Alan Mays' photos

A late nineteenth-century label by Huntoon & Gorham, a cigar manufacturer. Note the Gaslight Style characteristics, with elaborate typefaces, curved text, drop shadows, and the rays of the sun shining out from behind the clouds. Huntoon & Gorham 45 Providence, R.I. Huntoon & Gorham

A mothers and babies photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A fashionably dressed mother with a gentle smile poses for a picture as she holds her baby, who's staring in wide-eyed astonishment at something off camera. This is an undated real photo postcard from Paris, France (based on a partial address— Ave. de Neuilly —stamped on the other side). See also the full version of this photo.

For more information, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A fruits and vegetables photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. William H. Martin (1865-1940), a Kansas photographer, created this amusing photomontage and published it as a real photo postcard in 1909. This photo postcard was addressed on the other side to Mr. Alfie Watts, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and postmarked in Lima, Ohio, on Nov. 20, 1910. Handwritten message: "Lima, Nov. 20/10. Write soon. Friend James. 116 Circular St. W., Lima, Ohio."

Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "Fritz & his Easter bonnet." Fritz's owner has a big smile on her face as she looks down at her cat, but Fritz doesn't seem to be too excited about his Easter bonnet. See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of them together. A close-up of Fritz shows him patiently enduring the Easter photo shoot.

Fritz the cat with his new hat! His owner smiles down at him as he poses with his Easter bonnet. See a close-up of Fritz along with the full version of this photo.

Fritz the cat doesn't seem too enthusiastic about posing for a picture, even if he did receive a new bonnet for Easter. For views of the cat with its owner, see the full and cropped versions of this photo.

A photo of a dog or cat on a chair for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard of a man and his dog. I haven't been able to decipher the inscription on the front (except for the year), and there's no name, address, or postmark on the verso. Printed on the other side: " R. Guilleminot, Bœspflug et Cie . Paris."

A photo of mail carriers, post offices, mailboxes, etc. for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is an early twentieth-century real photo postcard showing four men and a boy posing in front of a building. The boy is holding the reins of two horses hitched to a wagon, and a variety of items, including benches, barrels, and tools, are visible on the porch and on the ground in front of the building. After scanning and enlarging the photo, I was able to read the lettering on the window in the middle of the building and discovered that it served as the "Leck Kill Post Office" (see a close-up view of the window ). Leck Kill is a small community located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and its Wikipedia entry indicates that the post office there closed in 2004. Amazingly enough, I was able to find a 2009 view of the building on Google Maps (see my composite image of old and new views ). A 2018 online real estate listing provided additional details: "Property at one time was used for the local post office with a store and tavern. Presently used as a home with apartment and still has P.O. space." So it's possible that the post office in the building was still in use as late as 2004.

Two men stand in front of the "Leck Kill Post Office" in Leck Kill, Pennsylvania, as indicated by the lettering in the window. The building also contained a store with some merchandise, such as brooms and a watering can, stored on the porch. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard and a composite image of old and new views of the post office building.

This is a composite image of old and new views of a building in Leck Kill, Pennsylvania, that served as a post office, store, and tavern. The top view is from an early twentieth-century real photo postcard, and the bottom view is a Google Maps capture from 2009. See the full version of the real photo postcard for more information.

"A Happy Easter." These strange but distinguished chick musicians appear on a postcard that was postmarked in Baltimore, Md., on April 5, 1912.

A photo of people looking right at you for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. And this doubles as a photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of the 1960s (submit a photo on this topic each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic). Yet another snapshot of those Quizzical Kids in Easter Costumes , who were celebrating Easter and springtime in 1963.

Sheltering in place with a fancy stove in a sunlit room during the early twentieth century. This is an unmailed real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a date as early as 1904 to 1918.

For the back of this business card, see W. H. Michael, Headquarters for Southern Fruits and Vegetables . W. H. Michael & Son, commission merchants and wholesale dealers, foreign and domestic fruits, &c., No. 114 Dock St., (West Side), Philadelphia, Pa. Wm. H. Michael. A. W. Michael. Established 1868. Represented by G. C. Sanderson.

For the front of this business card, see W. H. Michael & Son, Commission Merchants, Philadelphia, Pa. . W. H. Michael. 114. Foreign and domestic fruits, nuts, etc., wholesale and commission. Headquarters for southern fruits and vegetables.

A katydid perches on the left-hand side of a Victorian-era calling card for someone named E. L. Houghton.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a stitch in time (doing needlework, knitting, or weaving) . An undated snapshot of a woman knitting as she sits on a sandy beach. For more knitting photos, see People Knitting: A Century of Photographs , a book by Barbara Levine (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016). An article about the book, 100 Years of People Knitting , by Claire Voon, appeared on Hyperallergic.