Alan Mays' photos

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.

"Merit Reward Merit. Look up and not down. Look forward and not backward. Look out and not in. And lend a hand. Presented to David Snyder, by R. C. McNamar, teacher. Colton, Zahm & Roberts, N.Y." American author Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909) published variations of his "Four Mottos" ("Look up and not down, look forward and not back, look out and not in, and lend a hand!") as early as 1870. For another reward of merit printed by Colton, Zahm, & Roberts, see Those Who Know Everything in General Know Nothing in Particular .

A reward of merit dated 1875. Unfortunately, the small but colorful chromolithographed scrap glued to the middle of the card isn't positioned correctly (take a look at a rotated version instead of craning your neck), but the elaborate design surrounding the scrap makes up for it. The nineteenth-century "maxim" printed on the card reminds me of the modern quip about know-it-alls: "Those who think they know everything annoy those of us who do." For another reward of merit printed by Colton, Zahm, & Roberts, see Look Up and Not Down . Golden Maxim Reward Those who know everything in general, know nothing in particular. Colton, Zahm, & Roberts, New York. Written on the back of the card: "1875, James M. Stoner."

A rotated view of this reward of merit provides a better--though still tilted--view of the chromolithographed scrap added in the middle For the original, see Those Who Know Everything in General Know Nothing in Particular .

A lemony postcard from 1906 that was connected to the "23 skidoo" fad that was popular at the time (notice the "23" on the hat or whatever it is that's on top of the lemon's head). To find out what lemons meant in the early twentieth century and how they were connected to 23 skidoo, see Skidoo 23 Is Now 37 . For more postcards, see my 23 Skidoo and Lemons Too album. The Lemon Oh, something that's yellow and egg-shape, not round! You buy by the dozen, in crates they are found; Oh, something that's handed out freely each day, "For yours" this portrait now comes to say.

An amusing "advance card" that a traveling salesman could send to let customers know when to expect his visit. For other early twentieth-century advance cards, see I'll Be There Soon to Tell You How to Jinger Up Your Trade , Zing! Coming Round Your Way , and I Am Pushing on the Lines .

A graduation photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Alberta Mays, Class of 1936, Mulberry High School, Mulberry, Ind. Kobel Studio. April 27, 1936." A unique graduation photo for Alberta Mays (no relation) that combines a portrait of the student, a photo of the high school, and an image of a calendar for the month of April 1936.

"Putnam Fadeless Dyes-Tints." A late 1920s paper advertising fan with a wooden handle. The elaborate Art Nouveau design of the fan features a green nymph in flowing robes who's using Putnam Fadeless Dyes and Tints to paint colors onto the wings of a quizzical-looking butterfly. Two other leafy green creatures kneel on either side as they hold bowls of Putnam products. Purple gnarly tree trunks and branches along with green leaves frame the fantastical scene. See also the advertising copy on the back of the fan .

Partial transcription of the text on the back of the Putnam Fadeless Dyes and Tints Advertising Fan : Putnam Fadeless Dyes, Tints To dye, use boiling water. To tint, dip in warm water. Colors all materials. Putnam No-Kolor Bleach removes the original color, which enables you to dye material any color desired. No-Kolor will not harm any fabric that boiling water alone will not injure. Why Putnam Fadeless Dyes and Tints are best for you.... Tint with Putnam (no boiling is required).... A free offer if you have gray hair.... Putnam Dry-Cleaner. The original dry cleaner.... Monroe Chemical Company, Quincy, Illinois. The Regensteiner Corporation, Chicago. Compliments of Geo. F. Hoy, Hublersburg, Pa.

A photo of friends for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Printed on the back: "J. M. Snyder, photographist, Berwick, Pa. Duplicates can be had at any time." Three jaunty fellows--friends with self-assured looks on their faces and cigars in their mouths--peer out at us from this nineteenth-century carte de visite photo. Checkered vests and pants must have been in vogue at the time.

For the Vintage Photos Theme Park, a photo of troublemakers and misfits (that guy always was a troublemaker: photo featuring a misfit—someone set apart from the rest of the people by dress, action, expression, etc.) . A jolly bunch of men and women are posing under a tree—and on a tree house or platform attached to the tree—for what turned out to be an overexposed photo that then faded over time. After I scanned the photo and adjusted its contrast, I was able to spot some interesting details, like the beaming smiles on some of the women's faces and the bow ties and striped shirts worn by a few of the men. One fellow at upper right is smoking a pipe and holding the legs of a guy who's sitting on the railing above him. And then there's the dude who's smack dab in the middle of the group (see a cropped version for a close-up view). He's puffing on a cigarette and seems to be lunging toward a man in the front row. Judging by the blur of the hatchet he's holding in his raised hand, the man in front received a blow to the head just after the photographer snapped the photo. Or at least that seems to be what this troublemaker wanted us to believe. Notice, too, how the young woman to the left of the hatchet wielder is grinning. It's hard to tell if she's in on the joke or is actually oblivious to the impending hatchet chop. P.S. For another rabble-rouser caught on film, see Aieeeeee!!!

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

A photo of hikers from the Victorian era or another time period for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard with a handwritten note: "Taken in Sages Ravine, Mass. Helen Allison." Curiously, although the photo was taken in Massachusetts, the address on the back of the card is "Mrs. A. G. Briggs, Grundy Centre, Grundy Co., Iowa," and the postmark is "Saegerstown, Pa., Aug. 18, 1906."