Men in Vintage Photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of amusement parks . Signs: "Kevin the Konjuror, Storyland Magician. World Renowned Kevin the Konjuror Performing Every Hour on the Hour Free." This is an undated photo of "Kevin the Konjuror" taken during a performance at one of the Storyland amusement parks. I'm not sure which Storyland this was, however, since there was a Storyland in Pennsylvania, a Storyland in Ontario, and there's still a Story Land in New Hampshire.

Two couples pose for a souvenir photo in front of the Plymouth Rock Portico that houses the historic Plymouth Rock at Pilgrim Memorial State Park in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White designed the granite portico, which was completed in 1921. This is an unused real photo postcard without any stamp box or other identifying details. For a view of the rock itself, see Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1965 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tourist attractions (the quirkier the better) . Sign in background: "Dinosaur Land Restaurant and Carry-Out. Gifts." An undated snapshot of a man and woman posing among the inhabitants of Dinosaur Land in White Post, Virginia.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of perfect family portrait (family members trying to look good) . Photographer's name on this nineteenth-century cabinet card photograph: "F. B. Zay, Findlay, O. FBZ." Frederick B. Zay (1842-1910) of Findlay, Ohio, took this photo of an unidentified family. The parents and their nine children are all nicely dressed, and the photographer has arranged them carefully in front of a nondescript backdrop.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of sitting on the grass . Handwritten message on the other side: "To Kate. I suppose you know who these are. Ellsworth and his wife. I've forgot whether I've ever sent you any before or not but will send this any-way." This real photo postcard bears no date or postmark, but the type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side suggests that it dates between 1904 and 1918.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of sporting events or competitions . Handwritten caption: "Gym Interior. '14." Two men are taking part in a boxing match as a small group of onlookers surround them. That's what I thought this small photo showed until I scanned and enlarged it. It turns out that the two young men in the middle are just pretending to throw punches, and eight others are watching the boxers or pretending to engage in their own exercises. One fellow is just standing with his arms crossed, another is lifting small wooden dumbbells on either side of his head, a third is starting to climb a pole, and two guys are getting ready to throw Indian clubs. At the far end of the gym behind the main group is a fellow sitting on a pommel horse. The blurred figure on the left is someone else who was walking or running as the photo was taken, and a tenth young man is sitting by himself near the piano in the right-hand corner. There's no indication, unfortunately, where this gym may have been located.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of police officers . A Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) trooper holds a cigarette in his right hand as he leans against a car to pose for a picture. His uniform includes a keystone-shaped PSP patch on his left shoulder, and he has a PSP campaign-style hat (worn with the strap in the front underneath the chin). Beyond the trooper and car is a brick building with a Texaco Star gas pump. There's no date on the photo, and I haven't been able to determine where the photo may have been taken.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of caught unaware . A handwritten note on the other side of this photo explains the location: "On the Brooklyn Bridge looking towards N.Y. City. The World building being visible through the left hand arch." The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, and the New York World Building was completed in 1890. It's likely that this card-mounted photograph (a 3½-by-4½-inch photo on a 4¼-by-5¼-inch card) dates to the 1890s or 1900s. The five pedestrians -- all men -- visible in the photo don't appear to be aware that their picture has been taken. See also the full version of this photograph.

For more information, see the cropped version of this photo,

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cut out or crossed off (a photo altered to remove someone or something) . An arm, hand, and wristwatch are all that remains of the fellow who was sitting on the couch with this young woman in 1966.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly topic of family gatherings for Thanksgiving or other occasions . A family pauses for a photo before they dig in to their Thanksgiving dinner. Despite the turkey, pies, and other dishes on the table , my eye was drawn to the kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling, the elaborate design of the wallpaper in the background, and the cylinder phonograph hidden in the shadows on the sideboard. See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of these items. For another photo with a similar phonograph, see Young Man Posing with an Edison Cylinder Phonograph . This is a real photo postcard with a divided back (introduced in 1907) but no stamp box, address, or message.

Note the cylinder phonograph on the sideboard, the kerosene lamp on the right, and the wallpaper in the background, See also the full version of this photograph and a photo of a similar cylinder phonograph .

A close-up view of the turkey, pies, and other dishes set out for a family's early twentieth-century Thanksgiving dinner (or at least it looks like a Thanksgiving meal). See also the full version of this photograph.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of piercing, unusual, or distinctive eyes (a photo featuring someone or something -- a person, animal, or face-like object -- with expressive eyes) . An early twentieth-century photo of two men, one sitting on a bench and one standing, with a bush or tree behind them. The fellow on the bench looks alert, with a piercing stare, while the one who's standing seems drowsy with half-closed eyes. See a cropped version of the photo for a close-up view of the two men. This is an unused real photo postcard with no address, message, date, or stamp box. Printed on the other side: " J. A. Campbell , 373 Court St., Binghamton, N.Y."

The man on the left is looking at the camera with a piercing stare, while the one on the right seems drowsy with half-closed eyes. See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of on the street where you live (people outdoors in a residential setting) . For this week's theme I was looking for a photo that was clearly taken in a residential setting (like Women in Suburbia, 1963 ) or maybe one that showed a scene from a street not far from where I live ( Revolutionary War Monument, Middletown, Pa., 1931 would qualify). I wasn't having much luck until I came across this snapshot. I'm not sure why this fellow is perched so precariously on the top step of a ladder (while holding his hat in one hand and a cigarette in the other, nonetheless!), but he's obviously outdoors in someone's yard. The street in the background isn't one I live on, but it must be a residential area judging by the houses. There's a car parked along the street. Even though the photo isn't sharp enough to make out the details, I can tell that there are a number of people in the car. Perhaps they're waiting for the photo session to end -- or the guy to fall off the ladder -- so they can depart the scene.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of pick your own (post a photo depicting your favorite theme from the past year) . As my favorite of the year, I'm choosing the theme of pick a particular format (daguerreotype, cabinet card, CDV, real photo postcard, cyanotype, slide, Polaroid, or what have you?) . And among those formats, I'm selecting real photo postcard , as I did previously in March (see Foursome Flying over Long Beach, California, 1914 ). I took a quick look at my postings to the Vintage Photos Theme Park during 2023, and I discovered to my surprise that the majority of my weekly contributions -- more than thirty! -- were real photo postcards . This photo postcard, captioned "One Minute Churn, L. H. Chambers, Cumberland, Md.," shows Lorenzo Hazell Chambers (1877-1958) standing next to a mechanical butter churn . He has a wide grin on his face, and he's resting his left hand on top of the churn. Perhaps Chambers intended to use this card as an advertisement for selling churns (the One-Minute Churn Company solicited sales agents -- see the company's ad below), even though the photo quality is poor and the image seems quite cloudy. This real photo postcard is unused, without any address, message, stamp, or postmark. The Kruxo stamp box design on the other side suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1908 to 1910. Also printed on the verso: "The C. C. Bickert Post Card Co., Hagerstown, Md." The following advertisement for the patented One-Minute Churn appeared in Hardware magazine, April 10, 1905, p. 11. Butter in One Minute The only perfect milk and cream aerator churn in the world, making the best granular butter from sour or sweet cream in a minute -- which we guarantee -- is the One Minute Churn. Protected by 57 patents. Its construction is perfect in every detail. All parts interchangeable and carried in stock. Easy to run, holding 1 quart to 13 gallons. For farm and family use. Our Catalogue tells all. Mention Hardware . Agents wanted. Cable address: "Minute" or "Murphite" New York. I. M. Murphy, president. The One Minute Churn Co., Inc., 9 Old Slip, New York, U.S.A.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of hand colored . Handwritten caption on the other side of this photo: "Emily and George Sexsmith, Echo Park (McArthur Park), Los Angeles (about 1930)." This is a hand-colored photo of Emily (Dippel) Sexsmith (1911-2006) and George Sexsmith (1908-1991) in a canoe, circa 1930. The handwritten caption on the other side of the photo notes the setting as "Echo Park" with "McArthur Park" in parentheses, but it's likely that it's really Westlake Park, which in 1942 was renamed MacArthur Park (not "McArthur," as misspelled in the caption). The park was also the subject of Jimmy Webb's popular song, "MacArthur Park," recorded in 1968 by Richard Harris.