Alan Mays' photos

"Season's Greetings, Elmer Myers, Your Rutter's Driver. Rutter Bros., Inc., Dairy Products, N. Geo. St., Ext'd. Golden Guernsey, America's Table Milk." Mouse over the image for a close-up of the milkman and his milk truck .

For the full greeting card, see Season's Greetings from Your Rutter's Milkman (below).

Mouse over the image for a closer view of the bug toy . Either that's a giant mutant insect getting ready to attack that poor kid or it's a toy of some sort, perhaps something like the mechanical crawling beetle pictured in the Victoria and Albert Museum's image collection.

See also the full photo of the bug toy (below). Either that's a giant mutant insect getting ready to attack that poor kid or it's a toy of some sort, perhaps something like the mechanical crawling beetle pictured in the Victoria and Albert Museum's image collection.

A bunny, a tiger, and Santa? "Merry Christmas, Cynthia, David, Betty, and Don."

"Just between the two of us a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Crackel."

"Lebanon Daily News-Times and I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Your newspaper boy, Harold E. Bressler."

"Any favors, $1.00, 50c, 25c, or even dimes, will be thankfully appreciated by yours truly, The Messenger Boy." Walter Spahr, identified as "Messenger No. 1" on two similar greeting cards, presumably used the cards to solicit tips from customers. The card publisher--"Balch Bros. & West Co., Utica, N.Y."--is apparently still in business as Balch Bros. Flags and More, a supplier of flags and flag accessories now based in Syracuse, N.Y.

"Eleanor Kautz."

"Hold everything. Wish you were with us this Christmas just to enjoy the upholding of old traditions and customs."

"Mr. Santa Claus. Santa Claus, Ariz., on Hiway 93. Gallup Photo." Stamped on the back of this real photo postcard: "Santa Claus, Arizona, via Box 373, Kingman." See Wikipedia's Santa Claus, Arizona article for the story of what is now an "uninhabited desert town" and how it used to be a Santa-themed tourist attraction.

A photo of children for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . An undated photo by Morrows Studio, Newport, Perry County, Pa., shows schoolchildren posing in front of a blackboard. The expressions on the kids' faces range from angelic sweetness to stoic forbearance to utter impatience. My favorite is the girl sitting third from left in the front row (mouse over the image to see a close-up view of her and some of the other children ). Her dramatically amusing appearance--with puffed-out cheeks, bulging eyes, and a hand over her stomach--either indicates that she's going to be sick or that she's ready for the photo session to be over.

See also the full version of this photo:

Handwritten message on the front of this real photo postcard (see writing at right, above): "High Water Mark. 12/2/06. This was all done today. What do you think of that grin? The fellow tried to take the picture without exposing the plate and we were trying to keep from laughing." The giant book behind the two men is part of the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument , which is, as Wikipedia explains, "a Gettysburg Battlefield memorial which identifies the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia units of the infantry attack on the Battle of Gettysburg, third day, with a large bronze tablet, as well as the Union Army of the Potomac's 'respective troops who met or assisted to repulse Longstreet's Assault.' The memorial is named for the line of dead and wounded of Pickett's Charge which marked the deepest penetration into the Union line at The Angle when '4,500 men threw down their arms and came in as prisoners.'" For later views of the monument, see Bicyclists at the High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., 1912 and High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., August 8, 2013 (below).

For more information about the monument and an earlier postcard view of it, see High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., December 2, 1906 (below).

"Susquehanna Trail. The right road to a good smoke. Mild, mellow cigar." As Wikipedia explains, "The Susquehanna Trail was an auto trail in the United States linking Washington, D.C., with Niagara Falls, New York. It passed through Baltimore, Maryland; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; and Buffalo, New York." Although it's no longer an official designation, "Susquehanna Trail" is still widely used in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York as a name for roads, businesses, and places along the old route. Somewhere along the way, a tobacco company thought it would make a good name for a cigar as well.