Postcard Memories is a weekly series of historic postcard views and photos submitted by Marcel Rousseau.
Some were previously published by the Orillia Museum of Art and History and in the book Postcard Memories Orillia.
Three of several “tall tale” or “exaggerated” postcards sold in Orillia in the 1940s. Originally produced in 1908 by photographer William H. Martin of Ottawa, Kansas, U.S.A.
The basic process for creating a tall tale picture is simple: a photographer would take two prints, one a background landscape and another, a close-up of an object, carefully cut out the second and superimpose it onto the first, and re-shoot the combination to create a final composition.
His gigantic fish, rabbits, cabbages and other subjects convey his exceptional attention to detail and perspective.
These postcards became so popular that his company was allegedly turning out over 10,000 postcards a day. These “trick” photos earned Martin a fortune.
Martin’s studio was active from 1908 to 1910 and he sold his business in 1912. This popular series of wildly exaggerated postcards was reproduced in Canada by the Canadian Postcard Co. Toronto.
Many of them mailed in the 1940s during a period when receiving a light-hearted, humorous note was a most welcome relief from the sobering events of the day.
