Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of light leaks . The photo's light leaks and flaws create a ghostly mist, obscuring the man and woman standing beneath a wall plaque. The inscription on the memorial plaque honors Levi W. Mengel (1868-1941) and offers his recommendation for "the best way to find the meaning of things" (see text below). According to the brief article in Wikipedia , Mengel "was an entomologist from Reading, Pennsylvania. He was director of the Reading Public Museum. He was a member of the Peary expedition to Greenland of 1891–92." This is the inscription on the plaque, which is still displayed in the Reading Public Museum: In Memory Of Levi W. Mengel, Sc.D., L.L.D. Scientist * Educator * Philanthropist Founder of the Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery "The Best Way to Find the Meaning of Things Is to Begin to Know by Personal Experience."

A complimentary ticket for a social party at Beck's Hall on February 22, 1867. The occasion may have been a celebration of Washington's Birthday , but I haven't been able to determine the location of Beck's Hall. Compliments of the Managers of a Social Party At Beck’s Hall Friday Evening, February 22, 1867. Managers. John B. Kuss, A. Allison, Phil. Vollmer Floor Managers. Will. H. Meffert, Geo. Dahl, Jacob Meffert

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly theme of Halloween . A kid dressed as a bunny rabbit for Halloween sits between a grinning jack-o'-lantern and an open box of Cracker Jacks. The photo is dated "Oct. 58," but there's no indication of a location.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fun-loving folks . Stamped in ink on the back of this photo: "Made by Geo. W. Boas, 636 First St." George Washington Boas (1863-1951), who lived at 636 First Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, took this photo of some jolly gents wearing an assortment of hats and holding a variety of implements — a couple of rakes, a scythe, a lawn mower, and some sort of sword. Five of the fellows are looking longingly at the drink in the sixth one's hand, and the caption is "How Dry We Are." The Cyko stamp box ("Cyko - Place Postage Stamp Here") on the other side of this divided-back real photo postcard indicates that it may date to the years between 1907 and the 1920s. Perhaps Boas took the photo sometime before he placed the following ad in the August 1918 issue of Camera Magazine : "For Sale--8 x 10 Seneca camera, like new; genuine leather bellows; sliding front and back; long focus; fitted with Goertz Sector shutter; ƒ6.8 anastigmat lens. Six plate holders, carrying case and tripod. Everything in first-class shape. Cheap for cash. George W. Boas, 636 First Street, Lancaster, Pa." See also the full version of the photo.

Six jolly gents stage a photo to demonstrate "How Dry We Are." For more information, see the cropped version for this photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of something fishy (fishing or fish) . "This is not our boat" is what's wrtten at the top of the photo. Handwritten note on the other side: This is a few of the fish we caught in May. We were on the Keys for 12 days. We caught about 500 lbs. Looking out in the water, we got out about 12 to 15 miles. Would you like to go? See you soon, Tess & Bob See also: Bob and Some More of His Fish, Florida Keys, May 1967 .

Date written on the other side: "May 1967." An uneven application of the print coater caused the brown smudges on this Polaroid photo. For more info, see: Bob and a Few of His Fish, Florida Keys, May 1967 .

A police photo of a man wearing a large badge with the booking number 8342A. I don't have any information about when or where the photo was taken, and I haven't located any other mug shots with a badge like this.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of could be a mug shot . Four of the men in this photo hold a total of seven beer mugs. Five wear aprons and the two on the right wear suits and ties. On the left, a man holds a knife and a hunk of meat. At the back, another man holds a plate of food. The setting appears to be an outdoor food preparation or celebration. This is an unused real photo postcard with a divided back. Its Azo stamp box features two corner triangles pointing up and two pointing down, dating the photographic paper to roughly 1910 to 1930.

This business card for the Red Lion Hotel likely dates to the 1870s or 1880s. The hotel proprietor, John B. Shelly (1827-1889), worked as a “merchant” in 1860, according to the U.S. Federal Census, but by 1870 it listed his occupation as “keeps hotel” and in 1880 he was an “innkeeper.” The background design reminds me of a moiré pattern. Red Lion Hotel Opposite the Railroad Station, Mount Joy, Pa. J. B. Shelly, Proprietor. Good Accommodations and Moderate Charges.

A nineteenth-century acquaintance card with an elaborate border and Text Ornate typeface. “May I See U Home.”

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of down on the corner, out on the street (people on the sidewalk or in the street) . Handwritten note on the other side of this photo: "This is a banana tree in a front yard. That machine got in my way." "That machine" — a car — photobombed this picture of a banana tree. I purchased this along with a number of other photos taken in southern California, circa 1920s-30s.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of curtains . This 1906 portrait shows the "Mixed Ale Quartet." Four young men in suits sit in chairs with striped slipcovers. A patterned carpet rests at their feet, and lace curtains hang behind them. The men posed playfully for the picture, each wearing a humorous tag: "Fed with a Spoon," "Girls Wanted," or "Not Married." From left to right: -- R. J. Ried wears a "Fed with a Spoon" tag. -- J. J. Grace has his mouth wide open and pretends to sing. He wears a "Girls Wanted" tag. -- J. J. Hallihan wears a "Not Married" tag and holds a small "Xaverians" sign. This sign suggests a connection to a school run by the Xaverian Brothers , a Catholic religious institute. -- The Great What Is It (as he's named in the list) wears a "Fed with a Spoon" tag. He holds a folding ruler shaped like the number 4. The phrase "Sad but true" is written next to an arrow pointing at him. This is a real photo postcard with an undivided back. It’s addressed to Mrs. Adelaide M. Scott , Arcadia, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. The card bears an initial postmark from Brooklyn, N.Y., Station L, on November 6, 1906, and a second one added in Arcadia, on November 7. Mixed Ale Quartet 1 - R. J. Ried 2 - J. J. Grace 3 - J. J. Hallihan 4 - The Great What Is It Sad but true.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fruit . Caption (vertically along the left-hand side): "Reider Family Picking Black-Berries, Lanc. Co." A real photo postcard of Edward H. Reider (1875-1942) and his family. It's addressed on the other side to Mr. David Spangler, Lebanon, Leb. Co., Penn., Rout. 2, and postmarked in Elizabethtown, Pa., on September 10, 1913. Message: "Elizabethtown, Pa., Sept. 1, 1913. Friend, We are all well as you see on the face of this card. Hoping youence [i.e., you-uns or youns] are all the same. Truly yours, E. H. Reider."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of bushes . A woman awkwardly leans over a large bush as she poses for a photo. Perhaps she's pretending to pick some of the flowers that are visible on the plant. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with a style of Cyko stamp box on the other side that dates the card to sometime between 1904 and the 1920s. The card is otherwise unused with no message, address, or postmark on the verso. See also the full version of the photo.

A real photo postcard of a woman posing next to a bush. For more information, see the cropped version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of bad habits . The man at upper left is smoking a cigar as he opens a bottle of wine. The man at upper right also has a cigar in his mouth and is holding a bottle in one hand as he reaches down with the other to give the man at lower left a drink. There's no date, location, or manufacturer indicated on this celluloid photographic medallion, which consists of a metal backing and a photograph covered by celluloid, an early type of plastic. For additional examples, see my album of Celluloid Photographic Medallions and the George Eastman House's collection of Celluloid Medallions & Buttons on Flickr. See also Gerald Perlman and David Trachtenberg's book, Collecting Celluloid Photo Medallions , published by Victoria Victoriana Antiques in 2014.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of people holding cameras . Written on the other side of this photo: "Shore, July 1963." Two couples stand together on a shoreline deck as one man raises his camera toward a photographer on an approaching boat. See a cropped version of the photo for a close-up view of the group.