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· Tall Tales from the Great Plains ·

#1 Are you old enough to remember road trip vacations down Route 66? How about the restroom breaks at service stations? I can still see the metal carousels advertising postcards for sale: 5 cents each, six for a quarter. One of my favorite cards was the Jackalope.

#2 Fast forward to my collection of exaggeration postcards. The all-time best photographer-publisher of these cards is William H. Martin. A hundred years before Photoshop, he called his work “trick photography.” Martin operated out of Ottawa, Kansas, and sold his cards throughout the nation.

#3 In 1909 Martin sold his photography studio and went into the postcard business full-time. 1909 was the apex of the Golden Years of Postcards. His company turned out 10,000 cards daily! In just over two years he sold seven million cards!

#4 Martin used a photo-montage technique. Each element of the scene was photographed, then elements from multiple photographs were cut and pasted together, and finally the resulting montage was re-photographed, creating a seamless effect.

#5 Martin’s cards are by far the best because he was able to show graphic action and imagination. Vegetables, fruits, and animals were his favorite subjects; ready-wit his dependable brand. Frontier settlers appreciated this humor when faced with scorching summers, drought, grasshoppers, and high interest rates.

#6 The farming communities of the Great Plains were especially receptive to exaggeration postcards. Many of these settlers felt like they had been tricked into believing the promotions of land companies, the railroads, and the hype of local newspapers.

#7 So the farmers continued the story: every year was a bumper crop and fortunes were made overnight. The tall tales were a continuation of the land of promise. Every farm was a bonanza. Note on reverse: “Farm life is some what discouraging in this part of the country.”

#8 The farms and the harvest grew larger and larger each time the story was told; the soil was fertile, rain was abundant, and livestock hardy. “A man could start out in the spring and plow a straight furrow until fall, then turn around and harvest back.”

#9 The copyrighted title of this card is “Judging Corn.” On another version of this card, Martin has replaced the “County Fair” banner with an advertisement for the Warner Fence Company. It operated out of Ottawa, Kansas, Martin’s home town.

#10 Farmers often boasted in cards and letters to families of record yields. On this 1908 Martin card, the sender writes from Minonk, Illinois to RR1, Conway Springs, Kansas: “Well Clifford we did not raise any sweet potatoes but we did raise corn this is a sample of it.”


#11 Some postcard collectors prefer cards in uncirculated condition. Not me. On reverse: “Postmarked Oct. 15, 1910 from Chicago to Peck, KS. This poetic inscription by Charlotte is music to my ears: “Down where the watermelons grow and its summer all the time.”
#12 Postmarked from Voran?, KS, and dated Sept. 11, 1909. It says: “Dear Sister, I tell you I am glad Fair is over(.) big crowd (for) Carrie Nation here yesterday (-) 3000 people(.) we are all well but children have colds & are worn out from a week on road(.) home(,) Harlan”

#13 When picture postcards were first introduced, it was predicted they would be a flop because there was so little room for messages, plus the message would be out in the open for anyone to read. But that was exactly what people wanted.

#14 With so little space, they didn’t need to write a long letter, and if the neighbors read their mail that was fine too. Adventurous fishing trips were newsworthy, and if the card was humorous then everyone could share the same laugh!


#15 F. D. Conard, a photographer in Garden City, Kansas, began creating and producing his own exaggeration cards in the mid-1930s. His subjects were gigantic grasshoppers and enormous jackrabbits. Conard said he did it for fun, not to give people a bad impression of Kansas.
#16 This 1937 photo card was worth saving. Sent from Great Bend to Emporia, it stated: “Well Bill(,) I couldn’t get picture of man riding grass hopper so got one where man using one to plow field (with). Do you think this one is large enough for you to ride? Huh.”

#17 “Garden City, KS 1943. Dear Mother: Left Okla City & got in here at seven. 355 miles. Had one flat (in town) and a little wire short but made the trip good. I am tired. (I) could not get a bed any place in town, was dis(re)gusted so went to the police station and told them to get me a bed or lock me up… Hope you are fine, Love, Mytle”

#18 This 1937 postcard is titled, “Grasshopper Shot Near Miles City, Montana.” It’s copyrighted by Coles Studio, Glasgow, Montana. It’s definitely one of my favorites. This photograph lives on today. If you check on the Internet, there are sites that will confirm that this is a hoax. Really? Really!

#19 I love that an exaggeration postcard from 1937 lives on today. This tabloid newspaper writes: “A 48-inch grasshopper chewed its way through an acre of corn before farmer Barry Gisler drew a bead on the creature with his 30-30 rifle—and shot it dead!”

#20 “This picture was shot with a telephoto lens just as they were startled by the cameraman’s presence. Jackalopes are the rarest animals in North America. A cross between a now extinct small deer and a species of rabbit, they are extremely shy and wild. None have been captured alive. This is a rare photo taken at their feeding grounds in the high country.
Until next time, happy writing and reading!
• Rubin, Cynthia Elyce & Williams, Morgan, Larger than Life: The American Tall-Tale Postcard, 1905-1915, copyright 1990, Abbeville Press, Inc.
• Welsch, Roger L., Tall-Tale Postcards: A Pictorial History, copyright 1976, A. S. Barnes and Co. Inc.
What fun to find these old treasures. A laugh a day would keep the blues away. Thanks for sharing your collection.
Thanks for your comment. Recently I’ve become aware of an author, Ransom Riggs, who writes novels using old photos to help create the story.
Are you back from your research trip to Cuba? Would love to hear about it.
You will. I am still in Miami. Home tomorrow.
What would it take for you to be the speaker at D5’s April meeting?
Great story and I love the postcards.
Thanks for your comment. It really is fun to share fun. Stories are everywhere!
Love your new blog on Exaggerated Postcards. GREAT FUN. You do a beautiful job with your blog. All the best to you.
Thanks, Hal! Yes fun is important.
Really interesting and humorous post card. Thanks for the look backward.
Thanks for the comment, Fred. I guess people used to laugh at exaggeration postcards the way we laugh at (some) Facebook posts.
Jim, our age is showing. Fred
In so many ways!
I used to share stories about Jackolopes. The kids and I laughed at the possibilities. Thanks for sharing the postcards.
Are you still telling stories on stage? I know you’ll always be telling stories to friends.
Hi Jim, occasionally I tell on stage but mostly just enjoy time with friends and family.
After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, STORIES are the thing we need most.
Letty’s website of stories –
https://literallyletty.blogspot.com
I am John Siemsen
My father is the man with the grasshopper on his truck. His name is John O Siemsen. That picture was taken at the corner of Main and Railroad Ave Garden City Ks. The building in the background is still standing. You can call my cel 620 640 3243 or e mail or txt
I am John Siemsen. My father is the man with the grasshopper on his truck. His name is John O. Siemsen. That picture was taken at the corner of Main and Railroad Ave, Garden City, KS. The building in the background is still standing.
Hello John,
Thank you for contacting me. It was great visiting with you. It’s nice to learn that even as a small child you were aware of the Frank Conard exaggeration postcard with your father in it.
Jim
I inherited” Carving one of our watermelons” from my grandmoher in the 60’s. Copyright 1909 Martin Post card co. It is in great condition as I took great care of it. Is is worth anything?
Deb, I LOVE exaggeration postcards. Martin was the best! You would think that a piece of art from over a hundred years ago would be worth a lot but,since Martin published millions of postcards, and since there are fewer and fewer collectors, selling your postcard won’t make you rich. A lot of Martins can be purchased on e-bay or at shows for $5-$15, however your card shows some African Americans which increases the price a bit. I’ll guess $20 or so if you were going to sell it, and found the right person. (Remember, as with all collectibles, the better the condition, the higher the price.) Actually, considering that this was a penny-postcard and it may be canceled, that’s quite a return on someone’s money. The real value of your card is that when you look at it, you remember your time with your grandmother. Jim