When we go after anything we get it - William H. Martin

A humorous tall-tale postcard from 1907 by William H. Martin, featuring a staged composite photograph of motorists chasing a giant jackrabbit.

William H. Martin was a photographer based in Ottawa, Kansas, who gained recognition for his humorous, staged postcards during the early twentieth century. This specific work, titled 'When we go after anything we get it', is a classic example of the tall-tale photography genre. These images were created by combining multiple negatives to produce surreal, exaggerated scenes that played upon the American fascination with the frontier and the rapid advancement of automotive technology.

The composition depicts a group of men in early motorcars chasing a jackrabbit of gargantuan proportions. The rabbit is shown being lassoed by the occupants of the lead vehicle. The technical execution involves a composite printing process, where the oversized animal was superimposed onto the photographic plate containing the cars and the rural terrain. This method allowed Martin to craft visual narratives that defied physical reality, providing entertainment for a public eager for novelty in the burgeoning postcard market.

Martin's work captures a specific moment in cultural history when the automobile was transitioning from a luxury curiosity to a transformative force in rural life. By placing these machines in a context of absurd hunting, he subverted the seriousness often associated with early industrial progress. The sepia-toned finish and the visible grain are characteristic of the gelatin silver process used during this period. The image serves as a record of the creative manipulation techniques employed by photographers before the advent of digital editing. It remains a curious artefact of early American popular culture, reflecting the wit and technical ingenuity of the era's commercial photographers.