Alan Mays' photos

"Our Gilt-Edge Goods. Nothing is too much trouble or too expensive to make these goods all that the name implies. The newest requirements of the people are satisfied with a pleasing completeness. The newest ideas are tested for practical worth and freely used, being carefully embodied when they contribute increased advantage. Selected workmen of special training and superior skill aid in securing perfection. The use of the purest pigirons only and the best materials for all fittings establish their superior quality, utility, durability, convenience, & beauty. Nothing better made. Reilly Bros. & Raub, Lancaster, Pa." Front cover of an advertising leaflet for Reilly Bros. & Raub, a hardware store that was located in Lancaster, Pa. (the building that housed the store is still standing). Note the distinctive typefaces and the devilish figure with pitchfork at top. An inside page from the leaflet (see below) contains an advertisement for the Valley Novelty Range. Compare this with a similar ad for the same stove on a separate advertising trade card from Lebanon, Pa. (below).

"Valley Novelty Range is the one to buy. Remember, every one guaranteed to bake and operate. Increase the heat of the oven as the bread bakes. Important! If you cannot come to the store, send in your address and we will call and see you and show you a photograph of this beautiful range and explain its many good points. It can't be beat, and the price is right. It provides the greatest comfort to the cook by having the greatest conveniences of the day." Inside page of a leaflet (see its elaborate cover below) for Reilly Bros. & Raub, a hardware store that was located in Lancaster, Pa. See also an advertising trade card with a similar ad for the same stove (below).

"The Valley Novelty Range saves fuel, labor, food, money. Labor avoided by conveniences. Food cooked nutritionally. Fuel burned economically. Large flues, large oven. Bakes perfectly always. The celebrated duplex grate. All the latest improvements: Beautiful high shelf. Elegant water closet. Hot water reservoir. Waterbacks for boilers meet every requirement. Every one guaranteed. Geo. Krause & Co., Lebanon, Pa." An advertising trade card from the George Krause Hardware Company of Lebanon, Pa., that extolls the virtues of a Valley Novelty Range. The same stove was advertised in a leaflet distributed by Reilly Bros. & Raub, a hardware store that was located in Lancaster, Pa. See Valley Novelty Range Is the One to Buy (below).

"Be sure to get back for Rally Day. 'The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.' Psalm 19:1." Rally Day is a special celebration held by some Protestant churches in September or October to promote family attendance at church services and children's participation in Sunday school. This postcard, which was used to remind church members (and astronauts, too, I guess) to attend Rally Day activities, likely dates to the 1960s when the Space Race was taking place. For some earlier aeronautical Rally Day reminders, see Rally Day Airship and Visit Our Sunday-School Air Port :

"Next Sunday is Rally Day at our school. Come and bring a friend." Postmarked 1924.

Visit our Sunday-School Air Port; come on a glorious flight Far to the lands of the Bible, shining in radiant light. Straight through the heaven of beauty bathed in the sunshine of love, Come on a tour of the Bible all other journeys above! Airships are waiting and ready, the pilots are steady and true; Off we are starting next Sunday, and here is a ticket for you! Handwritten at the bottom: "Zion Lutheran Sunday School, E. Petersburg, Penna., October 27, 1929." Printed on the other side: "Here's your pass for the take-off next Sunday!" Handwritten address on the other side: "Misses Stella and Martha Weaver, R.D. #1, Manheim, Penna." Postmarked: East Petersburg, Pa., Oct 23, 1929.

An owl and a bat flap their wings through the nighttime sky as Cupid stands on a cloud and contemplates whether to shoot an arrow at the full moon, where a witch has replaced the Man in the Moon. I can't help but wonder whether L. R. Conwell, the publisher of this 1909 postcard, recycled a Valentine's Day card to compose this perplexing scene, but a search for other Cupid cards didn't uncover any similar postcards. Conwell also featured Cupid in at least one other Halloween postcard. See Wishing You a Lucky Halloween :

Postmark on the back of this postcard: Worcester, Mass., Oct. 30, 1909. Addressed to: Miss Ora Bickford, New Gloucester, Maine, R.F.D. no. 1. Message: "With best wishes for a happy Hallowe'en. Love, Elva." "A formerly widespread tradition held that young women gazing into a mirror in a darkened room (often on Halloween) could catch a glimpse of their future husband's face in the mirror--or a skull personifying Death if their fate was to die before they married." This explanation of what the women in this postcard is doing appears in Wikipedia's article on scrying , which is defined as "the practice of looking into a translucent ball or other material with the belief that things can be seen, such as spiritual visions, and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling." Cupid's presence in this postcard is somewhat puzzling, but the publisher, L. R. Conwell, also included Cupid in at least one other Halloween postcard. See The Joys of Halloween Be Yours . See below for additional examples of early twentieth-century postcards that depict mirror-gazing and other Halloween fortune-telling activities.

Message on the back of this postcard: "Wish you a Merry Halloween from Isabelle." Addressed to: Howard Knicley, Brookville, Pa., R.F.D. No. 2. Postmarked: Punxsutawney, Pa., Oct. 27, 1909. Printed on the back: "Raphael Tuck & Sons' 'Hallowe'en' Post Cards, Series No. 160." In the scene on the front of this Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard, anthropomorphic apples jump into a wooden wash tub filled with water to initiate bobbing for apples on Halloween. Here are some other colorful Tuck Halloween postcards:

Postcard addressed on the back to Earl Elliot, Douglassville, Pa., and postmarked at Douglassville, Pa., Oct. 31, 1906. The handwritten message on the front is "Greetings for the day," and the initials "L.U."--presumably those of the sender--appear in a number of places on the front, including on the wall next to the fireplace. The clock strikes midnight on Halloween as a woman gazes into a fire and children bob for apples in a wash tub and on a string. Jack-o'-lanterns form a border around the scene, and ghostly figures hover in the message box at the bottom. The woman in front of the fireplace may actually be playing a fortune-telling game involving three nuts, which she has named after three of her suitors. After placing the three nuts in the fire (I think the nuts are visible here on the top of the grate at the front of the fireplace), she watches to see how they burn. The following poem, which appeared in 1900 in The Jolly Hallowe'en Book , by Dorothy M. Shipman, p. 68, describes the practice. The Test of the Nuts I've named three nuts and placed them Side by side on the grate, The one which cracks is unfaithful, The lover I know I should hate. The one which blazes with brilliant fire, Tells of high regard, 'tis said, But the one which burns with a steady flame Names the man whom I shall wed.

Jack and Jill magazine, October 1953. Cover art by Rae Owings.

An in disguise / in costume photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This may appear to be a Halloween-time scene at first glance, but this real photo postcard of women dressed in men's clothing was actually taken during the month of June, judging by the calendar on the wall behind them. Although the calendar is partially hidden behind the women, I believe it's a bank calendar ("The ----- National Bank"), and it's possible that the location printed on it is Liberal, Kansas. Since June 4 falls on a Friday as shown on the calendar, I'm guessing that the year is 1915 (other possibilities are 1909, 1920, and 1926). The square for Saturday, June 12, seems to be specially marked, so perhaps they're getting ready for a party or some other frivolity on that date. For an interesting comparison, take a look at the trick or treat photo-- Boys' Night Out --that I posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park about this same time last year:

"American Seal tests are successful because of their high efficiency and lasting qualities."

"I like pie better than anything else, excepting you." From someone's Grandma Wellmor, 1912.

A real photo tall-tale postcard.

Sign: "I don't know where I'm going but I'm happy on my way." Message on back (no address or postmark): "Henry Smith and family.--Dear Friends, I will eat Xmas dinner with you. My train leaves here at 1 p.m., Dec, 24th., and will land at Rock Island depot in Enid [located in Oklahoma] 10 a.m. Xmas, and if I make any time will be at your house by noon, J. L. Byrner." See also the full version of this real photo postcard:

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