Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of birds (wild or domesticated) . Four women pose among the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) in Venice, Italy, probably sometime in the 1920s. There's no stamp, postmark, or address on the other side of this real photo postcard, but one of the women wrote this message: "Yes, Lucy actually said we ought have her picture taken in this plebeian manner. The pigeons annoyed and scared us but otherwise we are perfectly happy." Printed on the other side: "Cartolina Postale" (Italian for "postcard") with a "Satrap" stamp box.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of disaster . The handwritten caption on the other side of this unused real photo postcard identifies it as the "Fred Duenow Barn." The Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) on the back suggests a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. I haven't had any success in uncovering any information about Fred Duenow, the location of his barn, or what windstorm or tornado might have destroyed it. I also can't figure out why more than 50 men, women, and children are sitting and standing in front and on top of the remains of the barn to pose for a photo. Some of the men standing on the barn are dressed in overalls, so perhaps they're getting ready to start work on taking apart what's left of the barn. The other men and women, however, are wearing suits and dresses more appropriate for a picnic than a work crew. For better views of the group, see cropped versions of the left side and right side of the photo.

A close-up of the left side of a real photo postcard showing children and women posing in front of a destroyed barn. See also a cropped version of the right side . For more information, see the full version .

A close-up of the right side of a real photo postcard showing showing men, women, and children standing in front and on top of a destroyed barn. See also a cropped version of the left side . For more information, see the full version .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of blowin' in the wind (windy or windswept) . Caption on front: "Mrs. Fieller['s] Yard after Storm. 6/18/43." Description on back: "6/18/43. This is Stella Fieller['s] place that is her chicken coop. Stella's in the picture." Stella Fieller's chicken coop and trees were swept to the ground by the wind during a storm in June 1943. Based on some other photos I bought at the same time as this one, I believe that Mrs. Fieller lived in or near Allentown, Pennsylvania. For more wind-related photos, see Sailors at the Parthenon and A Sunny Afternoon at Camp Chicken .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of barns, barnyards, and barnyard animals . This is a real photo postcard of a man and woman posing outside a barn with a cow and the cow's twin calves. The photographer's shadow fell across the woman and one of the calves. The postcard is unused with a divided back, but there's no stamp box or other details on the other side to help determine when or where the photo was taken. It's likely, however, that the image dates to the late 1900s or 1910s, and the location may be somewhere in Pennsylvania. For some comparable photos, see Fancy Cow and Calf and Triplet Calves, Rooks County, Kansas .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tricks and treats for Halloween . A young boy dressed in a clown or hobo Halloween costume holds the hand of a scarecrow as he poses for a picture. On the table behind him is a grinning jack-o'-lantern wearing a pointed hat. The same scarecrow decoration coincidently shows up in another photo. See Funny Easter Bunnies at Halloween, 1961 . The 1961 date on that photo suggests that this one dates to the late 1950s or early 1960s.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tricks and treats for Halloween . A cute and amusing Halloween snapshot that's a little out of focus. Although the photo was developed in "Feb. 73" (as indicated on the left-hand border), the girl evidently posed with her jack-o'-lanterns during the previous October. For a similar picture, see I Love My Jack-O'-Lantern!

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of an arch . This is a real photo postcard that served as an invitation for a Sunday School Rally Service held at the First Reformed Church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Among the various interesting details in the photo, note the pipe organ on the left and the arched alcove in the middle. A Rally Service or Rally Day is a special celebration held by some Protestant churches in September or October to promote family attendance at church services and encourage children's participation in Sunday school. Although the date—October 7—is incomplete, I was still able to use the other information on the postcard to determine the year that the Rally Service took place. Robert James Pilgrim, whose name is listed on the card, served as minister at the First Reformed Church from 1906 to 1911, according to The History of the Pittsburgh Synod of the Reformed Church in the United States (1920), by David B. Lady, p. 246. During those years, the only time that October 7 fell on a Sunday was in 1906, so Pilgrim must have held the Rally Service that year. For a similar photo of a church interior, see Where Shall I Spend Eternity? Sunday School Rally Service, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2 p.m. You are cordially invited and urged to be present. Robert J. Pilgrim, minister. Chas. T. Corman, superintendent. First Reformed Church, Carlisle, Pa.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of something fishy (fishing or fish) . This is an unused real photo postcard showing two men posing with a big fish. The name "Harry Kehn" is written on the front, and "Florida" is penciled in on the back. The Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side suggests a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. For a similar photo, see Sailfish Caught on Yacht Skip Jack, Floridian Hotel Dock, Miami Beach, Florida .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of ain't we got fun (people obviously enjoying themselves) . Handwritten note on the other side of this snapshot: "Sharon, Gale, Mert, & Claude. Taken at Mystery Spot." Signs in photo: "Brig." "Confusion Hill, Redwood Hi-way 101." Sharon, Gale, Mert, and Claude were obviously having fun as they posed for a photo at the Redwood Shoe House at Confusion Hill in Piercy, California (see a cropped version of the picture for a better view of their funny facial expressions). The note on the back of the photo is a source of confusion since it misidentifies the location as the Mystery Spot , which is a separate tourist attraction located in Santa Cruz, California.

Four adults make funny faces as they pose for a photo at the Redwood Shoe House at Confusion Hill in Piercy, California. For more info, see the full version of the snapshot.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of down on the corner, out on the street (people on the sidewalk or in the street) . Caption: "Middletown Fire, Apr. 9, 1910." This is a real photo postcard of a man walking down the street past the burned-out shells of buildings in Middletown , Pennsylvania. A fire on Saturday, April 9, 1910, decimated the town, destroying 75 commercial buildings and residences in a four-block area of the business district. Notice the dog that's following along behind the man. On the right-hand side of the photo, a second dog is walking past a barrel at the side of the street. Visible in the distance beyond the man, a crowd of people -- probably sightseers -- has gathered in the street.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of on the beach . Handwritten caption on the other side of this real photo postcard: "Atlantic City, July 5, 1925." On the day after the Fourth of July in an unidentified photo studio in Atlantic City, New Jersey, this couple posed on the real sand of a fake beach. Behind them is a painted backdrop of dramatic ocean waves and an extremely long pier that extends the whole way to the horizon. For other studio beach scenes, see Two Woman Posing for a Boardwalk Souvenir, Atlantic City, N.J. , and Women in Swimsuits .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cooking: outside or in . I'm not sure what mama's cooking, but she may be preparing food for a picnic. There appear to be white cloth-covered baskets lying in the grass, with one or two baskets barely visible behind mama and another in the right midground. "Mama cookin' 'em. Catherine Mueller." Sent to Mr. W. S. Osgood, 410 Morris Bldg., New Orleans, La., and postmarked Kansas City, Kans., Aug. 20, 1907. There's no other message on the back.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fields or forests . Photo shop ink stamp on the other side of this snapshot: "Sweigart’s, 278-80 W. Market St., York, Pa., Oct. [11?], 1943." A farmer on a tractor pulls a corn harvester and a wagon through a field of corn in York County, Pennsylvania, in 1943. It appears that the photographer is riding in the wagon among the ears of corn. On the left, someone's hand is reaching toward the front of the wagon. For an earlier harvest photo, see Bringing in the Corn .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of statues and monuments . Inscription: "Las Fuerzas Armadas de la nación a Eduardo Abaroa defensor del litoral Boliviano." (Translation via DeepL: "The nation's Armed Forces to Eduardo Abaroa defender of the Bolivian coastline.") A statue of Eduardo Abaroa (1838-1879) located in Plaza Abaroa (Abaroa Square) in the city of La Paz , Bolivia. According to Wikipedia, Abaroa was "Bolivia's foremost hero of the War of the Pacific (1879–1883), which pitted Chile against Bolivia and Peru. He was one of the leaders of the civilian resistance to the Chilean invasion at the Battle of Topáter ." This slide was taken in the 1950s by an unknown photographer who was visiting Bolivia and other South American countries. The base of the statue and the buildings surrounding the plaza have changed significantly in the intervening years. Compare this slide with the Eduardo Abaroa Hidalgo 4 image in Wikimedia Commons. See also South America in Vintage Slides .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of swings and hammocks . This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box on the other side (four corner triangles pointing up) that suggests a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. A barn and other farm buildings appear in the background of the inset photo of a man and woman posing on a hammock. The surrounding scene of a house on a lake doesn't quite fit with the agricultural setting of the photo. See a cropped version of the photo postcard for a close-up of the couple on the hammock.