Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of curious photographer props (huge urns or plants, strange objects, taxidermy animals, etc.) . "Shadle & Busser, 20 S. George Street, York, Pa." A young woman poses next to a gnarly tree in the photo studio of James Monroe Shadle and Oscar W. Busser in York, Pennsylvania. Shadle & Busser operated their studio at 20 South George Street from 1887 to 1902 before moving to a different location. For other curious studio props, see Women in Ladder CDV and Rasputin and the Amorphous Enigma .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of messy (pics of mud covered children, birthday cake on the face, etc.) . Squinting in the bright sunlight, a cute little tyke sits among the carefully arranged messiness of an Easter photo op. See also the full version of this undated snapshot.

For more information, see the cropped version of this snapshot.

"You are the [apple] of my [eye]. We should make a good [pear]." A postcard addressed on the other side to "Miss E. Jonkin [or Tonkin], Trescobease Manor, Falmouth, [Cornwall, England] ." Handwritten note on the verso: "Dear E., So sorry we shall not make a pair this year on account of this terrible war. Your devoted G." Printed on the other side: "'National' Series. Made in Gt. Britain. No. 1866." Although there's no date or postmark (and the stamp once affixed to the back of the postcard is missing), "G." was evidently writing to "E." sometime during the "terrible" years of World War I (1914-1918). For other romantic rebuses featuring fruit and vegetables, see You Had Better Ask Papa and A Farmer's Love Letter .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cozy and warm on a winter's day . An undated Christmastime snapshot of an obviously cozy couple. Probably warm, too.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of socks (striped, Argyll, tights, fishnets, men's/women's garters) . This is a real photo postcard of a couple of women wearing fashionable bathing costumes, which include white tights and lace-up slippers. The presence of an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side of the card suggests a date that might be as early as 1904 to 1918. There's no studio name or other identifying information printed on the back, but I have two other photos of these same women--wearing different swimsuits--taken at photo studios in Atlantic City, New Jersey, so perhaps that's also where this picture came from. For a similar souvenir photo of two other women, see Two Woman Posing for a Boardwalk Souvenir, Atlantic City, N.J.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of taking care of the house and yard (house chores) . A suburban version of Grant Wood's American Gothic in an undated snapshot.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of ship out! (taking a trip by any conveyance but extra credit by ship or boat) . A souvenir real photo postcard of tourists riding in a gondola on the Venetian Lagoon in Venice, Italy. It's dated 1952 on the other side. The dome of St Mark's Basilica and its tall campanile (bell tower) are visible in the background.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of shape up! (people exercising) . This is an early twentieth-century real photo postcard with the name "Lambert Weston & Son, Folkestone" embossed in the lower right-hand corner (the embossing isn't really visible in this image, unfortunately). The photo shows a number of men who are getting some exercise by running a footrace. The runners, strangely enough, are wearing neckties and white shirts more suitable for an office than an athletic field. A large crowd has gathered to watch the competition, and a large round building is visible in the background. The building in the background appears to be one of the Martello towers --"small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century"--and might be one of the towers that are located in Folkestone, Kent, England.

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Judging by the banner hanging above the tents, Camp Chicken is the name of this encampment. Three women and a child pose in front of the three tents on the right. On the other side, a man is lying in a hammock, and behind him is a boy and another man, both of whom are sitting on chairs. A breeze blowing through the woods has blurred the large American flag flying above the kitchen tent, and some of the smaller flags hanging above the openings to the other tents are also blurred. Sunlight filtering down through the trees has formed a dappled pattern in the clearing. This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box on the other side (four corner triangles pointing up) that indicates a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. For similarly in-tents scenes, see Tents at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania , Bob White Camp , and The Methodist Church Choir Camp, 1908 .

Henry Weill (1860-1929) was a well-known horse dealer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This business card was printed for him by David Bachman Landis . For similar cards by Landis that feature text printed over a background illustration, see: -- Chas. O. Ursprung, Horse Collar Manufacturer, Lancaster, Pa. -- W. R. Cheney, Carriage Builder, Lancaster, Pa. -- William C. Myers, Practical Artesian Well Contractor, Salunga, Pa. Henry Weill, Dealer in Driving, Heavy Draft, and Fine Coach and Saddle Horses. Sale and Exchange Stables, 200 to 216 West Orange St., Lancaster, Pa. Presented by ________ Acclimated and western horses always on hand. Telephone connection.

John K. Trewetz (1864-1938), a well-known musician who lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, advertised a patented "bellophone" on his billhead, but I haven't been able to uncover any information about it. David Bachman Landis of Pluck Art Printery created this billhead for Trewetz. M ________ To John K. Trewetz, Dr. Musical Novelties, 350 West Orange St. Lancaster, Pa., ________ 188__ Bellophone. Patented.

An advertising postcard addressed on the other side to Mr. Wm. P. Breen, Fort Wayne, Ind., and postmarked New Haven, Conn., June 8, 1911. Off to Europe Visiting Ireland, England, Scotland, Belgium, France, Germany Switzerland. Are you coming with us? We must know soon. Party sails from New York, July 8. 'Phone, wire, or write for reservations. A few choice berths left. Columbus Travel Society, New York office, 2075 Metropolitan Building. Gramercy 3438. Prof. J. C. Monaghan, pres. Mrs. B. Ellen Burke, sec'y. D. P. Toomey, treas.

A cameo card for Jacob Haak Hain (1823-1891), who was a saddler in Reading, Pennsylvania. For a brief biography of Hain, see History of the Hain Family: Descendants of George and Veronica Hain (Reading Eagle Press, 1941), p. 65: "Jacob Haak Hain. . . born 1822 [or 1823, according to his gravestone ], died 1891. On December 9, 1845, he married Mary Ann Goodhart, daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann (Beidler) Goodhart. She was born 1825, died 1898. He carried on a harness making business at 321 Penn Street, Reading and was Chairman of the Democratic Standing Committee, 1863-64; Clerk of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Berks County, 1872-75. Jacob, his wife, and their three children are buried in Charles Evans Cemetery." Another of Hain's business cards (not a cameo card, however) is available as part of the Library Company of Philadelphia Digital Collections. See Jacob H. Hain, Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Bridles, Collars, Covers, Whips. No. 321 Penn Street, Reading, Pa. For additional examples of cameo cards, see Best Boiler Works, Lancaster, Pa. , and Eagle Marble Works, Monuments, Tombs, Gravestones, Reading, Pa. J. H. Hain, Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Whips, Collars, Fly Nets, Covers, &c. No. 321 Penn Street, Reading, Pa. McClement Bros.

"Best Boiler Works, Lancaster, Pa., manufactory of steam boilers, water & oil tanks, stills, bellows, pipes, & sheet iron work in general. Jobbing promptly & carefully attended to. John Best, proprietor. Mc.Clement, Phila." For information about cameo cards like this, see José L. Rodriguez's article on Cameo Makers . For similar cards, see Eagle Marble Works, Monuments, Tombs, Gravestones, Reading, Pa. and J. H. Hain, Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Whips, Reading, Pa.

"Eagle Marble Works. P. F. Eisenbrown, Cor. Elm & 6th Sts., near the new depot, Reading, Pa. Monuments, tombs, grave stones &c. McClement, Phila." For other cameo cards, see J. H. Hain, Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Whips, Reading, Pa. , and Best Boiler Works, Lancaster, Pa. ,

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of winter activities—shoveling snow, sledding, throwing snowballs, skiing, making snow angels, ice skating, etc. (submit a photo on this topic each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic). This is the first photo in a small album of German skiing photos that I purchased recently. The album may have been compiled by Ursel Schmidt (b. 1932), whose pass from the German Ski Association (Deutscher Skiverband) is attached to one of the pages. There's no date, but I'd imagine that the photos—most of which are typical images of skiers and snow-covered landscapes—were taken in the 1940s or 1950s. After some searching, I was surprised to discover that there are many similar souvenir photos featuring faux polar bears not only on ski slopes but also on beaches, in the streets, and in many other locations in Germany. For some background on this practice, which apparently dates to the 1920s, see The German Tradition of Posing with a Man in a Polar Bear Costume , an article by Caitlin Schneider that appeared on the Mental Floss site, April 6, 2016. For more photos, see Eisbär-Kostüme 1920-1960 [Polar Bear Costumes 1920-1960], a Flickr gallery by Kai Heinrich. There are also two published collections of these German polar bear photos. See Jean-Marie Donat, Teddybär [Teddy Bear] (Paris: Innocences, 2015) and Jochen Raiss, Eisbären and Polar Bears (German- and English-language editions, Berlin: Hatje Cantz, 2019).

A beards photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Photographer: "Steinhoff, 527 Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kansas." A cabinet card photo of a bewhiskered Midwestern fellow.