Name/Title
Book, Odd WisconsinDescription
Soft cover book published by the Wisconsin Historical Press entitled "Odd Wisconsin." It is called "Amusing, Perplexing, and Unlikely Stories from Wisconsin's Past." On page 122 it tells of the story of Alfred Stanley Johnson and his wonderful postcards.
Odd Wisconsin" page 122 about Alfred Stanley Johnson and Waupun.
And You Thought Your Vegetable Garden Was Out of Control
August in Wisconsin for home gardeners and cooks often means bumper crops of zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more. As you think of clever ways to bless your neighbors with piles of squash, just imagine trying to deal with the vegetables that came from the imaginary garden of Alfred Stanley Johnson Jr., a Waupun photographer who specialized in the production of tall-tale postcards. In these images, produced between 1911 and 1917, Johnson staged friends and family inelaborate backgrounds that he embellished with enlarged vegetables and fruits.
Wisconsin bountiful soils were a primary selling point for town promoter seeking to lure new settlers and immigrants in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Immigrant guides lavishly praised the state's agricultural potential., often citing examples of amazing crop yields and profit earned in Chicago, Cleveland, and other eastern markets. Johnson's tall-tale postcards attributed the astounding agricultural achievements pictured to the fertility of Wisconsin soils and the skills of the local farmers.
Caption under photos: "There are plenty of potatoes for everyone.....
Crazy cows leap off the roads near Madison.Acquisition
Accession
2008.0011Source or Donor
Judith GatzkeAcquisition Method
Donation
