A photograph of a giant potato grown in Colorado became an international sensation in the 1890s. It started innocently enough. Joseph B. Swan was a successful potato farmer in southeast Loveland. In October 1894, a committee appointed by the Larimer County Commissioners visited the Swan farm, measured an acre of the land, and watched as the potatoes were harvested and weighed. The acre yielded 25,816 pounds of potatoes!
To attract public attention, the local newspaper thought it would be funny to photograph the farmer (although some reports suggest it was the photographer’s father) with a very large potato. Photographer Arthur H. Talbot posed the man with a giant wooden potato. Word soon spread across the country about the giant potato. A New York City attorney sent a copy of the photo to the editors of Scientific American, and they published the image in their September 28, 1895, issue. According to the article, the potato of the Maggie Murphy variety was “28 inches long, 14 in diameter, and is said to weigh 86 lb. 10 oz., which is equivalent to the weight of 1-1/2 bushels of ordinary potatoes.”
A subsequent issue of the Scientific American noted : “The photo. picture of the mammoth potato we published on page 199 proves to be a gross fraud, being a contrivance of the photographer, who imposed upon us as well as others. An artist who lends himself to such methods of deception may be ranked as a throughbred knave, to be shunned by everybody.”
People from all over the world requested information on how to acquire seed to grow their own mammoth potatoes. Others purchased copies of the photograph for twenty-five cents each.
Albert H. Talbot was born on August 18, 1862, to Nathaniel H. Talbot and Susan Ann Eaton Talbot in Dedham, Massachusetts. The Talbot family moved to Evans, Colorado, in the mid-1870s, where Nathaniel operated a photography studio. Arthur studied telegraphy and worked in the field for ten years, with jobs in Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado.
Arthur married Miss Della Kempton on August 18, 1885, his 23rd birthday, in Longmont, Colorado. In the summer of 1892, Talbot opened a photograph gallery in Loveland, Colorado, operating out of a tent next to the Presbyterian church. He specialized in views and portraits. In 1893, Arthur’s sister, Almira S. Talbot, assisted in the gallery, where they offered crayon enlargements.
In late 1896, Talbot moved his studio to the photography gallery previously occupied by photographer Harold Fisk By June 1897, he had sold his studio to photographer Frank Reed. Reed’s tenure was short-lived, possibly because he did not advertise in the newspaper. In October 1897, Talbot was back working in his old studio on B Street. By December 1, 1898, Talbot had built a new studio at B and Fifth Streets. In 1899, Talbot purchased an Al Vista camera that took 180-degree panoramic photographs.
In 1900, Talbot bought new backgrounds for his studio. He displayed nearly 100 pictures of babies in his reception room. He sold Kodak cameras and also offered printing services for amateurs. In 1901, Arthur’s father moved to Loveland and helped with the photo studio. It is hard to determine who made the photos, as the mounts often credit only Talbot. In 1902, Talbot’s views were published in Loveland, Colorado, Illustrated, a view book showcasing the city’s businessmen. In 1903, Talbot began making flash light photos of interiors and night scenes of various businesses. That Christmas season, he offered a wide range of photo jewelry.
In 1915, Talbot moved to Trinidad, Colorado, where he worked for photographer Oliver Eugene Aultman. In the 1920s, Talbot relocated to Los Angeles, where he lived until his death on November 9, 1935.
More info about manipulated photographs through history: Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2012/faking-it
Thank you to Kellen Cutsford at the Denver Pubic Library for scanning the verso of the photograph.