance provided. An incredible opportunity. Just SOLD

Alaskan Originals

We just found a new home for a very rare and incredible Skip Wallen original water color of Basin Road. It was painted in 1969 and was only displayed at his Alaska State Museum debut exhibit. It was purchased locally and remained with the original owner until acquired by me.

Skip's original painting are extremely rare and as his recognition as a world class bronze sculpture solidifies, his earlier work is sure to become much more desirable.

We just acquired another beautiful investment quality Rie Muñoz original water color. This is an outstanding piece and likely the most significant early Rie Muñoz original available in years. Painted in 1971, it features an Alaska Steamship Boat, the Fortuna at dock in Juneau. Also, brand new on the market, a 1967 water color of a green house in Dawson City. A great early piece. Call or email for specifics.

Our hunting and gathering has been especially fruitful lately and we have just added some GREAT stuff! But you know what? Our sales have been brisk as well and GOOD STUFF gets gobbled up FAST! So that means: WE ARE LOOKING FOR GOOD STUFF! Buying or consigning; just come see us. NEW! We have a great new selection of Tlingit, Yupik and Athabascan baskets including museum quality split willow and birch bark Athabascan baskets. We currently have the largest selection of Skip Wallen's stone lithographs available in Juneau for many, many years includgin Sixteen Tons. Also, after purchasing an entire estate of Nina & Josephine Crumrine's pastels and oil paintings, we NOW only have one Nina pastel. We saved the best for last and it's incredible! We have two TREMENDOUS Harvey Goodale small oils that in our opinion are the finest Eskimo face paintings he has ever done. Exceptional! We also have some circa 1940 Robert Mayokok ink drawings. This is just to name a few. If you would like to know more about these or our other treasures, please contact us or call us toll free at 866.996.3626.

Art for Sale
A home without art is like a library without books

There is no better way to pamper yourself, your friends and your family than to give the gift of art. We continually search and have professional relationships with several large art sellers and wholesalers. This combined with our ability to frame our own art allows us to offer ready to hang pieces at great prices. All of our artwork is investment quality and should be considered an investment as much as a purchase. We have hundreds of framed and unframed limited edition prints and original art from prominent artists such as Fred Machetanz,  Ernest Robertson, George Rodriguez, Rie Muñoz and Skip Wallen.
    


Fred Machetanz

The Tender Arctic
Our Price $3,750 Framed!  Last ONE available!
Layaway gladly accepted!


Fred Machetanz

Mighty Hunter
Our Price $1,695  FRAMED!

Other Machetanz's in Stock:

Winter Harvest
Lone Musher
Golden Years
Midday Moonlight
Story in the Beads (Publisher's Proof)
Sourdough


and over 50 others. Let the Eskimo satisfy  your needs!
Call 866.996.3626 Toll Free

Do you see something you must have?
To place an order, please call us toll free at 866.996.3626. You can also email us by clicking here. We accept all major credit cards, smoked fish and gold nuggets for payment.

Email Problems
Endless Spam Attacks

I've had several reports of emails that people have sent to me but they have gotten no response. If I get the email, I will respond. However, I get HUNDREDS of unsolicited junk and Spam emails a day. So when I am deleting the copious offers I receive daily for Mortgages, Viagra, faux Rolex Watches, Teen Girls, Vicodin etc., I may have inadvertently deleted yours as well. BUT, I have just added to all my email links an automatic subject line which will insert into the subject header "
Alaska Order" when you email me. That should help eliminate accidental deletion of your emails.So go ahead, send me an email. But better yet: Why not make sure you reach us and just call. Sales or selling inquiries or my derelict friends can use our toll free number: 866.996.3626

Skip
Wallen
Elusive Information

Since we opened our doors, we have featured many of Skip Wallen's stone lithographs. In the process of doing this, we have gleaned lots of information on the artist as well as current prices. Information and prices on this incredible artist is not available anywhere on the web until now! This link will allow us to share that information with you. You're welcome!
  


Fred Machetanz

Glory of the Trail
Our Price $645 FRAMED! SOLD OUT

O.D. Goetz Eskimo & Alaska Photographer

Eskimos and their Igloo

The Urban Eskimo!
Although not really an Alaskan photo, it's still a fantastic turn of the century image taken by Otto Daniel Goetz of  Eskimos and their Igloo in Koliutschit Siberia.
Winter and Pond
Lights 'O the Alaska Juneau

The Urban Eskimo!
One of our favorite shots by Winter and Pond; Lights 'O the Alaska Juneau. The Alaska Juneau Gold Mining Co. operated from 1893 to 1944. The AJ was able to extract a lifetime production of 90 million tons. The gold from this ore was worth some $80,000,000. With the shortage of man power brought about by World War II, and gold's value fixed at $35 an ounce, the AJ was not able to profitably continue operations and closed on April 9, 1944. We have numerous Winter and Pond photographs including hand tinted and many in the original pie crust frames available at our store. We are also ALWAYS interested in purchasing Winter and Pond, Ordway, Ed Andrews and any other Juneau, Douglas or related photographs, framed or unframed.

Imbedded Links

Habla Computer

You may have notice scattered throughput this website, blue underlined words like this that are usually focused on a key word like Portland or Tacoma Dome. What do these do? If you click on these, I have included links to direct you to a website that has something to do with the mentioned subject. So for instance, if I have the word Alaska, underlined and blue and you click on this word, you will be magically transported to the State of Alaska's web site. Sometimes the links are informative and sometimes just fun. Give them a try!    

Researching Alaska or the Klondike?

A few helpful hints

The link below, Alaska's Gold Lode is a virtual archives/library consisting of documents and materials associated with the Klondike and Alaska gold rushes selected from the Alaska State Library's Alaska Historical Collections, the Alaska State Archives, and the Alaska State Museum. Alaska's Gold Lode provides more than 3500 documents relating to the themes explored in the teacher and student study sections of Alaska's Gold Themes. It's worth a visit.


Online Selling: The Junque
Check out our online auctions!

I try to save the best for the store and for shows but I do occasionally have some good stuff listed on eBay. There is usually a fairly eclectic mixture of ephemera, real photo postcards and other treasures! If we have anything listed, this LINK will be active. If not; the link will still be active but will direct you to.....you'll just have to try it! And remember: Bid a bunch and bid often!