Alan Mays' photos

"Photo Visiting Card, 12 for 25 cts." A Victorian-era sample calling card with pasted-on photograph.

This blotter, depicting a boisterous political character named the "Hon. I. Save-on Gas," was part of a Depression-era advertising campaign for Amoco's "Orange American Gas." With the approach of the 1932 U.S. presidentital election pitting Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover against New York Democratic governor Franklin D. Roosevelt., Amoco encouraged motorists to "Vote the Economy Ticket!" and buy its orange gasoline. The gasoline was actually dyed orange so that motorists could identify it by color through the clear glass cylinders that were part of the gas pumps of the time. I'm not sure how Amoco's Economy Ticket fared, but voters ended up choosing Roosevelt over Hoover as president.

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Although my copy of this stereoscopic card doesn't include any publication information, versions posted on Flickr are titled "The Haunted Lovers" and were published by Littleton View Company in 1893 (see Photo_History's The Haunted Lovers Stereo Card and depthandtime's The Haunted Lovers ). For the full stereoview card, see The Haunted Lovers (Stereoscopic Card) :

For information about this stereoscopic card, see The Haunted Lovers :

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Stamped on the back of the photo: "Sta-Nu Prints. Jun 26, 1940, Hayes Photo Service, New Hope, Pa." Although these kids look like they're ready for Halloween, the month (June) that the photo was developed and the warm day (note the open windows of the school building behind them) lead me to suspect that they were dressed up for a play or some other school activity.

Fish is a brain food, Which is said to never fail. I therefore recommend That you should eat a whale.

Caption: "Cedar, diam 20 feet, cir 60 feet, near Monroe, Wash. Teeple Photo, copyright." Three women and a boy stand on or beside a towering cedar tree--20 feet in diameter with a circumference of 60 feet--that was (or still is?) located near the city of Monroe, Washington .

Tourists pose for a souvenir photo in front of the "Giant" (as the sign indicates), one of the huge redwoods in what used to be called Big Tree Grove but is now part of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park , located in Santa Cruz County, California.

The Brook Leaf Love Nest was an oversized tree house built along Kreutz Creek on a farm in Hellam Township, York County, Pennsylvania, in the 1920s. Newlyweds on their honeymoon rented the "love nest," and it was a well-known local attraction until it burned down in the late 1940s after being struck by lightning. Interestingly, The Haines Shoe House, Hellam, Pa. , was another nearby destination for honeymooners. For additional information, see the following York Blog postings: Brook Leaf Love Nest Tree House Known as Hellam Honeymoon Spot and Hellam Tree House Makes the Movie News Reels .

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten on the back: "Hostetter Farm oats field." This photo doesn't feature a Children of the Corn scenario like Deborah Lundbech's delightfully spooky If You Grow It, She Will Come... , but I wouldn't want to see these sinister Grown-Ups of the Oats coming through the field toward me!

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of the photo: "Halloween, 1955." A little cowboy--wearing a Howdy Doody kerchief around his neck and Howdy Doody boots--poses in front of the fireplace alongside his brother, whose costume features a devilish image on the front.

Fellow citizens, be vigilant! The invasion has begun! Sighted along State Route 255 near Penfield, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, October 26, 2014, at approximately 1354 hours. Now I wish I would have listened when they said that the Flying Saucers Are Real!

Don't forget to make time for stunts during your Halloween party! This handy dandy Whirl-O spinner makes it easy. Who wouldn't want to "Whistle ' Yankee Doodle ' with a saucepan on your noodle" or "Throw ten feet, never fail, three potatoes in a pail"? You'll find out who can "Squirm and wiggle, then laugh and giggle" or who's more likely to "Keep a straight face for a while, let nobody make you smile." Of course, you'll have to prepare ahead of time. In addition to a saucepan, potatoes, and a pail, you'll need some string, a broom, a blindfold, an apple, some balloons, needle and thread, and a bunch of other stuff. Check out the full list of stunts below. You may want to practice each one before the party so that you can demonstrate for your guests. -------- Whirl-O Halloween Fortune and Stunt Game Take a string and where you stand, tie a knot with just one hand. Ride a broom around the floor, come back where you were before. Leap like a frog and give a croak. Walk a strait line to the end, never slip or descend. Turn blindfolded ten times round point to your love. On your tip-toes nice and fine, cross the room in one strait line. Push an apple, nothing more, with your nose across the floor. Stand up and bow, and moo like a cow. Squirm and wiggle, then laugh and giggle. Try your wind and see how soon you can burst a toy balloon. Take a needle, shove thread in it, all in less than half a minute. Throw ten feet, never fail, three potatoes in a pail. Swing an apple on a string, bite it on the second swing. See if you can show this knack, tie a bow behind your back. Whistle Yankee Doodle with a saucepan on your noodle, Bite and chew as fast as able five marshmallows from the table. Keep a straight face for a while, let nobody make you smile. Stand on your toes and wiggle your nose. Spin like a top until you have to stop. Make a spoon linger on your little finger.

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard with no writing or information on the verso. Presumably these guys were dressed for success at Halloween or some other occasion that called for fine feminine fashions.

Postmarked Roseburg, Oregon, Oct. 25, 1916.

"Halloween Greetings. Boil and bubble, toil and trouble."