The rodeo—that most uniquely American spectacle—began in the late 1800s as an entertaining way of displaying the skill and daring of cowboys. At a time when transportation and communication were, by today's standards, extremely limited, a rodeo in a small western town was a major event. This Contest is for Real Hands captures the drama and color of a old-time western rodeo, complete with bucking broncos, wild steers, trick riders, calf ropers, and parades down Main Street.

The 30 black-and-white photographs from vintage negatives were taken in the 1930s by Otho Hartley (1895-1964). Hartley was awarded compensation of $30 per month for a back injury he suffered while fighting in France in World War I. He used the money to attend the Illinois College of Photography. In 1921, Hartley moved with his wife to Deer Lodge, Montana, and spent the next 20 years making over 30,000 photographs that documented life in the West. Of these, more than 600 photographs are of rodeos.

Many of Hartley's rodeo photographs were made inside the arena itself, a situation that often put the photographer in grave danger. Somehow, amid the contorting broncos and half-crazed steers, he managed to keep the action within the viewfinder and in focus. The results are some of the best images of this largely bygone tradition, a tradition that Hartley captured in all its varied and unique aspects.

For the rodeo enthusiast and the uninitiated alike, informative and engaging labels will provide amusing annotations drawn from the popular press and literature of the sport.