Box 2 - MS 014-2-02-0626 to 1280

Container — Box: MS 014-2-02

Identifier: MS 014- series MS 014-2- otherlevel MS 014-2-02

Staff Only

Contains advertisements of businesses from across Kansas, a collection of pictures copyrighted by W. H. Martin, and various collections of postcards that feature the Anti-Horse Thief Association (A. H. T. A.), sod houses in Kansas, the Prohibition days in Kansas, Mexican pottery and pottery makers, Pawnee Rock and the Santa Fe Trail, C. W. Parker Amusement Devices, and calendars.

Dates

1857-1974

Extent

From the Collection: 10 Cubic Feet

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

W. H. "Dad" Martin, photographer from Ottawa, Kansas. The Martin photographs in this box are actual photos of a staged "Wild West" event for the National Editorial Assocation conference in Oklahoma City in 1905. The event took place on the Miller Brothers 101 Ranch in Bliss, Oklahoma. Geronimo, who was an Army prisoner from Ft. Sill at that time, was brought to the 101 Ranch to take part in the "Wild West" show, as were other Native Americans and cowboys. Martin copyrighted the photos in 1909.

Biographical / Historical A.H.T.A. (Anti-Horse Thief Association) - Started in 1854 and founded as a national organization in October 1863 in Missouri, the Anti-Horse Thief Association was not a vigilance or vigilante committee. They preferred to apprehend the criminals who would then receive their punishment through the court system. The Kansas Chapter was organized in Humboldt in 1882.

Biographical / Historical C. W. Parker - an amusement ride manufacturer that started in Abilene, Kansas as the C.W. Parker Amusement Company in 1896. His “Carry-Us-Alls” were made to be portable and featured wooden carved horses. After a dispute with the city of Abilene over property lines, Parker moved his factory to Leavenworth, Kansas in 1911. His designs became more grandiose, and also included other animals on the carousels. Parker died in 1932, and his son ran the company until it closed in 1955. (Information from the Dickinson County Historical Society)