$190,235,814 For Dairy Products
Date: 1917
Promotional brochure designed as a talk to encourage the construction of good roads in the state of Kansas highlighted by comparable rural roads in Wisconsin that promote farm crop and diary production.

Adolph Roenigk
Date: Between 1905 and 1910
A studio photograph of Adolph Roenigk with an unidentified boy holding coconuts. Roenigk includes a letter addressed to George W. Martin, secretary of the Kansas Historical Society, indicating the photograph was taken during a trip to the Tropics.

Agricultural exhibit, fair, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
This photograph shows an agricultural exhibit at a fair in Finney County, Kansas. The exhibit includes a variety of farm crops, produce, and various articles made from wheat or grass.

Agricultural fair exhibit, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
The photograph shows an agricultural exhibit at a fair in Finney County, Kansas. The exhibit includes decorative wheat, wheat sculptures, fruits and vegetables.

A handbook of useful information for immigrants and settlers
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1880-1889
Published by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, this pamphlet encouraged agricultural settlement on railroad lands in Kansas by glorifying the state's natural resources including water, soil, mineral deposits and plant life. Printed by the Kansas Farmer in Topeka, Kansas.

A Kansas bungalow
Creator: Martin, William H., 1865-1940
Date: 1909
This photomontage or exaggerated postcard shows an African-American family standing in front of a giant watermelon that resembles a home. It was used as an advertising item for the Palace Clothing Company for a raincoat sale being held in the Arts Building of the Topeka Fair Grounds. It is an example of the racial stereotypes and prejudice that was commonplace in American culture.

Alfred Mossman Landon
Date: c. 1936
This photograph shows Alfred Mossman Landon with daughter, Nancy Jo, and son, John Cobb, at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson, Kansas. Landon served as tthe 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937.

Apple harvest at Edward L. Knapp's Spring Glen Farm in Maple Hill, Kansas
Date: 1899
Two photographs of a group of men at Spring Glen Farm, owned by Edward L. Knapp in Maple Hill, Kansas, processing harvested apples. They are identified as: Edward Knapp, Archie Wylie, unknown, Floyd Harkins, and unknown. The little girl, seated, is Ethel Knapp.

Apple tree, Shawnee County, Kansas
Date: 1936
This black and white photograph shows drought damage to an apple tree in Shawnee County, Kansas.

Arkansas Valley Guide, Southwest Kansas
Creator: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company
Date: 1878
This circular would be free to any address. Its purpose was to promote the development of the Arkansas River Valley in southwest Kansas. It tells of the agricultural progress of the nine counties in the Valley from 1872 to 1878. These counties are Harvey, McPherson, Sedgwick, Reno, Rice, Barton, Pawnee, Edwards, and Rush. Statistics shown for grain crops are for wheat, corn, rye, oats and barley. For livestock, statistics are for horses, mules, milk cows, other cattle, sheep and swine. Other subjects covered are timber, fruit trees, and hedges; water power; climate, and fruit growing. Examples of purchase prices and terms of sale are presented.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's fruit acution house, Chicago, Illinois
Date: Between 1940 and 1949
This photograph shows two gentlemen standing in front of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's fruit auction house at 22nd and Archer Avenue in Chicago, Illinois.

A. W. Johnson and Isabella Johnson to Robert S. Wickizer
Creator: Johnson, A. W.
Date: March 24, 1875
In this letter to his cousin, A. W. Johnson relates news from his homestead near Osage Mission, Neosho County. Johnson describes the grasshopper plague in vivid terms, and also mentions how the recent hard times in Kansas should not discourage emigration into the state. In fact, he goes so far as to state that now is the time to come, since land is cheap and the spring weather is "deliteful[sic]." Johnson also states, however, that the price of corn is high, and that high prices on goods make it difficult for him to support his family.

Bartlett's vineyard, Garden City, Finney County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: Between 1890 and 1900
This photograph shows two men standing in Bartlett's vineyard in Garden City, Finney County, Kansas.

Charles W. Cook farm, Logan County, Kansas
Date: Between 1890 and 1910
This photograph shows a man posing by fruit trees in the orchard of Charles W. Cook's farm in Logan County, Kansas. The farm was located south of Oakely, Kansas.

Children's wagon pulled by turkeys
Date: Between 1905 and 1915
Two small children with a wagon full of gourds pulled by turkeys in Nortonville, Kansas.

Cleaning melon and cucumber seed at Deerfield, Kearney [Kearny] County, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: November 18, 1895
This is a photograph showing farmers cleaning melon and cucumber seeds in the Arkansas River near Deerfield, Kearny County, Kansas.

Display at Finney County Fair, Kansas
Creator: Wolf, Henry L. 1850-1924
Date: 1890
The photograph shows I.L. Diesem's home as a model and crop display at the Finney County Fair in Kansas in 1890.

Do you believe in keeping Kansas kash in Kansas?
Creator: Kansas Publicity Bureau
Date: Between 1910 and 1930
A small leaflet encouraging people to "Buy Kansan." It states that Kansas is first in many things such as college students, wheat, zinc smelting, and apple seedlings. It also compares the recent solar eclipse to Kansas' future growth.

Drought report to Governor Landon
Creator: Kansas. State Board of Agriculture. Division of Water Resources
Date: August 28, 1936
This report by Ogden Jones, a geologist for the State Board of Agriculture, includes detailed information about the effects of the drought that struck Kansas during the 1930s and spawned the Dust Bowl. Jones cites precise figures about water levels in major rivers and wells, in addition to information about crops such as winter wheat, sorghum, oats, hay, rye, and fruits (apples, grapes, etc…). The report also contains maps.

Drouthy Kansas
Creator: Worrall, Henry
Date: 1878
This painting by Henry Worrall, completed in 1878, challenges the assumption that Kansas was part of the "Great American Desert." Although there had, indeed, been a severe drought during 1860, Worrall believed that Kansas did not deserve this harsh reputation. In the foreground, his painting depicts the bountiful harvests of grain, watermelon, and potatoes, while the background includes rain showers and a rainbow stretching across the horizon. Although Worrall was a very productive artist, "Drouthy Kansas" quickly became his most famous work.

Eating watermelon, Bourbon County, Kansas
Date: August 13, 1911
This black and white photograph shows a group of people eating watermelon in Bourbon County, Kansas.

Eating watermelon, Wichita, Kansas
Date: Between 1940s and 1950s
This black and white photograph shows twin girls eating watermelon at a unidentified home in Wichita, Kansas.

Emigrants' guide to the Kansas Pacific Railway lands
Creator: Kansas Pacific Railway Company
Date: April 1871
A railroad company advertisement to emigrants promising cheap, abundant and good land for agricultural purposes.

Exaggerated photograph
Creator: Beck, Hezekiah
Date: 1888
This exaggerated photograph shows a gentleman, possibly A.B. Arment, posing with a giant ear of corn and an oversized watermelon. Arment operated a furniture store at 1007 South Main Street, Winfield, Kansas. He was using it as advertisement.

Fair bulletin
Creator: Miami County Agricultural and Mechanical Association
Date: September 1896
This fair bulletin lists the entertainment, activities, and exhibits that will be available at the Miami County fair in Paola, Kansas. Attractions include a mechanical department, a ladies' department, livestock exhibit, horse races, a poultry exhibit, live music, and fruit, floral, and vegetable displays. Fair officers are J. F. Donahoe, president, and G. P. Leavitt, secretary.