Alan Mays' photos

"Visit the City Furniture House, opp. Seely House, Towanda, Pa." A Victorian trade card with skating frogs.

"I'm bugs 'bout skatin' at Skateaway, Scranton, Pennsylvania." A roller skating rink label.

"Skidoo. This is not a one way ticket to heaven. Return same to Bedford Roll-Arena, one mile north of Bedford, Pa." Lou Brooks, in his terrific book, Skate Crazy: Amazing Graphics from the Golden Age of Roller Skating , pp. 42-43, shows illustrations of similar cards and explains, "The dreaded 'Scram' and 'Skidoo' card! Just like at any party, the hosts liked to keep things at the rink moving with interesting games, often turning the rink into somewhat of a social laboratory. Floor ushers, acting out their version of traffic cop, would slip these cards to unsuspecting couples, urging them to skate the second half of the dance with someone they had never met." I'm not sure, however, if this card was used in the same manner, and I'm not certain what to make of the "This is not a one way ticket to heaven" warning.

"The Olzen Accordion School, 75 6th Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y. Phone Nevins 8-1431." According to Victor Greene, A Passion for Polka: Old-Time Ethnic Music in America (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992), pp. 184-85, Eric Olzen (born 1895) was a popular Swedish accordionist and composer who came to the United States and opened a music school in Brooklyn in 1926. In the 1930s, he hosted a radio show that was popular among Scandinavians in New York, published sheet music compositions such as "Koster Waltz" and "Sunbeam Polka," and played on many records. I take it that Eric Olzen is the one standing without an accordion in the middle of the third row. He's surrounded by 51 male students and 4 female students. I wish I could have attended one of the Olzen Accordion School's concerts!

"Utah's Biggest Crop - One That Never Fails. J. C. Kopp, publ., Milwaukee, no. 2535." Handwritten message on the front of this postcard: "I have just purchased 100 shells and am going after ducks with Mr. McVichie in his automobile tomorrow." Postmark on back: Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 14, 1906. This postcard is based on a Collage of Children's Faces , which was compiled by photographer C. R. Savage and is available online in Brigham Young University's C. R. Savage Collection. For a similar postcard, see Arts Enthusiast's Utah's Best Crop , which also derives from a work by the same photographer: Utah's Best Crop, Gathered by C. R. Savage .

Private William Lengle, a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, during World War II, filled in the blanks on the front of this Dick Tracy postcard, added a message on the back (see below), and sent it to a friend in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. Lengle jokingly claimed that he knew "jo-jo," a nonsensical martial-art name that sounds similar to jiu jitsu , and that he was learning "love." "Licked again Junior? Why don't you pick up a few pointers in self defense from Pvt. Lengle. A good soldier knows jiu jitsu, and jo-jo--right how he's learning love." Postmark on the back of the postcard: "Fort Bragg, N.C., Jul 28, 1943." Message on back: "Dear Ralph, Just a few lines to let you know I am fine. I hope you are too. Ruby [Ralph's nickname?], how are things getting along. I hope fine. I am still here and boy if they don't soon send me out, I'll go crazy. Ruby, we are painting just now and that ain't so bad, so I hope to get shipped out pretty soon. Well I'll say so long because I must go and box tonight so keep 'em flying, Your pal, Bill."

A beards photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "Uncle Jim in the Old Timers Parade." I don't know where or when this "Old Timers Parade" took place, and I'm not even sure which one is "Uncle Jim." I'm certain, though, that it must have taken quite some time for these fellows to put on grow those long beards and moustaches!

"Compliments of S. Kronenberg's Sons, clothing, 6-8 S. Hanover St., Carlisle, Pa. A bit of gossip. Copyright, 1911, R. Hill. January 1913."

George Tarlson's Orchestra. 5 years of rhythm. Large or small orchestras for all occasions. Phone, Weirs 2213, 2542. George W. Tarlson, Jr., mgr. The Weirs, N.H. Calendar, 1936-1937. Check your date with George Tarlson's Orchestra on this calendar card.

"Oscar L. Bussell, special representative, 23 E. Broadway, Eugene, Oregon, Telephone: Bus. 942, Res. 3274. California-Western States Life Insurance Company, home office, Sacramento. Safe. 1940. Inches."

Sometimes it's hard to tell.

These three cheeky fellows are using a doll's thumb and nose to deliver an impertinent message. Mouse over the image above to see a close-up of the doll's rude gesture . For other better-mannered examples of adults posing with dolls, see Man and Woman with Doll at Niagara Falls , Guys, Ladies, and Doll , Guys and Dolls , and Four Women and a Doll on a Train (all below).

For the full version of this real photo postcard, see Three Men and a Real Doll .

A real photo postcard.

A breakfast photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. (In selecting images for the VPTP, I normally attempt to find a new photo that I haven't previously posted on Ipernity. But the frig was bare when I went to look for breakfast, so I'm reheating this pic for this week's theme.) An early photo mounted on cardboard captures a group of young women in a student dormitory room (note the bed with folded blanket at lower right). These fourteen ladies have apparently crowded into a single room to share breakfast. Many of them are holding doughnuts, and one--standing in the corner at right--is eating a banana. Some of the students are pretending to feed each other, and a number of them have their eyes closed, possibly due to whatever the photographer used for a flash. Various photos and artworks adorn the walls, including a print hanging in the upper right-hand corner that's derived from Heinrich Hofmann 's painting of Christ in Gethsemane (1890). The blinds on the window at the back of the room are pulled down, and what seems to be an American flag is partially hidden in the folds of the curtains. There wasn't any caption or description on the photo, unfortunately, and we may never know what special occasion or celebration it was that prompted this dorm-room get-together.

"Wishing You a Happy New Year, J. P. Baker, Trav. Ag't, Harrisburg, Pa. Buckeye. 1895. 1896. Buckeye. J. H. Trezise, 1125-27 N. Third St., H'b'g." This is a unique photographic New Year greeting that depicts Father Time--carrying an old-fashioned scythe and designated as "1895"--worriedly running away from an overdressed gent who's uttering the word "Buckeye" as he tips his hat and rides atop a newfangled "1896" mechanical reaping machine pulled by a bevy of Cupid-like putti . The inset to the right of this imaginative scene is a photo of "J. P. Baker," who's identified as a traveling agent (salesman) from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dressed in a hat, cravat, vest, and suit coat, Baker appears to be the model for the gussied-up guy riding the reaper. Although I haven't uncovered any specific information regarding J. P. Baker, I suspect that he may have worked for Aultman, Miller & Co., manufacturer of Buckeye Harvesting Machinery, which had an office at 625 Walnut Street in Harrisburg, according to Boyd's Directory of Harrisburg and Steelton for 1895. The company sold a variety of agricultural equipment for mowing, reaping, threshing, and other tasks (to see a fascinating early silent film clip of a Buckeye machine in operation in Australia, take a look at Wheat Harvesting with Reaper and Binder -1899 ). J. P. Baker evidently used this photograph to wish a happy New Year to his friends and business associates and to promote himself and his Buckeye machines to customers.

A ships/boats photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This slide, taken in the 1950s by an unknown photographer who was visiting Bolivia and other South American countries, shows a sailboat transporting a pickup truck across Lake Titicaca , which is located high in the Andes mountains on the border between Bolivia and Peru.

An aircraft photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. An early aircraft photo by Harpel, Lebanon, Pa. Four aviators, who are standing directly in front of the propeller and engine of their biplane, are surrounded by men and children. Other people are visible in the background. The biplane may be Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny," which is well known as the subject of the Inverted Jenny postage stamp error. See also a detail from this photograph showing a close-up of the aviators standing in front of the airplane (below).