Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of sitting on the grass . Handwritten message on the other side: "To Kate. I suppose you know who these are. Ellsworth and his wife. I've forgot whether I've ever sent you any before or not but will send this any-way." This real photo postcard bears no date or postmark, but the type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side suggests that it dates between 1904 and 1918.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of perfect family portrait (family members trying to look good) . Photographer's name on this nineteenth-century cabinet card photograph: "F. B. Zay, Findlay, O. FBZ." Frederick B. Zay (1842-1910) of Findlay, Ohio, took this photo of an unidentified family. The parents and their nine children are all nicely dressed, and the photographer has arranged them carefully in front of a nondescript backdrop.

Dr. Arthur F. Moore (1843-1924) used this colorful leaf-shaped trade card to advertise his medical practice in Winsted, Connecticut. Moore occasionally contributed notes about medical topics that appeared in the United States Medical Investigator (prior to 1875 the title of the periodical was simply the Medical Investigator ). Since the published pieces included his name and location, they document the different places he lived. Notes that Moore contributed in 1872 and 1873, for instance, listed his residence as Lyons, Wisconsin. By 1877 he had moved to Sandy Hill, New York. In 1883 he was in Winsted, Connecticut, where he handed out copies of this trade card. A year later, he was in Bridgewater, Vermont, and then in 1886 he ended up in in Ludlow, Vermont. For another leaf-shaped trade card, see The Livermore Pen, Stylographic Pen Co., Boston, Mass. A. F. Moore, M.D. Office in Park Place Hours 1 to 2 & 6 to 8 P.M. Residence 141 Main Street, Winsted, Ct.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of hot hot heat (sweating, sweltering, melting) . Handwritten caption: "Bone Dry. New Mexico." This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles with two pointing up and two pointing down) on the other side, which suggests a date that may be as early as 1917 to 1930. For another sweltering situation, see Hot Meal, July 1914 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of strange, unexplainable gestures . A photo of two young women who are striking funny poses -- with crossed legs, curious hand gestures, and bright smiles -- after jumping up on top of a tree stump.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fields, crops, pastures . Empty barrels line the rows of dug-up potatoes in this photo of a potato harvest. On the right-hand side, men are placing barrels full of potatoes on a horse-drawn wagon. The horses on the left may be pulling a mechanical potato digger. A man standing in the middle and other workers in the far distance are using baskets to gather the potatoes and put them in the barrels. See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of the harvest activities in the field. This is an unused real photo postcard with no address, message, or date. The back of the card has an Azo stamp box design (with squares in all four corners) that suggests a time frame that may range from 1924 to 1949. Although there's no indication of the location where this photo was taken, an article by Paul E. Rand details a similar process of Harvesting Potatoes in Maine. His description is part of Presque Isle: The Star City , a site on the Maine Memory Network. For a similar harvest photo that's referenced in Rand's article, see Harvesting Potatoes, Presque Isle, 1940 .

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a motel, hotel, tent, or any sort of building or structure used for overnight accommodations while traveling . Signs: "Hotel Allen." "The Allen House. Meals 25¢." This is a real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Mrs. Mary Ackley, Wyalusing, Bradford Co., Penna., R.F.D. 38, and postmarked in Sandpoint, Idaho, on May 9, 1912. Handwritten message: "Sandpoint Ida, May 8, 1912. Mrs. Ackley:-This is our new home. We bought in Feb., are moved and settled, have a fine trade, can seat 30 at once in our dining room. We are both real well and busy, making lots of garden. Wish you would take a start and come out, a change would do you good. Mrs. D. H. Allen. 511 North 2nd Ave., Sandpoint."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a factory, warehouse, or any other example of an industrial building . Caption on the front of this real photo postcard: "York Rolling Mill Explosion, Aug. 10, 1908, 2:45 P.M., in which 8 10 were killed and 13 19 injured. Photographed by Daniel J. Diehl , 712 Prospect St., York, Pa." Handwritten message on the other side (no address, date, stamp, or postmark): "I guess you know this place. Baby's cough is much better. Your postal received to-day. Emily." The explosion of a boiler at the York Rolling Mill in York, Pennsylvania, on August 10, 1908, resulted in 10 deaths and hurled pieces of metal into the surrounding neighborhood. For additional details about the rolling mill disaster, see Jim McClure, 1908: ‘Boiler Explosion At York Rolling Mills Kills 9 Men; 20 injured’ , and Stephen H. Smith, #7 York Rolling Mill in Spring Garden Township; Site of a Massive Explosion in 1908 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a school, library, or any kind of educational building . Caption: "Public Library, Bemidji, Minn. 787." This is a real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Mrs. Mary Andrews, 8217 Goodman Av., S.E., Cleveland, Ohio, and postmarked in Bemidji, Minn., on June 18, 1924. Handwritten message: "This is to let you know that I am enjoying my vacation in northwestern Minnesota. Fine scenery here. Lawrence." This building served as the public library in Bemidji , Minnesota, from 1909 to 1961. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and underwent restoration in 2019. For more information, see the Bemidji Carnegie Library entry in Wikipedia. The former library is located a short distance -- less than a quarter mile -- from Bemidji's famous statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox . See also cropped versions of the left side and right side of the photo.

A close-up of the left side of a real photo postcard of the public library, in Bemidji, Minnesota, circa 1924. Note the two girls walking in the grass to the left of the library entrance. One of the girls appears to be holding a doll. See also a cropped version of the right side of the photo. For more information, see the full version .

A close-up of the right side of a real photo postcard of the public library, in Bemidji, Minnesota, circa 1924. Lake Bemidji is visible behind the library beyond the trees. See also a cropped version of the left side of the photo. For more information, see the full version .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a skyscraper, rowhome, or any other type of building you might find in a city . Caption: "City Hall, Lancaster, Pa. Built 1795 on ground deeded by Andrew Hamilton in 1730." The Old City Hall building in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has "housed city and county offices, a Masonic lodge, a post office, and library." A Heritage Center Museum was located there for several years, and it currently serves as a visitor's center. This real photo postcard shows the building at a time when streetcars still used the tracks in the pavement and the electrical wires overhead. Check the Google Street view to see how the Old City Hall and its surroundings look today.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a barn, farmhouse, or any variety of agricultural building . This is a real photo postcard of a bank barn with a gambrel roof and roof-ridge ventilators . Next to the barn is a sturdy stone silo . There's no name, address, postmark, or stamp box on the other side to indicate where or when the photo was taken. There is, however, a handwritten note that says, "Skin of a diamond rattler from Florida." I had to take a closer look to spot it, but that's apparently the skin of a large eastern diamondback rattlesnake hanging on the gable-end side of the barn.

The skin of a large eastern diamondback rattlesnake hangs from the side of a barn in this detail from a real photo postcard .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tourist attractions (the quirkier the better) . Sign in background: "Dinosaur Land Restaurant and Carry-Out. Gifts." An undated snapshot of a man and woman posing among the inhabitants of Dinosaur Land in White Post, Virginia.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of historic sites . A snapshot of Plymouth Rock at Pilgrim Memorial State Park in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The historic rock is "the traditional site of disembarkation of the Mayflower Pilgrims who founded Plymouth Colony in December 1620," as Wikipedia describes it. Although the sand, bars, and stone walls visible in the photo make the rock's enclosure seem rough and stark, it's actually surrounded by a grand granite portico designed by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White. For a view of part of the portico, see People Posing at Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Massachusetts .

Two couples pose for a souvenir photo in front of the Plymouth Rock Portico that houses the historic Plymouth Rock at Pilgrim Memorial State Park in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White designed the granite portico, which was completed in 1921. This is an unused real photo postcard without any stamp box or other identifying details. For a view of the rock itself, see Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 1965 .