Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of nurses or nuns . Handwritten note in black ink on the other side of this photo: "This is Merritt on the end sitting down. He is pretty but he's better looking than Leo was." Later note in blue ink on the verso: "Babe Closner's husband." Nine nurses and five soldiers pose for a group photo on a sunny day. I like all the different expressions on their faces, some beaming with wide smiles and others with squinty eyes as they endure the bright sunlight. I'm not sure where or when the photo was taken. Perhaps the uniforms that the nurses and soldiers are wearing would provide some clues. See also the full version of the photo.

Nurses and soldiers pose for a photo on a sunny day. For more information, see the cropped version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of just for fun (inspired by one of Rick’s albums ) . Well, maybe it's not a full-fledged dog and pony show , but someone took an amusing picture of these two in what looks to be a farm setting. This is a real photo postcard with no address, message, postmark, or other identifying details. On the back of the card is an Azo stamp box design (with squares in all four corners) that suggests a time frame that may range from 1924 to 1949.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of dressed up (for Halloween, to go out, on a special occasion, etc.) . Handwritten note on the other side of this Polaroid: "Mike & Pat, Halloween 1971." This is a color photo of two kids dressed up as Fluffy the Bunny and a Space Explorer in Halloween costumes by the Ben Cooper company. The small orange cylinder that the Space Explorer is holding in his right hand contains a battery and a switch that turns a light in the helmet mask on and off. See also close-ups of Fluffy the Bunny and the Space Explorer .

Fluffy the Bunny is a Ben Cooper Halloween costume. Earlier versions of the Fluffy costume had plain sleeves and legs instead of the checkered pattern seen here. See also the Space Explorer and the full photo from 1971.

I'm not sure why the Ben Cooper company named this costume a Space Explorer instead of an Astronaut, especially since " NASA " is emblazoned on it. With the Apollo 14 and 15 moon landings taking place in 1971, I'm sure that the costume was a popular one for Halloween that year. The small orange cylinder that the Space Explorer is holding in his right hand contains a battery and a switch that turns a light in the helmet mask on and off. I can't tell if the light was activated when this photo was taken. See also Fluffy the Bunny and the full photo from 1971.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of damaged or broken down (buildings, vehicles, machines, and whatnot) . Caption: "Hailstorm, June 6, 1917, Waynesboro, Penn." Sign at the front entrance of the building: "Office of Emerson-Brantingham Co., Geiser Works ." A hailstorm with baseball-sized hailstones hit the town of Waynesboro, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, on June 6, 1917. The storm caused widespread damage with flooded streets and thousands of broken windows. Almost all of the windows in this office building sustained damage. For additional photos, see the Hail Storm of June 6, 1917 , section of the Luty Collection: Waynesboro Area Postcard Collection .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of stripes . Drumhead: “City Band of York, Pa." Credit line: "Photo by M. J. Murnane, York, Pa., 1915." Printed on the back: "M. J. Murnane, No. 227 W. Market St., York, Pa. At the Bridge." This is a divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box design (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side. The time frame of 1907 to 1918 is commonly associated with this type of design, and that matches the 1915 date of the photo. The name of " Elwood Slaugenhaupt " -- he was born in 1917 and died in 2000, according to Find A Grave -- is written on the other side. Slaugenhaupt would have been too young to have been one of the musicians pictured in the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of beds and bedrooms . This is a snapshot of a man lying in a hospital bed. Suspended over the front of the bed is a triangular-shaped "trapeze bar" that the man can use to reposition and lift himself, if he's capable of doing that with what looks like a cast on his right leg. Judging by the nearby door, the floor lamp, and the cuckoo clock and artwork on the walls, this poor fellow is resting at home in his living room rather than in a hospital room. The handwritten note on the other side of this snapshot is dated January 14, 1954, and says, "The broomstick that is between his legs is so he can be handled easier and turned."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of rumpled or wrinkled . Two men, dressed in dirty and rumpled overalls, stand in the doorway of an unidentified workplace. See also the full version of this photo. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box design (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side. The time frame of 1907 to 1918 is usually associated with this type of stamp box.

Two dirty and disheveled workmen stand in a doorway. See also a cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of what a great grin! An arresting photo of two grinning guys posing for a novelty photo. "Fred Gregory (left)" is written on the other side. This is an divided-back real photo postcard with a type of Azo stamp box on the other side (two corner triangles pointing up and two pointing down) that suggests a date that may be as early as 1910 to 1930. See also the full version of this photo postcard.

Two men posing as policemen and suspect. See also a cropped version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of looking at pictures (photos of people looking at photos) . Written on the back: "Joracy & Sally Looking at Pictures, May 30, 1969." Printed on the back: "Kodacolor Print Made by Kodak, June 69R." Two women are seated in figure-8 chairs at their dining room table as they look at photos. They've pushed back their dinner dishes and part of the table covering to make space for the photos. Behind them is a display cabinet filled with dolls, including two dressed in Amish garb in the upper right-hand section.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of studio portrait . Name handwritten on the other side of this photo: "P. Spencer." Added in different handwriting: "Pierre Alexandre Gilles Spencer, 5th son of Benjamin Rush Spencer and Angelique Marie Martin Spencer." As indicated in the handwritten note, Pier Alexander Spencer (1866-1947) was one of the thirteen children of Lilly Martin Spencer (1822-1902), a popular nineteenth-century artist who "primarily painted domestic scenes, paintings of women and children in a warm happy atmosphere." This type of trick photo, which is sometimes called a multigraph or photo-multigraph , used mirrors to make it look like a set of quintuplets was seated around a table. The distinctive table covering visible here -- with a fringe of tassels dangling over the side -- identifies the photo as one that came from the White Way Photo Studio in New York City. Compare this photo with other multigraphs from the studio, such as Mirror Photo of Woman Playing Cards, White Way Photo Studio, New York, N.Y. , and Moustachioed Mirror Man, White Way Photo Studio, New York, N.Y. For additional examples of multigraphs, see my Mirror Photos album.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of Labor Day (laborers and/or the day) . This man is a bill poster or bill sticker , a worker who posts (or sticks up) advertising bills and posters on walls and other public places. The long-handled tool he's holding (see a close-up ) is a bill poster's hammer. A tool collector's site explained the hammer's function: "These specialized hammers were used to 'post' handbills and advertising cards well above the normal reach of the user, or potential remover or defacer, making them both easier to see and less subject to vandalism or being posted over. . . . These hammers are cleverly designed with two clips. The upper clip holds the initial tack while the lower clip holds the bill, card, or poster to be tacked on to a pole, wall, or tree." This man is also holding an advertising sign that says, " Magic Yeast Makes Perfect Bread." At his feet is a satchel containing more copies of the sign (see a close-up ). This is a real photo postcard with a divided back, and the type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side suggests a date between 1907 and 1918. The name "William Mere" is handwritten on the other side.

A bill poster's hammer and an advertising sign for Magic Yeast. For more information, see the full photo .

A bill poster's satchel with additional copies of the "Magic Yeast Makes Perfect Bread" sign. For more information, see the full photo .