Alan Mays' photos

"Home Made Bean Soup, .25."

"Richland and Newmanstown Joint Sunday Schools' excursion to Hershey Park, Saturday, July 7, 1917. Richland, Pa., adult's ticket, 65 cts. Special train leaves Sheridan at 8:00 a.m., Richland at 8:05. Returning, leave Hershey 8:15 p.m."

Die-cut advertisement designed for hanging on a tree.

A small holiday greeting card possibly used as an insert in candy boxes.

A photo of someone/somewhere famous for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Caption at the bottom of this real photo postcard: "#9685. Little Round Top, Gettysburg, Aug. 27-'07." A man and a woman pose for a souvenir photo next to a statue of a famous general— Gouverneur Kemble Warren —at a famous landmark— Little Round Top —on a famous battlefield—the Gettysburg Battlefield . General Warren's statue continued to be a popular subject for photographs. For later examples, see a real photo postcard of two women posed in front of the statue and an even more recent snapshot .

A real photo postcard of two women posing in front of the statue of Union Army General Gouverneur Kemble Warren , which is located at Little Round Top on the Gettysburg Battlefield . For similar photos, see Man and Woman at General Warren Statue, Little Roundtop, Gettysburg, Pa., August 27, 1907 and General Warren Statue at Little Roundtop, Gettysburg, Pa.

A snapshot captures a glimpse of a boy's head and hat in front of the statue of Union Army General Gouverneur Kemble Warren at Little Round Top on the Gettysburg Battlefield . For similar photos, see Man and Woman at General Warren Statue, Little Roundtop, Gettysburg, Pa., August 27, 1907 and Women at General Warren Statue, Little Roundtop, Gettysburg, Pa. The plaque at lower left in this photo provides some information about General Warren: Led to this spot by his military sagacity on July 2nd, 1863 General Gouverneur Kemble Warren, then Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, detected General Hood’s flanking movement, and by promptly assuming the responsibility of ordering troops to this place, saved the key of the Union position. Promoted for gallant services from the command of a regiment in 1861, through successive grades to the command of the 2nd Army Corps in 1863, and permanently assigned to that of the 5th Army Corps in 1864, Major General Warren needs no eulogy. His name is enshrined in the hearts of his countrymen. This statue is erected under the auspices of the veteran organization of his old regiment, the 5th New York Vols. Duryee Zouaves in memory of their beloved commander. Dedicated August 8th 1888.

"To all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 1884. 1885. Compliments of A. K. Hoffmeier, manufacturer and dealer in fine medium and common furniture, No. 26 East King St., Lancaster, Pa."

"H. Sinnigen, dealer in choice groceries, teas, coffees, sugars, fruits, canned goods, &c., 1033 Gates Ave., cor. Ralph Ave., Brooklyn."

"A Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Toy Tower, J. H. Wiegmann & Son, importers and dealers in toys & fancy goods, S.E. Cor. Eighth and Cherry Sts., Philadelphia."

"Holiday goods. Compliments of the West End Book Store, 304 West Market Street, York, Pa."

Santa Claus is now using an airplane for his annual Christmas toy distribution . See also Santa's Airplane Delivery Service . A Joyful Christmas When Christmastide comes round, And the snow is on the ground With joy old Santa visits the homes Where children like you are found.

John Grossman included this puzzling postcard in his book Christmas Curiosities: Odd, Dark, and Forgotten Christmas (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2008), p. 110. He suggests that the actions of this mean Santa Claus derive from earlier European traditions like the Krampus , a devilish figure who punished misbehaving children and sometimes carried them away in a bag or basket (see Grossman's book for illustrations). By the early twentieth century when this German postcard was published, however, most American Santas were depicted as benevolent fellows who rewarded--not punished--children. My copy of the card is unused with no address, message, or postmark on the back.

This rebus puzzle sheet is left over from the time when photocopiers and fax machines were the technologies used to share jokes. This specific version of the sheet dates to December 17, 1998. Although the days of photocopy humor and faxlore are long gone, Rick Archer has attempted to trace the origin of this piece. He first encountered a slightly different version of the Christmas rebus puzzle in 1996, and he has compiled his findings about its history on his Original Christmas Puzzle Web page (he also posted an answer sheet ). See below for the answers to the rebuses on this photocopy: Identify the Christmas Songs from the Pictures - Answers 1. Jingle Bells 2. Walking in a Winter Wonderland 3. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 4. Joy to the World 5. Up on the House Top 6, O, Come All Ye Faithful 7. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas 8. What Child Is This? 9. We Three Kings of Orient Are 10. Deck the Halls 11. I Saw Three Ships 12. O Christmas Tree 13. O Holy Night 14. The First Noel 15. The Twelve Days of Christmas 16. Away in a Manger 17. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 18. All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth 19. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire 20. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear 21. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow 22. Silent Night 23. O Little Town of Bethlehem 24. Silver Bells

A snowman carries a small Christmas tree in this wintry night-time scene from an early twentieth-century postcard.

A child's ticket for a steamboat trip on the Schuylkill River between Reading, Pennsylvania, and the Klapperthal Pavilion, which was located outside of town and contained a dance floor, restaurant, and other amenities. The back of the ticket is stamped "Jul. 4, 1896." Captain John A. Hiester (1842-1922) built boats and ran steamboats on the Schuylkill for many years. See also Reading Steamboat Company Ticket, Reading, Pa., to High's Grove . Steamboats Iona, Golden Eagle, and Atlantic Reading to Klapperthal and return (down) (up). Capt. John A. Hiester. Children's ticket.

"Fairbank's Fairy Soap. Unequaled for toilet, bath, and fine laundry use. The Strobridge Lith. Co., Cin., O. Copyright 1898, the N. K. Fairbank Company, Chicago." According to Wikipedia's N. K. Fairbank article, "Nathaniel Kellogg 'N. K.' Fairbank (1829-1903) was a Chicago industrialist whose company, the N. K. Fairbank Co., manufactured soap as well as animal and baking products.... [The company's] Gold Dust Washing Powder ... was one of the most successful cleansing product lines in twentieth century North America. Another original Fairbank creation, Fairy Soap, was purchased by Procter & Gamble and remains one of the best-known European household brands." The ships on the trade card probably depict battleships used during the Spanish-American War, which began in 1898.