Alan Mays' photos

"Hook & Ladder No. 1, responding to an alarm, Providence, R.I."

"You know how much I love you, but I just cantaloupe [can't elope] with you." See also You Had Better Ask Papa :

"You know I love you, but you had better ask papa, as I just cantaloupe [can't elope] with you." See also I Just Can't Elope! :

It's probably not the Cavern Club , but the venue does look like it's in a cellar somewhere. Anyone ever hear of the Royal Dukes? (There's an unrelated Texas-based Royal Dukes Band , too.)

"Grand Social Banquet at the Central House, City of Nashua, N.H., on Thursday, March 15, 1860. Cards of admission, two dollars. Tickets, $2.00. 18155."

No, probably not the Watusi . She has one eye closed, a hand on her hip, the other on her head, her left foot's out, and she may be shaking it all about. I think it could be the Hokey Pokey —that might be what it's all about! In any case, this was my strike a pose runner-up for this week's Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A strike a pose photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Clowning around in a cornfield!

"I'm on my way--I'll be seein' yeh. Photo by F. D. Conard, Garden City, Ks. No. 49."

A real photo postcard.

A real photo postcard from Penn Park Studio, York, Pa.

A real photo postcard from the Penn Park Studio, York, Pa.

"Quaker Rolled White Oats. Manufactured by the American Cereal Co. Address: Chicago, Ill., U.S.A. Use only Quaker brand rolled oats. Pure Quaker Oats. 2 pounds. A Family Affair." Five views of a nineteenth-century metamorphic trade card, which--as it's unfolded--changes from a Quaker Oats cereal box to a scene of children eating cereal at the breakfast table (with the Quaker Oats man lurking in the background).

A weddings photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten caption (barely visible at the bottom of the photo above): "Mr. & Mrs. T. Thumb." Handwritten note on the back of the photo (see below): "Mr. & Mrs. Tom Thumb." Printed on the back of the photo: "Published by the New York Photographic Co., No. 453 Broadway, New York." Other versions of this photo are captioned "Mr. & Mrs. 'General Tom Thumb' in Their Wedding Costumes" (see, for instance, Photo_History's copy, Tom Thumb's Wedding by Brady , on Flickr). As Wikipedia explains, " General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton" (1838-1883), a little person who became famous as a performer for circus promoter P. T. Barnum. His marriage to Lavinia Warren (1841-1919), a little person who was a former school teacher, took place on February 10, 1863, and received extensive publicity. Stratton died in 1883, and Lavinia married another little person, Count Primo Magri (1849-1920), in 1885 (see the photo of Count and Countess Magri below). Despite her marriage to Magri, Lavinia continued to make appearances as Mrs. General Tom Thumb (see below for a 1912 theater advertisement and an undated green ticket ). Lavinia died in 1919 and was buried next to her first husband. Magri passed away the following year. After all the publicity generated by Lavinia and Stratton's marriage in 1863, people began referring to the playful mock marriages in which children assume the roles of bride and groom as "Tom Thumb weddings." These events are still held today by churches and other groups for fundraising and entertainment purposes (see below for a photo of a children's mock wedding held in the 1920s ).

Handwritten note on this CDV photo back : "Mr. & Mrs. Tom Thumb." Backmark: "Published by the New York Photographic Co., No. 453 Broadway, New York." For the photo on the front of this CDV, see Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb in Their Wedding Attire :

"Mrs. General Tom Thumb, compliments, Trenton Theatre, ladies' and children's matinee, Friday, February 16th, 1912." See also Mrs. General Tom Thumb Co., Admit One : For more information, see Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb in Their Wedding Attire :

"Mrs. General Tom Thumb Co. Admit one. W. J. Maxwell, manager. R. B. Marsh, business manager." See also Mrs. General Tom Thumb, Trenton Theatre, 1912 (below, left). For more information, see Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb in Their Wedding Attire (below, right).

Wikipedia's text messaging article provides a detailed history of texting. Although there were antecedents-- telex in 1933, ALOHAnet in 1971, and even wireless telegraphy in the nineteenth century--it wasn't until 1995 that Sprint Spectrum introduced the first modern text messaging service (SMS, or Short Messaging Service) in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. I think that this chronology will have to be revised, however, since I'm pretty sure that this old photo shows a kid texting away on his phone while his brother and mother wait for him to finish. Unfortunately, the picture isn't dated, but since the boys are wearing knickerbockers . I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was taken as early as the 1910s or 1920s. I wonder if any other texting photos from the early twentieth century have survived.