Alan Mays' photos

A father and son photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A father and son pose with a couple of alligators. Enlarged from a real photo postcard. For a later father-son souvenir gator photo, see See You Later, My Head's in an Alligator! :

"Curtis Candy Co. Mixed Bowling League. 1948. 1949. Sheridan Recreation, Feb. 3, 1949." Group photo of the participants in a Curtiss Candy Company bowling league. Games took place at Sheridan Recreation, a bowling alley and pool hall located at 1002 Wilson Avenue in Chicago.

Looks like they're loaded up and ready for the day's deliveries! No date or other identifying info.

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Krejci Studio, 320 West Water St., Milwaukee, Wis." A young man posing with a bandonion , which is a type of concertina.

A handwritten date of 1955 appears on the back of this Schultüte (school cone) photo.

Caption: "Mrs. Cleveland." Name hidden underneath the printed scrap: "Rue Crounover" (see Explanation of Hidden Name Calling Cards for an illustration showing how these cards work). Grover Cleveland , the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, began his first term in office (1885-1889) as a bachelor, but married Frances Clara Folsom in 1886. She served as First Lady during the remainder of Cleveland's first term and again during his second term (1893-1897). President Cleveland was also featured on a similar calling card :

A 1950s photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This 1956 photo shows a diner on "Brookline Avenue," as indicated by the pole-mounted street sign that's visible in the center of the photo (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the diner and the sign). The letters on top of the diner's roof spell out the words "GOOD FOOD," and the name "Federal Diner" is barely legible on a circular sign situated above the entrance at the middle of the building. Four or five men are standing around the cars near the front door of the diner, and they appear to be looking in the direction of the photographer, perhaps waiting for him while he takes the photo. Or maybe they're watching the woman wearing a dress and high heels who's walking past on the sidewalk. This eatery was the "Good Food Federal Diner," formerly located at 410 Brookline Avenue in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. For another 1950s view of this diner, see Good Food Back in the Day on Boston's Universal Hub site.

For more information, see the full version of this photo:

A Victorian-era calling card with pasted-on photograph. The typeface is MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan's Spencerian Script with ornamented capitals. Despite the variant spelling of the last name, this card may have belonged to Irwin Guy Waggoner (1882-1975), who lived in Oregon. If so--and if he actually had his photograph taken and cards printed when he was as young as he appears in the photo--then it's likely that this calling card dates to the 1880s or 1890s. This is the only calling card with a child's photo that I've ever seen. For additional examples of photographic calling cards, see my Calling Cards with Photographs album.

A fashion (in its day) photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A cabinet card photo of a girl wearing a dress with leg-of-mutton or gigot sleeves, which were fashionable and popular in the 1890s when it's likely this photo was taken. The painted backdrop features a hilly landscape with a meandering fence and tall flowering plants that match nicely with the grassy floor covering the girl is standing on and the gate-like wooden prop she's leaning against. As far as I can tell from the hard-to-read stamp on the back of the photo, the photographer's last name was "Aunspach," which suggests that this may have come from the studio of J. S. Aunspach of Pillow, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

"Summit County Bank. Cuyahoga Falls, O. 1862. No. ______. 50. Pay the bearer fifty cents when like orders are presented in amounts of one or more dollars. W. A. Stanford. Lith. by A. S. Sanford, Cleveland, O." Unissued U.S. Civil War-era fifty-cent bank note.

In memoriam . Cover of a World Trade Center brochure with an added handwritten date of 11/12/77. A poignant example of how a piece of ephemera--usually considered to be a short-lived, everyday printed item--can endure and take on added significance in light of later tragic events.

"Lyndhurst Electric Farm, Geo. J. Hoopes, owner." The Lyndhurst Electric Farm was located along the Lincoln Highway in Caln Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, somewhere between the towns of Coatesville and Downingtown. The "Electric Farm" name came about in an obvious way sometime in the early twentieth century: "Township manager Sam Moore, a lifelong resident, remembers the excitement when one farm had its barn wired for electricity. Local residents immediately christened it 'The Electric Farm'" (see Jeff Gammage, " Caln Highway: Extension of History's Path ," philly.com, Nov. 1, 1987). Brian Butko, in his book, The Lincoln Highway: Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide , 2nd ed. (Stackpole Books, 2002), p. 76, mentions that "Lyndhurst was a farm and tourist home operated by George J. Hoopes," but I haven't been able to uncover any additional information regarding the Lyndhurst Electric Farm or its owner.

"John Pecinovsky, the famous Half & Half Man, owner and operator of the Bonair Tavern, 4 miles west and 3 miles north of Cresco, Iowa. We serve Fitger's Beer, Walt Rush, distributor. Ice cream, soft drinks, and candy. Half & Half, Bonair, Iowa. Souvenir post card." As one brief obituary explained, "For years Pecinovsky wore suits in which half of the coat was white and the other black, one trouser leg white and the other black. One side of his face was always kept shaved smooth while the other was permitted to support a luxuriant crop of whiskers" ( Waterloo Daily Courier , April 7, 1942).

"Miniature Railway, House of David Park, Benton Harbor, Mich. 14." A miniature railroad at an amusement park that was operated by the House of David , a religious commune in Benton Harbor , Michigan, whose members also performed in touring bands and played on baseball teams. Check out another view of the Miniature Railway, House of David Park, Benton Harbor, Michigan .

"Wishing you a fortune in happiness! Mr. Fortune. WCBM." Homer Todd, shown here holding a telephone handset and sitting in front of a microphone in this postcard-sized promotional photo, originated the Dialing for Dollars program on Baltimore, Maryland, radio station WCBM in 1939. As "Mr. Fortune," he would randomly call phone numbers and award cash prizes to listeners who answered the phone and could tell him the amount of money he was offering as a prize (the amount increased each time the phone went unanswered or the wrong amount was given as an answer). Dialing for Dollars turned out to be wildly successful and was carried on many different stations as a franchised program first on radio and then on television into the 1970s. Todd--his full name was Homer Ulric Todd, Jr.--apparently continued his career as Mr. Fortune at WCBM until at least 1950. He passed away in 1967 at the age of 56. .

Markings on the front of the crock: "12. Macomb Pottery Co., manufacturers, Macomb, Ill." An infant poses for a picture in a large 12-gallon stoneware crock. This obviously seems similar in concept to the more common baby-in-a-basin photos. For examples, see my own Baby in a Basin, Photographed by Galen Piper, Bainbridge, Pa. , photo (below) and elinor04's Baba a lavórban [Baby in a Washbasin] photo.

A real photo postcard addressed on the back to Miss Rose Gill, Oak Street, Tyrone, Pennsylvania, and postmarked August 16, 1947. Message: "Dear Rose, This was taken near Albuquerque, N.M., on Aug. 15, 1947. Kids weren't washed or combed yet, and the rabbits aren't really that big. Love, Mrs. Preacher." For another example of small kids posing with a big bunny, see Giant Jack Rabbit, Ogallala, Nebr.