In the early 1990s, Craig Tuttle’s photography of the Pacific Northwest was everywhere. From greeting cards to books to calendars, he captured the beauty of many places throughout Washington and Oregon. It’s no surprise that he photographed Snoqualmie Falls and the Salish Lodge & Spa as the falls was and continues to be one of the most popular destinations besides Mount Rainier. Here is a collection of postcards from the early 1990s that feature this sacred location and beautiful hotel.
SNOQUALMIE FALLS AND SALISH LODGE POSTCARDS
There are a handful of postcards I’ve collected with images of Snoqualmie Falls by Craig Tuttle. This one features a look up at Salish Lodge perched above Snoqualmie Falls complete with a rainbow.
The card in number CT-4545 and was published and distributed by Smith-Western, Co. in Tacoma, Washington. The artwork reminds me of other cards I previously featured with photographs by Ben Harrison. It screams early 1990s!
The card’s back also has the inscription: “Snoqualmie Falls, Washington. The Salish Lodge, located at the crest of Snoqualmie Falls, features fine dining and an unsurpassed view. The falls are an easy drive from the metropolitan Seattle-Tacoma area.”
The card contains a logo used by Salish Lodge in the late 1980s, which makes me think this card was most likely sold at Salish Lodge. Most likely, all of these cards were sold in their gift shop.
This card contains an image collage of The Salish Lodge from 1992. Photography is also credited to Craig Tuttle, so I’m assuming he took all three images. Another card that screams early 1990s design – just look at the font against the faux stone.
This card was manufactured by Impact (which could be Impact Northwest) and printed in Japan. It’s card #14401 and has a code of G-2488 (the latter could be a reference to a product catalog). The inscription reads: “Snoqualmie Falls. Perched at the crest of magnificent 268 foot Snoqualmie Falls, The Salish Lodge offers a unique combination of comfort and style all in an elegant country inn environment designed to complement its natural setting.”
A second postcard by Impact includes an image of Snoqualmie Falls with a smaller rainbow, most likely taken from the upper observation deck in late afternoon. I love the font used for “Snoqualmie Falls” which is repeated on the back of both Impact cards. The teal-colored logo is something I’ve not seen but assuming it was created to represent the falls.
This card is #13995 and includes the same code as before – G-2488. Printed in Japan in 1992, the card’s inscription reads: “Snoqualmie Falls is often seen with a rainbow that is formed by the afternoon sun shining on the spray and mist near the foot of the falls.”
Another card of the falls and Lodge includes a similar shot from the upper observation deck. In fact, I think the image used in the previous card was cropped from this image.
This card is #18242 and includes the code G-4035. It was manufactured by Impact Northwest. I found next to nothing about the company online other than they may have been based in Olympia, Washington. Eventually they may have become Impact International, which produced restaurant items for soda beverages and more. That company no longer exists.
The inscription reads: “This view shows the 268-foot cascading waters of Snoqualmie Falls with the Salish Lodge and viewing areas.”
A companion card with a similar shot was also produced by Impact Northwest.
The card is #18244 with the code G-4029. It looks like I’m missing card #18243 which I assume is another shot of Snoqualmie Falls. When I find it, I’ll add it to this article.
The inscription for this card reads: “The Salish Lodge overlooks Snoqualmie Falls which plunges 268 feet to the river below.”
WHO IS PHOTOGRAPHER CRAIG TUTTLE?
Photographer Craig Tuttle appeared on the scene in the late 1980s. I had an incredibly difficult time finding any information about him. There is another Craig Tuttle in Colorado which I found first. But he appeared to young to have captured these shots in the early 1990s.
In 1989, two books featuring Craig’s works were published, titled “Beautiful America’s Portland” and “Beautiful America’s Seattle.” I found the latter on the Internet Archive which included a short bio and headshot.
Craig was named a “Rising Star” of photographers in the Pacific Northwest. The bio alludes to his work being used in just about every media available to photographers. This assumes he was creating stock photo images, something that has been previously used in the Twin Peaks world.
Digging deeper I found a defunct website on the Wayback Machine from around 2011-2012. This also lead me to an abandoned Flickr account from 2011. The bio on that account states he is a “30 year pro stock photographer. traveled around the world. spend as much time hiking as i can.” I sent an email to the address listed in his bio with hopes he’ll respond.
Internet searches reveal his stock photography is still available for sale. Yet he appears to have completely disappeared online after 2011. I guess that’s fitting for a show about the mysterious old woods of the Pacific Northwest.
TWIN PEAKS POSTCARDS ON FLICKR
To download high resolution images of these and other Twin Peaks-inspired postcards, visit this Flickr Album.
