Alan Mays' photos

Unrepentant milk drinkers arrested for disudderly conduct and nearly causing a cowtastrophe.

"Will you help make November 6th, 1940, a day of thanksgiving, or will you make it a day of mourning? Save our Constitution! Uphold the precepts of our republic! No third term!" This small card was a protest against U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's run for an unheard-of third term in office during the 1940 presidential election . Although the U.S. Constitution did not specify how many four-year terms a president could serve, George Washington, the first president, informally set a precedent for a two-term limit when he refused to run for a third term. Roosevelt, however, disregarded precedent, won a third term in 1940, and then a fourth term in 1944 before he died in office in 1945. As a result, the U.S. Congress set a two-term limit in 1947 by passing the Twenty-second Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified by the states in 1951.

Thanksgiving greetings from a wacky turkey with an Uncle Sam head! Posted for the Weird Vintage Postcards group.

The Ghost of Thanksgiving Past floats out of the kettle to haunt the table, only to find that everyone has fled in terror. A frightful holiday scene for the Weird Vintage Postcards group.

A colorful Victorian calling card. The typeface used on the card is MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan's Spencerian Script with ornamented capitals.

According to a brief biography posted on Dropzone.com, a skydiving Web site, Edward "Eddie" Butler was a barnstormer and stunt parachute jumper who had made over 1,600 jumps by 1934. He also worked as a parachute tester at the Switlik Parachute Co. He died in an airplane crash in 1944. This small card--about the size of a modern business card--may have been given out at parachute jumping demonstrations.

A real photo postcard. "Bringing in the sheaves. A common scene on a Kans. farm. Copyrighted photograph, 1908, W. H. Martin."

The Zinco typeface illustrated on this advertising card is listed in the MacKellar, Smiths and Jordan Company's Specimens of Printing Types (1892), p. 285. The MacKellar Smiths and Jordan Company Type founders, Sansom Street, Philadelphia. Progressive and ambitious printers recognize the value of tasteful printing types. Our productions are unsurpassed for superior wearing quality, accuracy, and originality. Zimco series, four sizes.

Heading to the circus at the Vintage Photos Theme Park . Elephants walk trunk to tail down the street as part of a parade to announce that the circus is in town. As Circus World points out as part of its History of the Great Circus Parade , "Circuses would travel from town to town, quickly erect tents, do several performances, then move on to the next venue. As the circus entered a new city, people would gather to watch the wagons, exotic animals, and equestriennes roll by." For another view of the same parade, see Circus Horses on Parade .

Men on horses--including three with a tuba, trombone, and drum--take part in a parade through town to let everyone know that the circus has arrived. For another view of the same parade, see Circus Elephants on Parade (thumbnail image below).

Or at least that's what I thought it looked like!

Happy Halloween! Restless kids dressed in their Halloween costumes pose for the photographer in order to demonstrate their participation in the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF fundraising program, which has been taking place since 1950 (I'm guessing that this photo may date to the 1960s). The mom and dad are placing coins in the UNICEF collection boxes that the kids are holding. It looks to me like the kids are impatiently enduring this interruption to their evening of trick-or-treating (the girl in the center, who's grudgingly holding a collection box with her arms crossed, seems to be barely tolerating the situation). And the forced smile on the mother's face is certainly different from the pleasant expression on the father's--he seems to be the only one who's actually getting into the spirit of things!

"Tiny Town Bowling Alleys, Richmond, Virginia, 'The South's Most Modern Bowling Plant.'" Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Tiny Town, America's most beautiful amusement centre, Richmond, Va., consisting of 27 H. Wagner and Adler High Speed, High Score all-maple alleys, acoustically treated, with concealed lighting. Second floor, Tantilla Garden, the South's most beautiful ballroom."

Handwritten on the back of the photo: "Suzy on Halloween '53 (her hat slipped a little)."

Postmarked: Hagerstown, Md., Oct. 30, 1908. Sent to: Mr. J. D. Payne, Box 816, Martinsburg, W.Va. Handwritten message: "Compliment of the season. You have a fine appetite, so [ac]cept a slice of cake at 12 p.m. on Halloween eve and have pleasant dreams."

A unique invitation for a Halloween party that probably took place in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Friday, October 25, 1929. The bat at left unfolds to reveal the witch at right opening her arms to invite potential partygoers to "see what fate holds through the year for you." For separate views of the bat and witch, see This Bat Comes from the Witches' Den to Summon You! and Come Take a Stir at the Witches' Brew .

"This bat comes from the witches' den to summon you!" A wide-eyed bat that reveals a Halloween party invitation when unfolded. For the complete invitation, see Halloween Party Invitation with Bat and Witch .

"Come take a stir at the witches brew / And see what fate holds through the year for you." "At the stroke of 8. On Fri., Oct. 25th. Place 548 S. 19th St. Edna Gerber. 'MASK.'" A beckoning witch invites potential partygoers to come stir the witches' brew. For the complete invitation, see Halloween Party Invitation with Bat and Witch .