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Elsie Reford Fishing on the Metis River

Silver print showing Elsie Reford standing in a canoe at the river's edge. She is wearing a mid-length skirt, a white blouse, and a large elegant hat. She appears to be pulling on a large fishing pole. A man at the front of the canoe is lifting a large fish from the river with a long pole and hook.

Reford, Robert Wilson
C. 1900
Silver Print
Les Amis des Jardins de Métis Collection
NAC: 1998.10.10.36

Elsie Reford was able to make everything appear elegant. Whether it was fishing or gardening, she was also well turned out, sporting clothing that combined function and form. This is one of the earliest photographs of Elsie Reford on the Metis River, probably taken in the early 1900s. She has just landed a large salmon just below the first bridge that her guide is lifting out of the river with his gaff. Note the size of her waist, which appears to confirm what her staff said about her in their reminiscences years later, that Elsie Reford was able to maintain a 17 inch waist for much of her life.