Lomen Bros.

Variant names

Dates:

Active 1903

Active 1920

Biographical notes:

The Lomen family was well known in Alaska for an entreprenurial spirit. Their interests varied from reindeer herding to law practice. The five Lomen brothers, Carl Joys, Alfred Julian, Harry, George, and Ralph helped create a reindeer industry, outfitted the Norwegian explorer Amundsen and participated in the birth of bush aviation in Alaska. Judge G.J. Lomen of St. Paul, Minnesota, moved to Nome after vacationing with a son, Carl, in the early 1900's. In 1903, they were joined by his wife, Julie Joys Lomen, the remaining sons and a daughter, Helen. The entire Lomen family was active in civic affairs, prospecting and placer gold mining, and had various commercial ventures. In 1908, the Lomen brothers bought a photograph studio; a year later they purchased a drugstore. The Lomens purchased rights to a reindeer herd in 1913 and formed a corporation, Lomen and Co. The Lomen Transportation Co. was created in 1916 to ship the reindeer meat to the states with sufficient refrigeration. While in Nome, the Lomen brothers purchased studios and glass plate negatives of earlier Nome photographers, including B.B. Dobbs, Charles H. Milot, A.B. Kinney and F.H. Nowell. In September of 1934, a fire destroyed their business along with 25-30,000 negatives and 50,000 commercial prints. Approximately 3,000 negatives were salvaged. The Lomens never reopened their photography business. [From: "Alaska History," Vol. 5, Spring, 1990, and "The Lomen Brothers' Photographic Collection," Glenbow Archives, Calgary, Canada.].

From the description of Lomen Brothers photograph collection [graphic], 1903-1920. (Alaska State Library). WorldCat record id: 51248999