Alan Mays' photos

"Ice Cream, Clifford Sutton, 5¢" For other ice cream price tags, see Ice Cream, 5 Cents and Wertley's Quality Ice Cream Price Tags .

Wertley's Ice Cream tags with prices that reflect the tax that was assessed during World War I.

Swinging and squinting in the bright sunlight. Location unknown.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo of backyard sports (e.g., croquet, badminton, horseshoe pitching, bocce ball, etc.) . A tinted French real photo postcard from the early twentieth century showing children with a dog and toys, including a hoop and stick, doll, badminton racquet and shuttlecock, jump rope, and rings.

A postcard-sized example of ornamental penmanship featuring a flourished bird. The piece is unsigned and may date to as early as the 1880s or 1890s. "Compliments of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Shoemaker, Dakota, Ill." Joseph Shellenberger Shoemaker (1854-1936) was a well-known bishop in the Mennonite Church. He and his wife, Elizabeth Sechrist Brubaker (1856-1931), were married in 1877, and they were members of the Freeport Mennonite Church in Freeport, Illinois. For additional examples of bird flourishes and other ornamental penmanship, see my Writing, Lettering, Flourishing album and the Clinton Clark Scrapbook , which was uploaded to the Internet Archive by IAMPETH (International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting).

"Admira. Kamera náročných. Meopta. Solo Lipnik." A Czechoslovakian matchbox label advertising the Admira movie camera manufactured by Meopta . Check out the illustrated list of movie cameras on the Meopta Virtual Museum site.

"The Morning After. July 5. Witch hazel, liniment, arnica. F.L. 219/6. Gene Carr." Postmarked at Milton Mills, New Hampshire, on July 6, 1915. Cartoonist Gene Carr 's postcard demonstrates the dire results of a dangerous evening of Fourth of July fireworks in the early twentieth century. On July 5th, the heavily bandaged kid now needs a crutch for walking, as well as medications—witch hazel, liniment, and arnica—for treating aches and pains. The poor cat obviously didn't fare too well either. The ill effects of holiday fireworks are also the subject of early stereographic cards like The Glorious 4th of July / The 5th of July .

An on the water photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A curious photo of a boy and a dog in a rowboat out on the water. Both of them are looking toward the photographer, who's on the shore or in another boat. The boy is holding a fish in one hand and a fishing rod in the other, and he's wearing a headdress and other clothing in imitation of Native American garb (for a closer view, see a cropped version ). Along the far shore in the background is what looks like the silhouette of a swan, though it seems much too big to be a real bird. This is an unused real photo postcard with an AZO stamp box on the back that suggests that the photo may date to sometime between 1904 and 1918 (or perhaps later).

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

Sparkler box with unique typefaces for Fourth of July merriment.

An on the road photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Columbia Highway, Ore. Shepherds Dell, #254. Cross & Dimmitt ." Travelers on what is now called the Historic Columbia River Highway in Oregon stop along the road to look over the side of Shepperds Dell Bridge . See a cropped version of this real photo postcard for a closer look at the bridge and automobile.

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

A real photo postcard with "McDowell Studio, Clearfield, Pa." embossed in the lower right-hand corner. "The Brown Family" is the only thing written on the other side. Nineteen graduating seniors—seventeen young woman and two young men—posed for this photo in 1912. Given the location of the photo studio, these may be Clearfield High School graduates, but I haven't been able to confirm that (one site— Old C.H.S. Yearbooks - The "Bison Project" —reproduces yearbooks from the school but the earliest one currently available is the1915 edition).

Dr. John Birkmire Lawrence (1890-1961), a chiropodist (or podiatrist ) in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, promoted his services by adding his name to this amusing list of Rules of the Road. It's difficult to determine when Lawrence may have first circulated these rules. Versions of it were already appearing in published sources as early as the first decade of the twentieth century (see, for instance, " Constable Trust in Darkest Michigan ," The Auto Era , Sept. 1908, p. 11). According to "Dr. Lawrence Moves to 23 S. Third St.," an article that appeared in the Harrisburg Sunday Courier , on February 3, 1935, p. 5, the doctor's office was located at 204 Market Street from 1915 until 1924, so presumably he had them printed sometime during those years. For another example of early automobile humor, see Not Exceeding the Speed Limit in 1908 . Rules of the Road Adoped by the Farmers' Anti-Automobile Society 1. Upon Discovering an Approaching Team, the automobilist must stop offside and cover his machine with a blanket painted to correspond to the scenery. 2. The Speed Limit on Country Roads This Year Will Be a Secret, and the penalty for violation will be $10 for every mile an offender is caught going in excess of it. 3 In Case an Automobile Makes a Team Run Away, the penalty will be $50 for the first mile, $100 for the second, $200 for the third, etc., that the team runs; in addition to the usual damages. 4 On Approaching a Corner, where he cannot command a view of the road ahead, the automobilist must stop not less than 100 yards from the turn, toot his horn, ring a bell, fire a revolver, halloo, and send up three bombs at intervals of five minutes. 5 Automobiles Must Again Be Seasonably Painted, that is, so they will merge with the pastoral ensemble and not be startling. They must be green in spring, golden in summer, red in autumn, and white in winter. 6 Automobiles Running on the Country Roads at Night must send up a red rocket Every Mile and Wait Ten Minutes for the road to clear. They may then proceed carefully, blowing their horns and shooting Roman candles. 7. All Members of the Society will give up Sunday to chasing automobiles, shooting and shouting at them, making arrests, and otherwise discouraging country touring on that day. 8. In Case a Horse Will Not Pass an Automobile, the automobilist will take the machine apart as rapidly as possible and conceal the parts in the grass. 9. In Case an Automobile Approach[es] a Farmer's House When the Roads Are Dusty, it will slow down to one mile an hour and the chauffeur will lay the dust in front of the house with a hand sprinkler worked over the dashboard. Compliments of Dr. J. B. Lawrence, chiropodist, 204 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pa. Logo at top: "Harrisburg Rotary Club."

A summer vacation/holiday photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Pen Mar Park , an amusement park and resort area located in the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland and Pennsylvania, was a popular summertime destination in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this photo, a group of men and women pose at the base of the three-tiered High Point observation tower located a couple of miles away from the amusement park (see also the full version of the photo). A postcard view (below) shows all three levels of the observation tower. Visitors to the amusement park could also get their photo taken in front of a painted backdrop of the High Rock tower (see below).

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

A little girl stands on a rustic bench as she poses in front of a painted backdrop showing the High Rock observation tower located in Pen Mar Park . The photo was taken at the studio located at the Pen Mar amusement park. Compare the painted backdrop version with this postcard view of High Rock.

"High Rock, altitude 2,000 ft., Pen Mar, Pa." Although the caption identifies the location as Pen Mar, Pennsylvania, the High Rock observation tower was actually located in Maryland.