Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of an accident waiting to happen . In this photo, four members of a family are posing in front of a fenced-in area for the chickens. It's a little disconcerting to see that the gun that the boy is holding over his shoulder is pointed directly at the man -- his father? -- standing behind him. The faded quality of the upper portion of the photo makes it difficult to see the faces of the man and two women, giving them an almost ghostly appearance. This is an image from a real photo postcard with no address, message, or stamp on the other side. The Azo stamp box (with two corner triangles pointing up and two pointing down) printed on the verso indicates that the photo may date to as early as 1910 to 1930.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the only one smiling in a group . The two sisters on this real photo postcard have serious expressions on their faces, but the baby of the family looks happy and is smiling. The photo postcard is unused, and there's no message or stamp box on the other side.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a written caption or comment (added to the front or back of a photo, the funnier or snarkier the better) . Handwritten caption: "Some Trouble!" License plate: "2352. Mass." (the year on the plate is illegible). Looks like the photographer had some trouble with an unintended triple exposure. The photo was cut from an album and trimmed unevenly like this when I purchased it.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of children at play . Three kids pause their puzzle playing to pose for a picture.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of photos in photos -- photos that intentionally or inadvertently capture one or more photos displayed in frames, on walls, or elsewhere . Did the little girl in pigtails that we can see in the photo on the wall grow up to be the young woman sitting on the couch? And why isn't her prom date paying attention while dad's taking their picture? For similar photos, see Prom Night and Prom Couple, May 17, 1969 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of steps, stairs, staircases . This is a real photo postcard of young women standing on the steps leading up to the entrance of a building. They're wearing uniforms with scarves or neckerchiefs, and the banner they're holding simply says, "Flash." In the corners of the banner are what seem to be drawings of stylized top hats. Peeking out from below the banner are two pairs of what might be athletic shoes. Although someone over on Flickr amusingly suggested that this might be an early example of a flash mob , I suspect that these young women belonged to a club or sports team at a high school or college. But I'm not sure what "Flash" meant to them or why the top hats -- if that's what they are -- appear on the banner.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of nightclothes (pajamas, nightgowns, robes, etc.) . This is an early twentieth-century photo of a man wearing pajamas. He's sitting on the edge of a bed that's covered by a quilt. A chair and luggage are situated next to the bed. A large headboard and patterned wallpaper are visible behind the man. This is an unused real photo postcard with no address, message, or postmark. On the back of the card is an Azo stamp box design (with four corner triangles pointing up) that suggests a time frame that may range from 1904 to 1918. Printed on the other side: "Kellogg Studios, Cuba, Fillmore, Rushford. P. H. Kellogg, Cuba, N.Y."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of hand colored . Handwritten caption on the other side of this photo: "Emily and George Sexsmith, Echo Park (McArthur Park), Los Angeles (about 1930)." This is a hand-colored photo of Emily (Dippel) Sexsmith (1911-2006) and George Sexsmith (1908-1991) in a canoe, circa 1930. The handwritten caption on the other side of the photo notes the setting as "Echo Park" with "McArthur Park" in parentheses, but it's likely that it's really Westlake Park, which in 1942 was renamed MacArthur Park (not "McArthur," as misspelled in the caption). The park was also the subject of Jimmy Webb's popular song, "MacArthur Park," recorded in 1968 by Richard Harris.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of at work . A real photo postcard showing three fellows standing around the type cases in the composing room of a print shop. The upper cases typically contained capital letters, and the lower cases contained small letters, leading to the terminology we still use today to refer to letter case .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of pick your own (post a photo depicting your favorite theme from the past year) . As my favorite of the year, I'm choosing the theme of pick a particular format (daguerreotype, cabinet card, CDV, real photo postcard, cyanotype, slide, Polaroid, or what have you?) . And among those formats, I'm selecting real photo postcard , as I did previously in March (see Foursome Flying over Long Beach, California, 1914 ). I took a quick look at my postings to the Vintage Photos Theme Park during 2023, and I discovered to my surprise that the majority of my weekly contributions -- more than thirty! -- were real photo postcards . This photo postcard, captioned "One Minute Churn, L. H. Chambers, Cumberland, Md.," shows Lorenzo Hazell Chambers (1877-1958) standing next to a mechanical butter churn . He has a wide grin on his face, and he's resting his left hand on top of the churn. Perhaps Chambers intended to use this card as an advertisement for selling churns (the One-Minute Churn Company solicited sales agents -- see the company's ad below), even though the photo quality is poor and the image seems quite cloudy. This real photo postcard is unused, without any address, message, stamp, or postmark. The Kruxo stamp box design on the other side suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1908 to 1910. Also printed on the verso: "The C. C. Bickert Post Card Co., Hagerstown, Md." The following advertisement for the patented One-Minute Churn appeared in Hardware magazine, April 10, 1905, p. 11. Butter in One Minute The only perfect milk and cream aerator churn in the world, making the best granular butter from sour or sweet cream in a minute -- which we guarantee -- is the One Minute Churn. Protected by 57 patents. Its construction is perfect in every detail. All parts interchangeable and carried in stock. Easy to run, holding 1 quart to 13 gallons. For farm and family use. Our Catalogue tells all. Mention Hardware . Agents wanted. Cable address: "Minute" or "Murphite" New York. I. M. Murphy, president. The One Minute Churn Co., Inc., 9 Old Slip, New York, U.S.A.

A nineteenth-century New Year calling card with a fanciful illustration. In the sky, a man is holding the reins connected to a pair of large birds who are pulling the airship that he and a female passenger are riding in. The initials "A.H.N.Y." on the airship's balloon stand for "A Happy New Year." Down below, a sailor on a ship is waving his hat as he hangs on to a mast next to a large banner that also displays a greeting for "A Happy New Year."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of on the street where you live (people outdoors in a residential setting) . For this week's theme I was looking for a photo that was clearly taken in a residential setting (like Women in Suburbia, 1963 ) or maybe one that showed a scene from a street not far from where I live ( Revolutionary War Monument, Middletown, Pa., 1931 would qualify). I wasn't having much luck until I came across this snapshot. I'm not sure why this fellow is perched so precariously on the top step of a ladder (while holding his hat in one hand and a cigarette in the other, nonetheless!), but he's obviously outdoors in someone's yard. The street in the background isn't one I live on, but it must be a residential area judging by the houses. There's a car parked along the street. Even though the photo isn't sharp enough to make out the details, I can tell that there are a number of people in the car. Perhaps they're waiting for the photo session to end -- or the guy to fall off the ladder -- so they can depart the scene.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of piercing, unusual, or distinctive eyes (a photo featuring someone or something -- a person, animal, or face-like object -- with expressive eyes) . An early twentieth-century photo of two men, one sitting on a bench and one standing, with a bush or tree behind them. The fellow on the bench looks alert, with a piercing stare, while the one who's standing seems drowsy with half-closed eyes. See a cropped version of the photo for a close-up view of the two men. This is an unused real photo postcard with no address, message, date, or stamp box. Printed on the other side: " J. A. Campbell , 373 Court St., Binghamton, N.Y."

The man on the left is looking at the camera with a piercing stare, while the one on the right seems drowsy with half-closed eyes. See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of view from a hill or mountain . This is a real photo postcard with a view of the town of Springwater , New York. It's addressed on the other side to Miss Louisa Moyer , Kylertown, Clearfield Co., Pa. The card received two postmarks, one in Springwater, N.Y., on August 30, 1907, and a second one in Kylertown, Pa., on the following day, August 31, 1907. Message on the verso: "Dear Cousin, will send you a picture to the town of Springwater. It was taken when the leaves were on, so it don't show the town so very much but [you] can get some idea to the town. Kate." Caption and notes on the front of the card (spelling and punctuation updated): Springwater, N.Y. The arrow shows where Springwater Depot is. The little times mark [multiplication sign, or x] in the picture is where I worked.

A ticket for a dance that took place at Kresky's Hotel in Mehoopany , Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, on Christmas Day in 1868. A Christmas Ball Will Be Given at Kresky's Hotel, in Mehoopany, Friday, December 25th 1868. Managers: W. M. Gaylord, W. M. Jennings, F. Maynard, Ira Aumick. Music:---Vaughn's String Band. Bill, $3.00

John B. Gough (1817-1886) was a "United States temperance orator," meaning that he lectured about the evils of alcohol. For a brief discussion of his career, see John B. Gough (1817-1886): The Temperance Orator as Revivalist . I haven't been able to determine the location of the Seamen's Friend Society where Gough delivered this lecture. The group may have been the Boston Seaman's Friend Society , the American Seaman's Friend Society in New York, the Woman's Seamen's Friend Society of Connecticut, or another organization with a similar name. For another nineteenth-century ticket, see Grand Temperance Lecture Ticket . Gough's Lecture. Seamen's Friend Society. May 4, 1865. Parquette. Seat H No. 18 Thursday, May 4. Retain this portion of the ticket, as it secures your seat.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the long and winding road (road photos, winding or otherwise) . Caption: "The Juniata Near Amity Hall. 9." This is a real photo postcard with a scenic view of the Juniata River in Perry County , Pennsylvania. The road in the photo is now US 22/US 322 ( U.S. Route 22 concurrent with U.S. Route 322 ). The location is near Amity Hall , which refers to a landmark inn that closed in the 1980s, suffered a fire in 2009, and has since been torn down. The tire cover on the back of the automobile parked along the road says, "See Bob" and "Auto Supplies." The license plate on the car is 69M52, and I believe it's a Pennsylvania plate. Unfortunately, I was unable to make out the year, which appeared on license plates at the time the photo was taken. On the other side of the card is an Azo stamp box (squares in each of the four corners), which indicates that the photo likely dates to sometime between the 1920s and the 1940s. There's no message, address, stamp, or postmark on this card, but other copies that I spotted online had postmarks dating to 1935 and 1939.