Occupational cabinet card photographs of Wisconsin lumbermen

Spooner, Wisconsin, 1905.

Four card-mounted photographs, each measuring approximately 7" x 5". One of the cards is blind-stamped "L. L. Richardson, Spooner, Wis." and one has a later annotation on the reverse, "Shell Lake Lumber / Spooner, Wisconsin." The photographs are in nice shape; there is some wear and soiling to the cards; one card has a marginal dampstain.

The photographs show:

* Seven lumberjacks posed on a small dock with an axe, adze, and two-man crosscut saw,

* Five lumberjacks resting on a large log in front of what appears to be a very large hoist or crane,

* Two lumberjacks posing in front of a 15-foot high log pile taking a break from stripping bark, and

* Two lumberjacks posing with a two-horse team in a snowy clearing. L. L. Richardson was a Walworth County photographer who worked from a shop in Spooner between 1905 and 1906.

Shell Lake Lumber was the largest lumbering company in the region during the early 1900s. The rivers and streams in this area of Wisconsin were not suitable for transporting logs, so the area's forests remained virtually untouched until the arrival of the railroad in 1880, after which a large sawmill was built. The company operated a number of mobile logging camps throughout the region that moved from place to place to harvest new stands of timber. The yellow pine harvested by Shell Lake was highly prized and commanded a significant premium for its superior girth, height, and exceptionally straight and clear bodies.