Alan Mays' photos

Postmarked Washington, D.C., Feb. 13, 1907, and addressed to Miss Camilla Paule, 3322 Newark Street, Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C. No message or signature other than what's written on the front of the card (in German?--I had trouble deciphering it). "Serie 319" printed on the back of the card.

For another colorful label from this New Zealand company, see Real German Sausages, Irvine & Stevenson, St. George Preserving Works, Dunedin, New Zealand . Ye Olde English Plum Pudding Prepared by Irvine & Stevenson's St. George Coy. Ltd., New Zealand. Back and syde go bare, go bare, Both foot and hand go cold But belly have jolly good duff enough Whether it be hot or cold. This tin is the safest in the world, all soldering being on the outside instead of inside. To open the tin cut along this line.

A miserable Christmas trees photo (Charlie Brown Christmas trees) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A red-border Kodachrome slide dated July 1959, which suggests that the photo was taken during the 1958 holiday season. This spindly twig Christmas tree is similar to (or the same as?) the one that appears in another slide that I purchased at the same time. See A Sparkly Christmas Tree and a Shiny Fireplace (below).

Santa's wild eyes reveal his determination to complete his Christmas deliveries as the sun rises behind him and his reindeer gallop across the sky, their hooves kicking up some serious dust clouds (or maybe they're just regular atmospheric clouds at that height). "Flora" used only her first name to sign this postcard on the front (at the very bottom) and on the back. The card was postmarked Batavia, N.Y., Dec. 18, 1908, and Flora addressed it to Mrs. Elmira Smith, Gainesville, N.Y., which is located about 30 miles from Batavia. She wrote a straightforward three-word message: "All are well."

"We Are Owl [All] Wishing You a Merry Christmas." A leather postcard published circa 1905-1910 by W. S. Heal, whose "W.S.H" monogram appears in the lower left-hand corner of the card. There isn't any message, address, or other information on the back.

"St. Petersburg, Florida, the Sunshine City, season 1952-1953." The sign in the background of this souvenir "walking photo" (it looks like the poor fellow was glancing away and probably wasn't immediately aware that his picture was being taken) may refer to a "Suwanee" hotel or motel, which evidently had "air conditioned rooms available."

A taken unawares photo (shots of people who clearly have no idea they're being snapped) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo of the W. L. Zimmerman and Sons grocery store in Intercourse , Pennsylvania, shows an Amishman with his horse and buggy (mouse over the image above for an enlargement that makes it easier to see the man in his dark clothes). Since the Amish religion prohibits photography, it's likely that the man in this photo was either unaware that he was being photographed or else he did spot the photographer and turned his back to the camera. As scholar Donald B. Kraybill explained in a Top Ten FAQ about the Amish for the PBS Web site, "Amish churches forbid individuals to pose for face-on photos for two reasons. First, they cite the second of the Bible's Ten Commandments: 'Thou shalt not make… any graven image, or any likeness of any thing….' (Exodous 20:14). Second, in a communal society that values humility, posing for photos is a sign of pride that calls attention to oneself and rubs against Amish beliefs about the importance of deferring and yielding to others." It's ironic, then, that this grocery store appeared in the 1985 film Witness when actor Harrison Ford, who played the part of an undercover detective dressed in Amish garb, made a call from a telephone booth located on the porch of the store. That was a later phone booth, since the booth visible in this photo is the small but elaborate building situated between the buggy and the Gulf gas pumps (it has a "Zimmerman's Store" sign on one side and a very faint "Enterprise Telephone Co." sign painted above its front door). Unfortunately, Zimmerman's grocery store (the sign partially visible beyond the phone booth probably refers to "[Lanco] Service Stores," a local affiliation of independent grocers) went out of business in 2014. The store's role in Witness was described in " Lancaster County Grocery Store Featured in Harrison Ford Movie Closes Its Doors ," an article by Tim Stuhldreher that appeared on LancasterOnline, April 3, 2014. Check out Google's street view of this same scene, which dates to 2011 when the store was still open.

For information about this photo, see An Amishman and His Buggy at Zimmerman's Store, Intercourse, Pa. :

A cardboard milk bottle cap with Santa Claus and greetings of the season.

Adams Express Company is now a "publicly traded diversified equity fund," as Wikipedia puts it, but in the early part of the twentieth century it was still a shipping company, like UPS and FedEx are today. Back then, you could use this postcard to poetically alert a friend or relative to the imminent delivery of a Christmas present by the Adams Express Company. Adams Express Company Today I am sending by Adams Express A Christmas package to your address; And furthermore I wish to say, Don't open until Christmas day.

This delicate Victorian-era Christmas greeting card (smaller in size than a modern business card) displays an eye-catching, three-dimensional design featuring embossed flowers, die-cut stems and leaves peeking out from under a faux folded corner, and stippled shadowing around fake slits through which the flowers and pin extend.

. . . or lyrics to that effect. 8-)

I sure hope Santa gets a new airplane this year! He's still making deliveries with his old biplane. 8-) Postmarked Airydale, Pa., Dec. 24, 1910.

I hope that plane has air brakes! Christmas Greetings Let's light the Yule-log old Santa to greet When he slides down the chimney white with snow It lies there crackling and glowing with heat, And my wishes for you warmly glow.

"Greeting with hearty good wishes for Christmas and New Year, Hazel Kelley."