Alan Mays' photos

An advertising postcard from the Lutheran Church Supply Stores, Philadelphia, Pa. Printed on the back: "Clergy Shirts in Color....Soft, comfortable, and elegantly styled, these short sleeve shirts hold their shape and color through many machine or hand washings. The new look in clerical shirts."

"We're happy to present you with this memento of your visit to Sherwin -Williams, your best buy in paints. Bear Brand, finest sandpaper and tape. Picture attached with 941 Bear double-face tape."

"Hey kids! Look. New novelty. Thrills! Fun! Action! The Bazooka Blow Gun with approximately 10,000 rounds of ammunition. 10¢ complete."

The Rev. John William Hamilton was founding pastor of the People's Church in Boston, where he served from 1875 to 1884. He was later elected as a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. This fundraising card provides evidence of the ambitious building program that took place during Hamilton's tenure at the church. According to The Centennial of New England Methodism (Boston, Mass: Crawford Brothers, 1891), ed. George A. Crawford, the construction of the People's Church took about seven years. "The corner-stone of the chapel and parsonage was laid May 27, 1877.... The corner-stone of the church-building itself was not laid until July 3, 1882, and the building was not opened for worship until Sunday, February 10, 1884" (pp. 508-9). The Owner of This Card Has Purchased One Brick in the People's Church Cor. of Columbus Avenue and Berkely St., Boston. The Rev. J. W. Hamilton, pastor. The edifice combines three buildings in one: the church, parsonage, and chapel. The main auditorium will seat 3000 people; the chapel opens into it, greatly increasing its capacity. No expensive tower or costly ornaments, and the church will be free. The Rev. D. W. Couch, financial agent. D. E. Poland, pres. and treas. board of trustees. "The rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all." [Proverbs 22:2.]

"Atomic Safety Matches, supplied to PO Eng Trading Manila P.I. by Hong Kong Match Factory, manufacturers." For other atomic ephemera, take a look over on Flickr to see Fire and Air Raid Signals / Survival Secrets for "A" Bombing and The Original Canned Radiation, Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania .

"Sliced Butter-Nut Bread. Convenient for toast, for sandwiches, for table use. It's made with milk." The greatest thing since sliced bread!? I've used the phrase but never knew that sliced bread was an innovation that only dates to 1928. This Butter-Nut Bread sign, probably used in stores in the late 1920s or early 1930s, uses sliced bread as a selling point, suggesting that it's convenient for toasting, making sandwiches, or just eating at the table.

A flowers photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A slide dated April 1959 shows an elaborate planter stand with flowering plants (violets?) situated in front of a window. Trendy curtains with geometric shapes flank the stand on both sides, and other household furnishings--a lamp, stereo, framed photo, artwork on the wall--are also visible. For another slide taken in the same house (with the same distinctive style of curtains), see Here's the Lady You Ordered! Where Do You Want Us to Put Her?

"The Living Hope Evang. Fdtn. presents the Central Pa. Gospel Band and Rev. John L. Rosenberry, Sunday, June 23rd, 1957, 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Bring your lunch. Services will be held at the Roxbury Camp Grounds, Roxbury, Penna. Everyone is welcome! Bulletin, Mt. Joy, Pa."

"Perfecto Garcia & Bros., Tampa, Fla. Clear Havana Cigars. Made in 65 sizes."

"Dye's Taxi. Tours and trips arranged to suit you. Yorktown, Jamestown, Plantations, Monticello, and Carter's Grove a specialty. Competent, courteous chauffeur, guide: Vance. Phone 99."

The New Ideal Diner in Aberdeen, Md., August 22, 2006.

The New Ideal Diner in Aberdeen, Md., August 22, 2006.

The woman here is pretending to shiver in the cold as she stands next to the North Pole and igloo at Santa's Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire, during the summer of 1969. This is one of a number of vacation photos I purchased recently (in 2013). For another example from this set, see Home of 1000 Animals, Lake Placid, N.Y., 1969 . For another Christmas theme park with its own North Pole, see Santa's Workshop, North Pole, New York .

"Home of 1000 Animals" was a tourist attraction that was part of the Sterling Alaska Fur and Game Farms, with locations in Lake Placid (as seen here) and Ausable Chasm, New York. According to the sign, there was "No Place on Earth Like This," and many tourists--like the ones here in the car pulling into the parking space--were undoubtedly trapped into stopping. Among the thousand animals inside were St. Nick's Animals , a Santa-themed section where visitors could feed goats, deer, and other animals. This is one of a number of vacation photos I purchased recently (in 2013). For another example from this set, see Shivering at the North Pole, Santa's Village, Jefferson, N.H., 1969 .

This photo showing some of "St. Nick's Animals" was taken at the "Home of 1000 Animals," which was a tourist attraction that was part of the Sterling Alaska Fur and Game Farms, with locations in Lake Placid (as seen here) and Ausable Chasm, New York. As the signs suggest (see text below), visitors could purchase food in order to feed Angora goats, several varieties of deer, and other animals. For another photo, see Home of 1000 Animals, Lake Placid, N.Y., 1969 . St. Nick's Animals, Lake Placid Notice. Deer will eat from your hands. Buy food from machines and get good pictures. Angoras climb the mountain. Feed 'em on top. Get a good picture. Here are . . . brown Japanese, white European, Dama dama, [and] Indian spotted deers.

Slide, location unknown, probably late 1950s. Birds at Home , a children's book by Marguerite Henry that was first published in 1942, is one of the few identifiable titles on the shelves in the background (the yellow letters of the title are visible at center top).

Slide dated October 1959, location unknown. Hilarity ensued as these two men carried the woman through a doorway into a house. Judging by the corsage that the woman was wearing and the flower in the one man's lapel, I suspect that they may have been celebrating a wedding anniversary. Note, too, that a television set is partially visible behind the doll on the left.