J. WILBUR SANDISON,
focusing on a variety of local businesses, groups and panoramic views.

James Wilbur Sandison was born on a farm in Cedar Springs near Chatham, Ontario, Canada on March 3, 1873. Reared in his native land, Sandison attended public schools and became employed in mercantile pursuits.

In 1899, he went to Vancouver, British Columbia, and took up the "art and mystery" of photography. Shortly thereafter he moved to Glendale, California where he found work as a photographer. He then moved to the Hawaiian Islands, where he was employed as a photographer in a studio on Nuuanu Street in Honolulu.

Opening a Bellingham Studio

In the early 1900's, after a bubonic plague epidemic in Honolulu, Sandison returned to a more healthy climate on the mainland. He settled in Bellingham, Washington in 1904. Opening his own portrait and commercial photographic studio at 126 1/2 W. Holly Street, Sandison became widely known throughout northwest Washington for the high quality of his art.

Sandison returned to Ontario, Canada to attend school. He married Harriet May Woodiwiss in 1908. They settled in Bellingham and had two sons, Earle W. and Lorne N.; the latter died in childhood in 1914. Earle graduated from Whatcom High School and the University of Washington in Seattle and became a pharmacist.

Sandison's Career as a Photographer

During his photographic career, Sandison took a variety of commercial photographs. A large portion of these photographs are housed in the Photo Archives of the Whatcom Museum of History & Art in Bellingham, Washington. He took photos of the lumber, paper, fishing, canning, coal mining, boating, and furniture industries in Bellingham. In addition, he took a number of circuit photographs of organizations and group gatherings, becoming quite adept at circuit photography. People, buildings, street scenes, Native Americans, the waterfront area and various modes of transportation are other topics well covered in the Sandison Collection. He also took numerous scenic photographs of the Mount Baker area and is reported to be one of the first mountain climbers to scale all three of the "Sister" mountains in the Cascade range. Also, several of the images in the Sandison Collection come from copy negatives he made from the works of some of the early Bellingham Bay photographers.

His Life in Bellingham

J. Wilbur Sandison’s wife died in 1947 at the family home, 801 Garden Street in Bellingham. In his later years, he frequently visited the Hawaiian Islands to see his son, Earle and wife, Maxine, and his grandson, Ian.

J. W. Sandison was very active in the community affairs of Bellingham and was a charter member of the Bellingham Kiwanis Club. Active in Masonic circles, he became a 33rd degree Mason, a master of Bellingham Bay Lodge No. 44 F.&A.M. He was also president of the Bellingham Shrine Club.

Sandison continued to work in his photographic studio on Holly Street where he died of a heart attack on April 4, 1962, at the age of 88.

Collection Reflects Era

Sandison’s photographs represent a unique look at American life in the Northwest from the early 1900’s into the 1940’s. His photographic documentation of this area is a wonderful resource that has only just begun to be tapped. His longevity was undoubtedly partly due to his positive and "ever cheery" attitude towards life.