Masked Photos in Different Shapes

A Vintage Photos Theme Park contribution for the theme of shaped photos--ovals, circles, hearts, leaves, etc. Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "W. G. Kirtiklis Photo Studio, 103 N. Wyoming Street, Hazleton, Pa., Bell 'Phone 26 J." Two unidentified gents (just joking, of course, about the Erikson and Garrett names) appear in this leaf-shaped image. See below for other photos that use some familiar--and some unique--shapes. For additional examples, take a look at the gallery of Masked Photos in Different Shapes that I compiled over on Flickr.

Another leaf-shaped photo. See also Leaf Erikson and Leaf Garrett (below).

Two little girls who were obviously the apples of someone's eyes when this photo was taken.

A strangely shaped photo of a dressed-up fellow.

An oddly shaped photo of Greene High School in Greene, New York, which was built in 1902. I haven't been able to determine whether the building is still standing.

"Move the sun please, we just can't help squinting. M.C.L." A real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Mr. Earl Cady, Laramie, Wyo., and postmarked in Laramie on April 27, 1909. For other squinty photos, see the Flickr group Squinting at the Sun. Vintage Photographs .

What appears to be an odd game of hide-and-seek in a spooky forest is captioned "Peek-a-Boo, July 3, 1908," on the front of this real photo postcard. The image's irregular edges add to the strangeness of the scene. The imprint on the back—"W. W. Deatrick, Kutztown, Pa."—identifies this as a photo by William Wilberforce Deatrick (1853-1925), who was a longtime faculty member at what is now Kutztown University . Additional examples of Deatrick's photos are available for viewing in the Kutztown University Postcard Collection . See also " W. W. Deatrick Left His Mark at Kutztown ," an article by George M. Meiser that appeared in the Reading Eagle , April 6, 1983.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of grandma and/or grandpa with the grandchildren / sitting on grandpa or grandma's lap . A real photo postcard showing a baby and two men--looks like the kid's father and grandfather--posing on a studio mockup of the City of Toledo , which was a steamship that plied the waters of Lake Erie between Toledo and Put-in-Bay, Ohio, beginning in the 1890s.

Yet another Halloween photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard with a Halloween portrait of kids (including twins?), a cat, and a jack-o'-lantern all posing on the front porch (see also a cropped version of the photo). The family sent this as a Christmas greeting (notice the decorative holly leaves and berries added at the bottom) to Miss Geneva B. Haley, Cornish, Maine. The card was postmarked in Brunswick, Maine, on December 17, 1943. Handwritten message on the other side: "Yours was a lovely card. Peter read it to the other children. It's their favorite Christmas carol. Greetings from all, Cecil & Marion." I don't recall ever seeing any other Halloween-themed Christmas cards.

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

A cyanotype real photo postcard for the Vintage Photos Theme Park theme of pick a particular format (daguerreotype, cabinet card, CDV, real photo postcard, cyanotype, slide, Polaroid, or what have you?) . Handwritten message: "It's been a long time since we saw this, and we will never see it again. I'm sorry it has been destroyed. I haven't forgotten the promised pictures of St. L. You shall have them some day. Yours, J.W." Addressed on the other side to Miss Virginia Stone, Pulaski, Va., and postmarked at Tazewell, Va., on Jan. 24, 1907 (the year is illegible on this card but I have another St. Louis cyanotype from J.W. that was postmarked on Aug. 25, 1907). J.W. and Miss Virginia Stone were two of the more than 19 million people who visited the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. The Ferris Wheel that's visible in this blue-tinted cyanotype photo was originally constructed in 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair . The wheel was disassembled in Chicago, transported to St. Louis, and rebuilt in time for the fair in 1904 (mouse over the image above for an enlarged view of the Ferris Wheel ). After the St. Louis World's Fair ended, the Ferris Wheel met its fate on May 11, 1906, when it was dynamited and sold for scrap. "It's been a long time since we saw this," said J.W. in his note to Virginia in 1907, "and we will never see it again. I'm sorry it has been destroyed." The Missouri Historical Society's World's Fair Ferris Wheel album on Flickr contains photos showing the installation and demolition of the wheel.

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

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of trick or treat (go crazy with this one and post as many photos as you want--no limit! Halloween, costumes, masks, skeletons, devils, human monsters, things that go bump in the night, ghostly apparitions, or anything you find scary or creepy) . These two are posing for a picture as they pick pumpkins in preparation for Halloween (take a look at a close-up of the couple ). The windmill scene seems like a strange selection for use as a background for pumpkin pickers.

See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

A real photo postcard with a CYKO stamp box on the back that suggests a date between the 1900s and 1920s. The fellow in the photo doesn't seem to be too happy about the New Year.

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

"Happy New Year — 1911 — from the Morgans." A real photo postcard greeting from the Morgan family, location unknown.

A mothers and babies photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A fashionably dressed mother with a gentle smile poses for a picture as she holds her baby, who's staring in wide-eyed astonishment at something off camera. This is an undated real photo postcard from Paris, France (based on a partial address— Ave. de Neuilly —stamped on the other side). See also the full version of this photo.