This scallop edged cabinet card was photographed by the esteemed John Fletcher Ford, a Pacific Northwest photographer associated with Ilwaco, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Oregon State University’s Archives West identifies Ford as a preacher and photographer who lived in Ilwaco from 1893 until his death in 1914. He operated a Portland photography studio from 1900 to 1908. His known work includes logging, fishing, landscapes, and lower Columbia River / Oregon-Washington subjects, which fits the wooded outdoor setting of this photograph very well. This is a striking antique cabinet card photograph by Ford, showing two well-dressed young men posed outdoors in a wooded setting, likely in the Pacific Northwest. The men stand beside a rustic wooden bridge or fence, surrounded by ferns, mossy branches, evergreens, and dense forest growth. Both wear dark suits with vests, ties, and broad-brimmed hats; one holds a walking stick or cane, while each has a decorative boutonniere or lapel ornament. The image has a strong turn-of-the-century outdoorsman / fraternal / friendship portrait quality, combining formal dress with a rugged woodland setting. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
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