In the 1840s non-Haida subject matter almost completely dominated the argillite carvers' repertoire. Long panel pipes, thin slabs of argillite intricately carved and pierced into silhouette friezes of shipboard scenes, were in style. They are pipes only in that they have a tiny hole drilled down from the top to meet a similar hole drilled along the bottom from one end. Very often, as in this pipe, a rectangular motif suggesting a ship's cabin occupies the center. (Holm, Crooked Beak of Heaven, 1972)

This small chest has been identified as a gambler's box. If so, the box was probably intended to hold rolled skin containers and painted gambling sticks, the shredded cedar bark in which they were shuffled, and the mat under which the sticks were shuffled and on which they were thrown for display. On the other hand, the box is the size and shape of well-documented shamans' chests in which rattles, amulets, and other objects of the profession were kept. Whatever its use, this chest is a fine example of northern Northwest Coast art and craftsmanship from the early historic period. (Holm, Spirit and Ancestor, 1987)

This is a replica of a Tsimshian memorial pole that once stood in the Nisga'a village of Gitlakhdamks in northern British Columbia. It was raised in memory of a deceased chief by his relatives as a public announcement that his successor was assuming his rank and privileges. Carved in 1880, the figures from bottom to top represent a humanoid bear; a bird (raven or mountain hawk); a sea-bear with a dorsal fin and upturned nostrils; and a human figure that grasps the dorsal fin of the sea-bear. This replica was carved by Bill Holm, 1971, based on photos of the original pole, which no longer survives.