Men in Vintage Photos

A real photo postcard for the Taylor-Tot Stroller Vintage Memories group. A street photographer evidently snapped this photo of a sailor and his family as they walked past a W. T. Grant Co. store in some unidentified town. The sailor and his wife seem surprised--and perhaps even annoyed--by the photographer, but their daughter seems to be excitedly holding on to a toy as she enjoys the ride in her Taylor-Tot stroller.

A vintage real photo postcard advertising a now old-fashioned type of washing machine. "Good Morning, Sir: Do you want to know how to make money? It is easy, if you know how. I made and sold washers for 25 years. Many dealers have made big money with my washer. You failed to do much with it. May I help you? All my experience is at your service and will make money for you. Do you want it? Yours for success, J. H. Knoll, Reading, Pa."

Or at least it looks like they're trying to drive away in "The Red Devil." Unfortunately, there aren't any clues regarding the origin of the devilish vehicle on this real photo postcard.

I haven't been able to locate any information regarding this jazzy bunch of musicians. "Susquehanna," though, suggests an association with the Susquehanna River , which flows through Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland. Or perhaps they were students at Susquehanna University , which is located in Selinsgrove, Pa.

A tipsy or drunk photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A souvenir real photo postcard presumably from Tijuana ( not "Tiajuana" with its extra "a"), Mexico, shows three intrepid travelers--all holding bottles--posing in front of a painted backdrop of a Pullman railroad car . Although this was obviously staged in a photo studio, something about the giddy expressions on their faces (especially those of the man on the right-hand side and the woman) suggests to me that they may actually have been imbibing before the photo was taken.

Mouse over the image above to see a close-up of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. W. Davidson . This real photo postcard doesn't bear a stamp or postmark but was addressed to: "Jessie Warner, Croton, Ohio." Handwritten message: "April 10, 1914. Dear Jessie, We wish you many more happy birthdays. Mr. and Mrs. Geo. W. Davidson, Croton." If you have any interest in vintage photos like this that show people posing in front of their homes, please consider joining my new group Vintage House-Proud People . Here are some more examples of this kind of photo:

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

A uniformed bandsman posing with his saxophones.

A front porch photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A group of 36 men and women assembled on and in front of the porch of a fraternity house. I found this photo at an antique mall in Pennsylvania, and judging by the "AKD" banner, the "State" pillow, and the "S[tate] 1910" pillow, this is probably the same men's social fraternity that William Raimond Baird described in Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities , 7th ed. (New York: College Fraternity Publishing, 1912), p. 572: "Alpha Kappa Delta--Organized May 4, 1909, at Pennsylvania State College [now Pennsylvania State University]. The membership is about 50. The badge is an oblong shield displaying the letters forming the society's name in the center in vertical order. The colors are orange and blue. It rents a house." Perhaps that's the house that the fraternity was renting. The AKD banner on the porch, interestingly enough, includes a skull and crossbones in its upper left-hand corner. And who are the young and middle-aged women in the photo? Girlfriends and chaperones? Students and profs? Today, Alpha Kappa Delta is the name of a sociology honor society founded in 1920. It would be interesting to know, however, what happened to this fraternity in the decade after this photo was taken.

See also the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

It's Party Time (Happy Birthday VPTP) . I propose a taffy pulling party to celebrate the third anniversary of the Vintage Photos Theme Park! These folks will show us how it's done! For more on taffy pulls and similar get-togethers, see Candy Stew, Candy Pull, and Other Pull Parties , a posting on culinary historian Patricia Bixler Reber's Researching Food History - Cooking and Dining blog. See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

A souvenir real photo postcard showing a group of riders on the inclined plane railway located on Mount Manitou in Colorado. The camera was tilted at an angle when this photo was taken, which made the slope seem steeper than it really was. To get an idea of the actual steepness of the slope, see the rotated version (below). -------- Printed on the back: "Mt. Manitou Park, Manitou, Colo. A thousand acre park on top of Mt. Manitou, 9,500 feet above sea level. Ten thousand square miles of scenery within the range of vision. Ten miles of trails through the parks and leading to points of interest. A trip up Mt. Manitou Scenic Incline--the longest, highest, and greatest railway of its kind in the world. A rise of one-half mile elevation in a ride of one and one-quarter miles."

A souvenir real photo postcard showing a group of riders on the inclined plane railway located on Mount Manitou in Colorado. This rotated version of the postcard gives an idea of the actual steepness of the slope. Since the camera was tilted at an angle when the photo was taken, the original photo (see below) made the slope seem steeper than it really was.

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

An aircraft photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. An early aircraft photo by Harpel, Lebanon, Pa. Four aviators, who are standing directly in front of the propeller and engine of their biplane, are surrounded by men and children. Other people are visible in the background. The biplane may be Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny," which is well known as the subject of the Inverted Jenny postage stamp error. See also a detail from this photograph showing a close-up of the aviators standing in front of the airplane (below).