About This Page
This page is part of the Museum of Hoaxes' Hoax Photo Archive, a catalog of photo fakery throughout history. Images are categorized by theme, technique of fakery, and time period.
Hoax Museum Archives
Whopper Hoppers
Status: Either staged or composites.
Technique of Fakery: Staged Scene, Models and Cutouts.
Date and Time Period: circa 1935; (1920-1939)
Themes: Animals, Very Large Animals, Humor, Tall-Tale Postcards
Technique of Fakery: Staged Scene, Models and Cutouts.
Date and Time Period: circa 1935; (1920-1939)
Themes: Animals, Very Large Animals, Humor, Tall-Tale Postcards
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Giant grasshoppers were popular subjects for tall-tale postcards, particularly in the Great Plains during the 1930s where grasshoppers were a common pest.
The top photo shows a scene captured by an unknown photographer near Mitchell, South Dakota. Three men struggle to subdue "the largest grasshopper in existence." The "whopper hopper" appears to be a wooden model.
The bottom image was created by Frank D. "Pop" Conard of Garden City, Kansas. He was considered to be the master of the 'whopper hopper' genre of postcards. In this image by Conard, a farmer hauls out a particularly large hopper specimen.
The top photo shows a scene captured by an unknown photographer near Mitchell, South Dakota. Three men struggle to subdue "the largest grasshopper in existence." The "whopper hopper" appears to be a wooden model.
The bottom image was created by Frank D. "Pop" Conard of Garden City, Kansas. He was considered to be the master of the 'whopper hopper' genre of postcards. In this image by Conard, a farmer hauls out a particularly large hopper specimen.
References:
• Rubin, C.E. & Williams, M. (1990). Larger Than Life: The American Tall-Tale Postcard, 1905-1915. Abbeville Press.
• Rubin, C.E. & Williams, M. (1990). Larger Than Life: The American Tall-Tale Postcard, 1905-1915. Abbeville Press.
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