Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of television sets in the living room . Handwritten note on the other side of this photo: "George Vogt & Housekeeper, 1960." Printed on back: "This is a Kodakcolor Print made by Kodak, January 1960 - RC." The woman on the sofa is holding a glass in her hand, and there's a second glass on the tray that's on the coffee table. A small basket on the tray probably contained snacks of some sort. Wallpaper with a distinctive design surrounds the television in the corner. For some more TVs, see my album of Televisions .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of wheelbarrows and carts . Stamped in ink on the back of this photo: "Made by Harry B. Killian, 624 First St., Lancaster, Pa." This is a real photo postcard with a Cyko stamp box on the other side that suggests a date sometime between 1904 and the 1920s. For a similar photo, see Hartman Gish, Farmer, Three Years Old, 1907 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly topic of slides and color photos . In this puzzling scene from a Polaroid photo, a man is speaking from a podium as a woman stands nearby. On the front of the podium is a sign for "Sears" (surely not the department store -- could it be a name or acronym?) and a drawing of what looks like three biplanes that's labeled "Shoot down von Rottenspotten." On the table next to the podium is a wrapped gift or rolled-up certificate secured by a red ribbon. Is the man presenting the woman with some sort of award? The image on the wall behind the woman makes me wonder what kind of award she might be receiving. It shows a flying saucer leaving earth for a destination somewhere in the field of stars painted on the wall. The numerical code printed on the back of this Polaroid indicates a manufacturing date of December 1978. Could the drawing on the wall be a logo for some kind of UFO group that held a meeting in 1979? But then where do "Sears" and "von Rottenspotten" fit in? See a cropped version of the photo for a closer look at the proceedings.

A puzzling Polaroid photo. For more information, see the full version of this photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cities . Handwritten note on the other side of this photo: "Shot from the top of the [Eiffel] tower. You can see the Seplicur [Sacré-Cœur] in the background (arrow). Don't know what it is but there it is. That's the Meuse River [actually, it's the Seine]." As Wikipedia's article about Sacré-Cœur, Paris (indicated by the arrow in the photo) explains, "The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica . . . , is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of number(s) in a photo . Printed on the other side of this real photo postcard: "The Automatic Vaudeville Co. , 9 Tremont Row, 634 Washington St., Boston, Mass." The "23" on the one fellow's hat is a reference to the "23 skidoo" fad that became popular in the United States beginning in 1906 or 1907. Back then, telling someone "23 skidoo" meant "scram" or "beat it," and using "23" in an unexpected place like this was a way to let others in on the joke. For another example of "23" used in a photo for humorous effect, see Too Many Places to Go and Too Much to See .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of hospitals . Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "Most of the sailors in the picture are from Texas. Do they look it? Dotty from Carrall, 1919, San Diego, Calif." Written on the front of the photo: "Yours truly," with an arrow pointing to the grinning sailor seated in the middle of the front row. Ten sailors, who I assume were patients in this hospital ward, and four nurses posed for this photo, which was taken during the Spanish flu pandemic that lasted from February 1918 to April 1920. To prevent the spread of flu, most of the sailors and nurses are wearing masks over their faces or have them draped around their necks. Three of the sailors are sitting in front of sewing machines, and I suspect that they used them to sew masks. A century later, sewing and wearing masks once again became a familiar sight, unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

I've been dreadfully busy over the last few weeks with work and family. When Ipernity editing stopped working for a while in May, I fell way behind in posting and even further behind with commenting than I already was (if that's possible). I hope you will forgive my extreme tardiness and allow me to catch up with the topics I've missed from past weeks. I'm glad that we've been able to keep the group going, and I appreciate all of your postings here in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of windows and windshields (photos through or of) . Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Novelty Photo Studio, 13 Federal St., N.S., Pittsburg, PA." An early twentieth-century photo taken when driving a car was still a novelty.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of in a row . Eight guys lined up on a hill to pose for this picture, a real photo postcard dating to the early twentieth century. They doffed their hats and sat in the grass even though they were all dressed in suits and ties. Check out a cropped version of the photo for a closer look at the fellows.

Eight guys lined up in a row to pose for this early twentieth-century photo. See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of amusement parks . This is a 1960s snapshot of the Gliding Swans ride at the Dutch Wonderland amusement park, which opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1963. Austen Dennison in his book, Dutch Wonderland (Arcadia Publishing, 2015), p. 21, provides some details about the swan-shaped vehicle: "A unique tram-like ride with a swan design was introduced in 1965. Beneath the swan overlay, the ride's framework consisted of a farm tractor with two trailers that carried passengers throughout the park. The Gliding Swans, as they were referred to in a 1966 pamphlet, operated for only three seasons before being removed due to increased foot traffic." For another photo from the park, see Amish Folks at Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, Pa.

A cabinet card photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of CDVs and cabinet cards . "Fritz, 418 N. 6th St., Reading, Pa. Extra Fine Finish." Printed on the other side: "Additional Copies of This Cabinet can be had at any time at Reduced Rates."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tattered & torn (or otherwise damaged) . "For[idian] Ho[tel]. Floridian fishing dock, Miami Beach. Caught on yacht Skip Jack, Capt. E. P. Le May." A tattered, torn, creased, and taped photo of two fishermen posing with a sailfish on the dock of the Floridian Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of odd backdrops or backgrounds . A souvenir real photo postcard from " Happy Hollow " (McLeod's Amusement Park), which was located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Some of the signs and labels visible in the photo are: "Gambling room down stares. No drinks served." "Wild cat mine for sail chepe." "Don't ask for no darn fool dude drinks." "Old Crow, 2 bits a drink." "Wite mule, 2 bits per drink, good stuff." "Ky. booze XXX." "Pabst Blue Ribbon on drought." "Shiref's offis." "Tanglefoot strate, 2 bits." "Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer of quality." "On a slow train through Arkansas."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of food . The remnants of a meal were still on the table when the photographer snapped this picture. The calendar on the wall displays the month of July 1914, and it must have been a hot summer day judging by the sweat glistening on some of the faces. The dealer's notation on the back of this real photo postcard identifies the locale as Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of working in an office . A snapshot of a man sitting at a desk in an office. The photo is dated December 24, 1947, on the other side, and the clock on the windowsill behind him shows that it's ten minutes before 1:00 p.m. The larger of the two advertising calendars on the wall came from J. R. Kauffman of Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, who sold "A Full Line of Equipment for Every Farmer," including Allis-Chalmers tractors. The man appears to be holding paperwork or perhaps a book. Could it be an invoice or some sort of business report? Nope, as a second photo reveals, the man is opening Christmas presents, and that's evidently a gift box that he's holding in this photo.

A snapshot of a man in an office. The photo is dated December 24, 1947, and the man has evidently just unwrapped a Christmas present and is examining a necktie that he received as a gift. Another photo of the same man shows him holding a gift box.

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of something funny . A couple of funny Easter bunnies -- actually dressed up for Halloween -- pose in front of a fireplace as they hold their carrots. Printed on the back: "This is a Kodacolor print made by Kodak. November 1961 R." The November photo developing date was the first clue that these are Halloween costumes (but I'm counting them as Easter bunnies, too!). There's also a scarecrow standing on top of a pumpkin (on the right in front of the fireplace) that's obviously an autumn decoration, and it looks like there may be pumpkin and ghost figurines on the mantel. See also Quizzical Kids in Easter Costumes and more photos in my Funny Bunnies album.