Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of: save that one for the holiday letter (A photo where the subject is enjoying some achievement or significant life event worthy of the annual holiday brag mailing. The best one I ever received: "This is our Katey, addressing the U.N. General Assembly.") . " . . . So to conclude, despite Jim's bout with kidney stones during our month-long vacation to Borneo, we did arrive home in time to see Suzy crowned queen during homecoming--she's been 'Our Queen' for four times now! Happy Holidays, Gladys and family."

A Spanish real photo postcard showing a mirror photo of a little girl standing on a chair. It's dated 1919 on the other side. For more like this, see my Mirror Photos album.

The notion that men and women could use handkerchiefs to secretly signal their romantic intentions may seem far-fetched, but that's the idea behind this "Handkerchief Flirtation" list. In fact, using hankies to flirt seems downright dangerous. You might accidentally drop your handkerchief on the floor and end up telling the wrong person, "We will be friends." Or even worse, you could draw your handkerchief across your cheek as you blow your nose, inadvertently saying, "I love you." Despite the potential for miscommunication, flirtation lists like this circulated widely in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In addition to handkerchiefs, you could supposedly also use flowers, gloves, parasols, hats, cigars, pencils, and even buggy whips and handheld fans for covert courtship. For further discussion of these secret flirting methods, see the following: Esti Brenna, From the Stacks: Victorian Courtship and the Language of the Fan , Clements Library Chronicles, June 6, 2012. "Unfortunately, the fan language--and other, similar codes like the language of the handkerchief and the language of the parasol--were largely the result of advertising campaigns meant to popularize and sell accessories. There is little evidence that the fan language was ever in widespread use, though the concept was satirized by several writers in the 18th and 19th centuries." Natasha Frost, The Victorian Cards That Explained How to Use a Book to Flirt , Atlas Obscura, March 23, 2018. A "Book Flirtation" card and other alleged flirting techniques. (Full disclosure: I'm quoted in this article, and it includes some of my calling and acquaintance cards .) Handkerchief Flirtation Drawing across the lips—Desirous of an acquaintance. Drawing across the eyes—I am sorry. Taking it by the centre—You are too willing. Dropping—We will be friends. Twisting in both hands—Indifference. Drawing across cheek—I love you. Drawing through hand—I hate you. Letting it rest on right eye—Yes. Letting it rest on left cheek—No. Twisting in the left hand—I wish to be rid of you. Twisting in the right hand—I love another. Folding it—I wish to speak with you. Over the shoulder—Follow me. Opposite corners in both hands—Wait for me. Drawing across the forehead—We are watched. Placing on the right ear—You have changed. Letting it remain on the eyes—You are cruel. Winding around forefinger—I am engaged. Winding around third finger—I am married. Putting it in the pocket—No more at present.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo with a vintage product placement (photos with commercial products or advertisements for commercial products conspicuously part of the scene) . For more examples, see my Vintage Product Placement album. This is a snapshot of a gas station with a billboard advertising Merit gasoline, signs offering seven gallons of gas for a dollar, and a tank with "Berkshire Oil Co." painted on the side (see a cropped version for a close-up view). In the background of the photo, however, is the most interesting detail—a giant Dixie paper cup (actually a water tank) on top of the factory in Easton, Pennsylvania, where the cups were manufactured until it closed in the early 1980s.

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

Handwritten date on the back of this photo: Aug. 1941. Stamped on back: Peerless Photo Shop, Lacrosse, Wis.

A real photo postcard of a man holding a deer head. For a similar photo, see A Man and His Moosehead Bier .

A teddy bears photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard of a gathering of women along with their dolls, teddy bears (including a Steiff, I'm told), and maybe one or two stuffed lions or dogs. No date, location, or other information, unfortunately. For close-up views, see cropped versions showing the front row and the two back rows

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

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

A steam calliope in a snapshot dated March 1971. This calliope is known as Getz's Steam Calliope after the three brothers—Noah, William, and Robert Getz—who operated it for many years. Hauled around on a tractor trailer, the calliope still makes regular appearances at parades and other events in south central Pennsylvania. Head over to YouTube to see it in action at a Homecoming Parade in Millersville, Pa., on October 13, 2012, and at the July 4th Parade in Pottstown, Pa., in 2017.

A real photo postcard showing the Tressler Orphans' Home Band. "Tressler" was part of its name beginning sometime in the nineteenth century, so I'm not sure why it's missing from the drum in this early twentieth-century photo. For a later incarnation of the band—with spiffier uniforms and a different drumhead—see Tressler Orphans' Home Band, Loysville, Pa.

The Berks and Dauphin Turnpike Road Company was in existence from 1805 to about 1917 and collected tolls along a road that extended from Berks County through Lebanon County and into Dauphin County in Pennsylvania. The punches on this ticket indicate that it cost 5 cents for a trip in Lebanon County between Annville (or Sporting Hill?) and Sunny Side, a distance of 3 (or 2¼?) miles. Berks & Dauphin Turnpike Road Co. Dimes - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0. Rates For 1 horse and carriage - 1½ cts. per mile For 2 horses and carriage - 2½ cts. per mile For 1 horse and sleigh - .75 cts. per mile For 1 horse rode or led - ½ cts. per mile For 1 horse and sulky - 1 cts. per mile For 1 wagon per horse - 1 cts. per mile For bicycle - ½ cts. per mile From Junction - Mls. to P. & R. Crossing - 1 to Swatara Station - 1¾ to Palmyra - 5 to Kreider's Mill - 9¼ to Annville - 10¼ to Sporting Hill - 11 to Cleona - 12 to Stony Side - 13 to Lebanon - 15¼ to Wernersville - 34¼ to Robesonia - 31¼ to Womelsdorf - 28¼ to Waterloo - 26½ to Stouchsburg - 26 to Owl Creek - 22¾ to Myerstown - 21¾ to West Myerstown - 21¼ to Half-way - 19¼ to Narrows - 18¼ to Avon - 17¼ Cents - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0. For a similar item, see Lancaster, Elizabethtown, and Middletown Turnpike Company Ticket .

"Lancaster, E., & M. Turnpike Co. The gate keepers must punch the spaces. Gate - 1, 2, 3, 4, 4½ , 5, 6, 7. Horse Team - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Cattle, Etc." An unused ticket for the Lancaster, Elizabethtown, and Middletown Turnpike Company, which operated a private turnpike in Lancaster and Dauphin counties in Pennsylvania. Sections of what are now Pennsylvania Route 230 and Pennsylvania Route 283 eventually replaced the turnpike. See also a rotated version of the ticket .

For more information, see the original version of the ticket .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo of squinting into the sun (subjects obviously struggling to keep eyes open while facing into the sun for the photographer; borrowed from a Flickr group) . For additional examples, see my album of Vintage Squinters . Handwritten on the front of this real photo postcard: "Aug. 28, '07. Dear Grandma: I told you I was coming Thursday, a [week?]. How do you like Helen and I? I am not very well, Mary." Addressed to: Mrs. Mary E. Mock, Stoyestown, Pa., Route 2. Postmarked: Friedens, Pa., Aug. 28, 1907.

A nineteenth-century advertising card for Spangler & Rich, a store in Marietta , Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Amazingly enough, the building that housed the store is still standing, and its façade hasn't changed dramatically in over 100 years. A laundromat occupies the building today. See a side-by-side comparison of the image on the card and a recent Google Street View (from 2011) of the building . Spangler & Rich No. 64 Market Street, Marietta, Pa., Dealers in Dry Goods, Clothing, Groceries, &c. Fish--Carpets and Floor Oil Clothes. Queensware and Wall Papers--Salt. Express Steam Print, Lancaster, Pa. Crosscup, Phila.

This is a side-by-side comparison of a nineteenth-century advertising card with a Google Street View (from 2011) of the building depicted on the card. It's quite surprising to discover that the façade of the building, which was a store in the late 1800s and today is a laundromat, hasn't changed much in over 100 years. See a second Google Street View from a slightly different angle for a better view of the signs and window on the first floor.