Alan Mays' photos

"Santa sends you a message of Christmas cheer." Santa Claus always stays up to date with the latest technology. Here he is in the early part of the twentieth century using wireless telegraphy (also called radiotelegraphy) to tap out a Morse code message on a telegraph key. The boy is using a crystal radio set to listen to the dots and dashes of Santa's message. Judging by the smile on the kid's face, I'll bet that he found out that he's on Santa's Nice List. Santa has also been an early adopter of other communication and transportation technologies, including telephones , typewriters , airships , biplanes , and other kinds of airplanes .

"Greetings from the Philco Convention, Atlantic City." An undated real photo postcard. As far as I can determine, the convention took place in 1953.

A photo of two or more people peeking over something for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Seven men and women wearing hats peer over the shrubbery in this undated real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of I Should Have Known Better - people engaged in potentially risky behavior or suffering the aftereffects of a mishap . I think this was intended to be funny, but it seems more scary than amusing.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of Twist or Shout - people dancing with some amount of vigor—extra credit for twisting . Stamped on the back of this real photo postcard: "Erinnerung an den Bayr. Abend im Café Bauer, Garmisch." Translation: "Memento of the Bavarian evening at the Café Bauer, Garmisch." For another photo from the same establishment, see Mugging for the Camera at Café Bauer, Garmisch

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of smiling faces of yesteryear (photos of smiling people, based on the Flickr group of the same name) . "Memento of the world-famous Bavarian evenings at the Café Bauer, Garmisch." Stamped on the back of this real photo postcard: "Foto Franz, 81 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Kainzenbadstr. 26, Tel. 3202. Erinnerung an die weltbekannten Bayerischen Abende im Café Bauer, Garmisch."

Two men, one of whom is holding a child, pose with turkeys.

A Thanksgiving greeting card with Art Deco design and color, dating to the late 1920s or early 1930s. A Thanksgiving Wish May this Thanksgiving bring to you A harvest without measure: Good cheer and joy and friendships true And every kind of pleasure!

"Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by S. Garre, 1909."

"Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Painting only copyrighted by S. Garre, 1909."

A Thanksgiving postcard that shows Columbia —"the personification of the United States"—patting a turkey on the head. It's addressed on the other side to Miss Anna Johnson, Rockaway, New Jersey, Easton Heights. and postmarked Middle Valley, N.J., Nov. 25, 1909. Message: "I guess we can soon skate now if this weather lasts, and I hope it will. You must write and tell me about F., you know I want to hear about it. Laura." For the sake of comparison, see Uncle Sam's Thanksgiving Greeting for another national personification on a holiday postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of He's (or She's) a Real Nowhere Man (or Woman) - solo individual photographed in open space . "Lovers' Leap and the Narrows, 900 feet above the National Hy., Cumberland , Md. U.S. 40." This is a real photo postcard showing the silhouette of a lone man at the top of the overlook known as Lover's Leap . Below the rock outcropping is the Cumberland Narrows , a water gap through the mountain. Wills Creek , the National Road ( U.S. Route 40 ), and railroad tracks run through the Narrows .

A man stands on top of Lover's Leap, a rocky outcropping that overlooks the Cumberland Narrows. This is a detail from a real photo postcard. See Lover's Leap and the Narrows, Cumberland, Maryland .

The National Road (U.S. 40), railroad lines, and Wills Creek run through the Cumberland Narrows below the Lover's Leap rock outcropping. This is a detail from a real photo postcard. See Lover's Leap and the Narrows, Cumberland, Maryland .

An extra wild card photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park on the topic of The Long and Winding Road - road photos, winding or otherwise (submit a photo on this topic each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic) . Caption: "21 miles east of Cumberland, Md., U.S. 40." Sign: "Top of Green Ridge Mountain. Elevation 1115 feet, 1¼ miles down grade. Descend in second gear when road is wet. Use brakes only to snub to safe speed. State Roads Commission."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of Baby You Can Drive My Car - woman (or young child) behind the wheel . A real photo postcard from early in the twentieth century. For a more modern woman behind the wheel, see Driven to Distraction .

A photo of the photographer photographed for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. An undated snapshot of a puzzling scene full of photographers. On the left-hand side of the photo, we see a man with a camera and tripod along with a woman holding a camera, both of whom are standing on a picnic table as they line up their shots. Another photographer with a tripod is partially visible at extreme left, and the tip of a tripod leg on top of the table at extreme right suggests that someone else with a camera is just off camera. (Mouse over the image above to see enlargements of the left-hand side and right-hand side of the photo.) All in all, there appear to be five photographers present in the picture, including the one who recorded the scene. Two additional men are standing at either end of the table in the middle and appear to be unpacking picnic baskets. A third man beyond the table is busily working on something (preparing food? putting up another tripod?), and two women are talking as they stand next to a stone grill. A couple of cars are barely visible through the trees beyond the women. I wonder if the other snapshots of this scene taken by the four other photographers still exist somewhere in someone else's collection. For other photographed photographers, see Taking Two at a Time and Honk! If You Think We're Nuts .

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