Real Photo Postcards

A couple of "family pets" for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . Handwritten on the back of this real photo postcard: "Ray Mellott and his two pet geese." Handwritten notation added later by a postcard dealer: "Mercersburg, Pa." Mouse over the image above or select the thumbnail image below to see a close-up of the boy and his pet geese .

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

"Oscar G. Frederick" is written on the back of this real photo postcard. For a similar postcard, see World War I Soldier with Flag .

A vintage photo with uniforms for the ABC Group (5/2/2017). A real photo postcard showing four U.S. Navy sailors posing in front of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Looks like it was a windy day--the wide "tar flap" collars on the uniforms of two of the men are pushed up around the backs of their necks.

Mary Jane and Her Merry Melody Makers gave performances in Pennsylvania and other states in the 1940s. One newspaper ad billed the group as "A big company of maiden musicians with a comedian who gets laughs" ( Gettysburg Times , Oct. 1, 1943), and another described the show as a "program of dances, acrobatics, marimbas, songs, and comedy" ( Reading Times , Aug. 16, 1946). For other photos of the group on Flickr, see Rita's Mary Jane & Merry Melody Makers and Colin Aitchison's Mary Jane & Her Merry Melody Makers 1930's .

For a similar real photo postcard, see World War I Soldier Oscar G. Frederick with Flag .

A real photo postcard from the Penn Park Studio, York, Pa.

A real photo postcard from Penn Park Studio, York, Pa.

A real photo postcard showing some funny fellows using a fake cannon in mock combat.

A real photo postcard.

A real photo postcard showing a picnic scene with a ghostly double exposure.

A real photo postcard with a couple of usually down-to-earth military types mugging for the camera and pretending to drive (look at that big steering wheel!) an aeroplane.

On maneuvers and "in the army" with the Vintage Photos Theme Park group. A real photo postcard of a camp scene, probably dating to World War I. Soldiers are standing in line as they wait to get their chow at the ramshackle building at left. A young boy, who appears to be talking with some of the soldiers, is visible in the center of the photo. Situated along the fence to the right of the boy are some wooden baskets and a box from which the soldiers are evidently getting the plates and cups that many of them are holding. In the background are wall and pyramidal tents typical of those used in the First World War. Unfortunately, I don't have any information regarding the specific date and location of the photo.

Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "Elwood Nettleton, age 11, as he looked at his dancing class reception, April 1911." Interestingly, a brief biography of Edward L. Nettleton in A Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County , Volume 2, by Everett Gleason Hill (New York: Clarke Publishing, 1918), pp. 321-22, mentions a son named Elwood: "Elwood T. Nettleton, the third son, was born in West Haven in 1899 and is now attending the Sanford School at Redding Ridge, Connecticut." Since Elwood T. Nettleton would have turned 12 years old sometime in 1911, it's possible that this is a photo of the same Elwood Nettleton taken prior to his birthday that year.

Ducking under "umbrellas or parasols" over at the Vintage Photos Theme Park . Margaret Thomas of Peoria, Illinois, sent this real photo postcard to Jane "Jennie" Klinger of State College, Pa., in 1907. The "picnic at Bradley" notation along the right-hand edge of the postcard may indicate that the photo was taken at the Bradley Polytechnic Institute (now Bradley University) in Peoria. Peoria, Ill. 9/8/1907 Dear Jane, The umbrella is hardly big enough for two, like you and I, but as trees grow to be very old in that country we might someplace find a kindly shade that would suffice for such a pair. Wish I could be with you all today. Yours, Margaret Thomas Picnic at Bradley 9/2-1907 Addressed on the other side to: Miss Jennie Klinger State College Pa. Centre Co. Care Bathgates RR

A real photo postcard of two women, presumably participating in a parade of some sort, on a horse-drawn carriage profusely decorated with flowers. The woman on the left is holding the reins in one hand and a whip in the other, while the woman on the right is holding a parasol. The hat of a third woman, who may be riding on the far side of the carriage, appears to the left of the woman holding the reins. The figure of a man, apparently riding on top of another vehicle, is partially visible behind the carriage, and in the distance are telephone poles and what looks like the side of a mountain. There's a sign affixed to the building at left, but the letters are too small to make out what it says.

An undated real photo postcard. A woman walks down the street as Mr. Photobomb watches. Movie Shots photographers also operated in other cities, including Washington, D.C., and at the 1940 New York World's Fair. For examples of other photos taken by street and seaside photographers, see lisabee73's delightful album of Walking Pictures . For another Movie Shots photo, see Man with a Package, Movie Shots Photo, Philadelphia, Pa.

A real photo postcard of the tiny buildings in the Miniature City that once stood in Clinch Park near the Lake Michigan shore in Traverse City , Michigan. For some other postcards and photos, see my gallery of Miniature City, Clinch Park, Traverse City, Michigan images.