Nancy Ford Cones (September 11, 1869 – January 3, 1962) was an early photographer from

Loveland, Ohio Loveland is a city in Hamilton, Clermont, and Warren counties in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. Considered part of the Greater Cincinnati area, Loveland is located near exit 52 off Interstate 275, about northeast of the Cinc ...

, where she documented country life.

Biography

Born in

Milan, Ohio Milan ( ) is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Erie County, Ohio, Erie and Huron County, Ohio, Huron counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,367 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is best known as the birt ...

in 1868, Cones was a doctor's daughter. When she was 25, her father sent her to a photographic studio to learn how to retouch after which she began taking photographs herself in the pictorial style. Impressed by her early work, her father bought her an interest in a studio in

Mechanicsburg, Ohio Mechanicsburg is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,644 at the 2010 census. History Mechanicsburg was platted in 1814. The village was so named for the fact a large share of its settlers worked as mechan ...

. In 1900, she married James Cones, also a photographer, who assisted her with darkroom work, frequently using the

gum bichromate Gum bichromate is a 19th-century photographic printing process based on the light sensitivity of dichromates. It is capable of rendering painterly images from photographic negatives. Gum printing is traditionally a multi-layered printing process, ...

printing process. The couple first moved to

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

where they ran a studio together before settling at Roads Inn farm near

in 1905. That year, with a photograph title "Threading the needle", Cones finished second to

Eduard Steichen Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography. Steichen was credited with tr ...

in an

Eastman Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

competition which attracted 28,000 entries. Her "Calling The Ferryman" came in first in the ''Photo-Era'' contest in 1907. Most of her photographs were of family and friends on the farm. They proved popular for the advertising campaigns of Eastman Kodak,

Bausch & Lomb Bausch + Lomb is an eye health products company based in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the world's largest suppliers of contact lenses, lens care products, pharmaceuticals, intraocular lenses, and other eye surgery products. The compan ...

and other camera firms. Some of them also appeared in ''

Country Life in America ''Country Life in America'' was an American shelter magazine, first published in November 1901 as an illustrated monthly by Doubleday, Page & Company. Henry H. Saylor was the initial managing editor, and Robert M. McBride started his career at thi ...

'' and ''

Woman's Home Companion ''Woman's Home Companion'' was an American monthly magazine, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s. The magazine, headquartered in Springfield, O ...

''. In 1926, the couple spent a year in

Mariemont, Ohio Mariemont (pronounced ) is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. It includes two overlapping historic districts, Village of Mariemont and Mariemont Historic District. Named for its founder, Mary Emery, Mariemont exhibits English ...

, where they had been commissioned to photograph the new town."Nancy Ford Cones Gallery"
, Greater Loveland Historical Society. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
Mariemont Schools. Retrieved 20 March 2013. Nancy Cones' interest in photography came to an end after her husband's death in 1939. She remained on the Loveland family farm where she died in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cones, Nancy Ford Photographers from Ohio 1869 births 1962 deaths People from Loveland, Ohio People from Milan, Ohio 19th-century American photographers 20th-century American photographers 20th-century American women photographers 19th-century American women photographers