Year by Year Catalog of A. S. Johnson Humor Cards
The earliest known humor cards of A. S. Johnson were designed and printed for the Waupun and Oshkosh, Wisconsin Homecoming events in the summer of 1908. They were his first, but they are among his most humorous and they are very creative. Except for the rain in the Merry Widows, these do not involve the photo manipulation techniques he used starting in 1909.
| And Still They Come | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| Any Old Way (Oshkosh) | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| Any Old Way (Waupun) | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| Come On In, The Water's Fine | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| Oshkosh or Bust | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| The Merry Widows Are On Time | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| The Merry Widows Were Caught in the Rain | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| The Old Boys Are Coming Home (Oshkosh) | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| The Old Boys Are Coming Home (Waupun) | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| The Pace Will Be Fierce | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| Whoop With Us | 1908 | RPPC | not copyrighted, not signed | |
| Oshkosh Homecoming Auto Parade | 1908 | RPPC |
The Crop of 1909 - Test Marketing
The titles of these earliest exaggeration cards were copyright registered in October and November 1909. They were distributed in the towns around Waupun as a test market. These early cards had the hand-printed titles of Crop of 1909 or Raised at ...Most were later printed and distributed nationally in the How We Do Things series. They were reprinted countless times for countless towns for many years.
Initially they were printed as RPPC versions. See the Morgan Williams Article for more information .
| Carp Caught in Beaver Dam Pond | 1909 | RPPC | Fishing | ||
| Catfish Caught in Beaver Pond | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Catfish Caught in River Ripon | 1909 | RPPC | R | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Red River Carp | 1909 | fishing | |||
| Rock River Carp | 1909 | RPPC | 1909 | Fishing | |
| Rock River Catfish | 1909 | RPPC | fishing | ||
| Fish caught in river: carp | 1909 | fishing | |||
| Grapes | 1909 | RPPC | 1909 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Apples | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fruit, auto |
| Cutting Cabbage | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Load of Cabbage | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Loading Cabbages | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Onions | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Our Corn | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Potatoes | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Some Tomatoes | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Sugar Beets | 1909 | RPPC | 30-Oct-09 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
.web.jpg)
1910 How We Do Things
In 1910, Johnson copyrighted and produced 23 additional titles the greater number of which were about fishing. Fishing has a long standing tradition of exaggeration and boasting, so it is a natural for the genre.
In the earliest cards, those copyrighted in February, Johnson used the longer version of his name, but shortened it in subsequent cards of the 1910 year. Some of these 1910 cards were first produced in RPPC format and later in printed form.
| Big Pike | 1910 | Feb-10 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | |
| Catfish | 1910 | Feb-10 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | |
| Pickerel | 1910 | Feb-10 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | |
| Up To Date | 1910 | Feb-10 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Transportation | |
| How Is This | 1910 | RPPC | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | |
| If My Pole Hadn't Broken | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | ||
| Just a Couple | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | ||
| Landing a Pike | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | ||
| My First Strike | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | ||
| Spearing Catfish | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | ||
| Two Hours Catch | 1910 | RPPC | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | |
| Was Game [He Was Game] | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | ||
| We Nearly Lost Him | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing | ||
| A Bushel of Strawberries | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit | ||
| A Big One | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Hunting | ||
| A Good Bag | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Hunting | ||
| Rabbits | 1910 | A. S. Johnson | Hunting | ||
| The Buck Fever | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Hunting | ||
| Cellery [sic] | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable | ||
| Digging Aspargus (sp) | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable | ||
| One of the Squash | 1910 | Alfred S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable | ||
| Our Cucumbers | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable | ||
| String Beans | 1910 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
1911 How We Do Things
In 1911, Johnson copyrighted and produced 15 additional titles including a large number of giant fruits.
| Brook Trout | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| A Bunch of Apples | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Apples | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Just Plums | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Melon Party | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Milking Time | 1911 | A. S. Johnson | |
| Musk Melons | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Our Kind | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Peaches | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Pears | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Some Ducks | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Hunting |
| Citron | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Onion Harvest | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Turnips | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Will It Go In? | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Winter Squash | 1911 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
1912 How We Do Things
In 1912, Johnson copyrighted and produced 26 additional titles the greater number of them were giant vegetables.
| Camp | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Enough For Dinner | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| How Much Will He Weigh? | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| They Bit Right | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Black Raspberries | 1912 | Fruit | |
| Blackberries | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Red Raspberries | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Strawberries | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Tomatoes | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Good Shooting | 1912 | Hunting | |
| Grouse | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Hunting |
| Wild Geese | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Hunting |
| A Close Shave | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| All Together | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Beating the Coal Trust | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Boy Scouts | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Carrots | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Early Onions | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Going to Market | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Green Peas | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Hard Work | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| My Treat | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Our Barn is Full | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Overloaded | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Plenty Potatoes | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Summer Squash | 1912 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
1913 Whole Lot of Fishin'
Johnson produced and registered 43 titles this year, fourteen of which involved fishing. He also introduced some unusual subjects such as chickens, frogs and snapping turtle.
| Caught With the Goods | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Eggs |
| Father Works | 1913 | unsigned | Hen/eggs |
| Dunnar Veter—Vot Iss | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Turtle |
| Kickers | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Frogs |
| Alfalfa | 1913 | unsigned | Farming |
| Hope to Meet you Soon in Waupun | 1913 | Pennant Message | Pennant |
| A Dandy | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| A Hard Pull | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| A Live One | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| A Narrow Escape | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Black Bass | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Dangerous | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Dipping Them Up | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Quick Returns | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Some Class | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Some Style | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| They Look Fierce | 1913 | Fishing | |
| This is No Dream | 1913 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Towing Him In | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| You Are Mine at Last | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fishing |
| Apple Butter | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Grapes | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Sliceing Tomatoes [sic] | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Strawberry Express No. 1 | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| The Cider Mill | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| White Grapes | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Fruit |
| Lunch | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Pig |
| Lunch) I am at Waupun but not in the pen | 1913 | ||
| A Tight Squeeze | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Billy Go To It | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Broke Down | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Cauliflower | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Cutting Corn | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Dill Pickles | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Green Corn | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Kohlrabi | 1913 | Vegetable | |
| Peanut Crop | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Rolling Them In | 1913 | A. S. Johnson Jr. | Vegetable |
| Sauerkraut | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Shooting the Shoots | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Squashing the Record | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| Strong Combination | 1913 | Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
| You Have Had Enough | 1913 | A. S. Johnson, Jr. | Vegetable |
1915 Scene on the Road
After a break in 1914 in new titles coinciding with the death of his father, Stanley came back into the business with a whole new subject: conflicts with automobiles and horse-drawn conveyances. This was a very real problem of the time and one with which people could relate and get a chuckle.
| Beware of the Water Wagon | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
| Held Up | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
| Homeward Bound | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
| Joy Ride | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
| The Milky Way | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
| The People We Met | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
| We Never Stop | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
| We Stopped Here | 1915 | A. S. Johnson | Scene on the Road |
Extending the 1915 Scene on the Road conflict with automobiles into another level of absurdity and humor, Johnson also referred back to one of his very first humor cards: Any Old Way. The boy riding a pig to homecoming in 1908 became the inspiration for a series of eight cards of people riding all manner of domestic farm animals. The point being that they had no need for an auto.
The "Who Cares" series does not have titles as the others do. That makes it difficult to put them in a proper place in the alphabetic listing. They are designated with the first eight letters of the alphabet.
Click here to reach the whole series - The Auto Series
| [Girl on Pig] | 1916 | G | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
| [Race Cart] | 1916 | H | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
| [Riding Cow] | 1916 | E | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
| [Riding Pig] | 1916 | D | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
| [Riding Sheep] | 1916 | F | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
| Scene on the Road [the A Card] | 1916 | A | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
| Some Road Lice Here | 1916 | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares | |
| Who Cares For an Auto | 1916 | B | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
| Who Cares For an Auto [pig] | 1916 | C | A. S. Johnson | Who Cares |
1917 The Way We Keep Cool at...
Creative ways to beat the heat.
| Annie | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
| Frits | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
| Jane | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
| Joe | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
| Our Hero | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
| Sunshine | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
| Triplets | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
| Let Go, I'm Not Jonah | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Cool |
1917 More Fishing
| A Boat Load | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| A Canoe Won’t Do | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| A Morning Catch | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| Good Morning | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| I Am Lonesome | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| Landing a Submarine | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| No Limit Here | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| No Room for Passengers | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| On Our Boat Landing | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| One at a Time Please | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| Six P. M. | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| The One That Got Away | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| Who's Caught | 1917 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
1918 Mixed
Fishing, Winter Scenes, and giant vegetables.
| A Daisy | 1918 | Fishing | |
| A Meal | 1918 | Fishing | |
| Help | 1918 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| Just Look | 1918 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| Still They Come | 1918 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| Digging Out | 1918 | snow | |
| I remember in '88 | 1918 | snow | |
| Ice Harvest | 1918 | A.S.J. | snow |
| Keep Track Clear | 1918 | A.S.J. | snow |
| Main St. | 1918 | snow | |
| No Dust | 1918 | A.S.J. | snow |
| On Time | 1918 | snow | |
| Sleet Storm | 1918 | snow | |
| Street Scene | 1918 | A.S.J. | snow |
| Track Is Clear | 1918 | snow | |
| Winter | 1918 | snow | |
| A Load of Celery | 1918 | A.S.J. | Vegetable |
| A Load of Cucumbers | 1918 | A.S.J. | Vegetable |
| Loading Peas | 1918 | A.S.J. | Vegetable |
| Marketing Potatoes | 1918 | A.S.J. | Vegetables |
1921 Even Bigger Fish
| I Caught a Few Small Ones Here | 1921 | Fishing | |
| I'm Having a Nice Quiet Time Here | 1921 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| It isn't Safe Fishing Around Here | 1921 | Fishing | |
| My First One | 1921 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| There's Some Fishing Around Here | 1921 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| This is No Place For a Nervous Person | 1921 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| This is the Kind I'm Catching | 1921 | A. S. Johnson | Fishing |
| You Are To Blame | 1921 | A. S. Johnson | Transportation |
| Pork is Going Down | 1921 | Fishing |
| Goodbye Old Stone Pile | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Home Sweet Home | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Long and the Short | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Our Ball Team | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Out For Air | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Tough Birds | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Welcome to Our City | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Will Be With You Soon | 1923 | A. S. Johnson | prison |
| Dinner With K. Y. W. | 1926 | Camping | |
| Hungry Oh Boy | 1926 | Camping | |
| This is the Life | 1926 | A. S. Johnson | Camping |
| Working Up An Appetite | 1926 | A. S. Johnson | Camping |
Additional Resources
Real Photo Post Cards and Catalog of Johnson Cards by Subject