Alan Mays' photos

"Lecture, Fulton Hall, Thursday even'g, March 13, 1878. Rev. Dr. G. F. Krotel. Subject: 'Whom to Marry.' Express Print." Gottlob Frederick Krotel (1826-1907) was the pastor of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1853 to 1862. As this ticket indicates, he returned to Lancaster on March 13, 1873, to deliver a lecture titled "Whom to Marry" at Fulton Hall , which is known today as the Fulton Opera House or Fulton Theatre. The Reading Times (Reading, Pa.) for Saturday, March 15, 1873, p. 4, noted that the lecture took place--"Rev. Dr. Krotel told the people of Lancaster 'Whom to Marry' on Thursday evening"--but didn't reveal any of his marriage advice.

"Graphophone Entertainment by Geo. L. Preston and Geo. Perkins. Admit one." The graphophone was an early type of phonograph, and a "graphophone entertainment" (or "graphophone concert") was simply a program featuring music played on a graphophone (there were also "phonograph entertainments" and "phonograph concerts"). I haven't uncovered any trace of George L. Preston and George Perkins, but it's likely that they were selling tickets like this in the late 1890s or early 1900s.

"Aeroplane Headache Tablets make headaches fly. 3 for 5¢. (Trade Mark Reg. U.S. Patent Office.) Phone, South 694."

A photo of nurses, doctors, or hospitals for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A little girl in a nurse costume on a real photo postcard by E. & K. Bolam, who were photographers in the seaside resort town of Ilfracombe , England. "Hospital Saturday" refers to a British fundraising method for hospitals that predated the National Health Service .

A photo of libraries or books for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Transport Mercury. Red Cross. From American Library Association for all men on board. Not to be opened until return voyage." This real photo postcard shows a photograph taken on board the USS Mercury , a United States Navy ship, as it transported troops home following the end of World War I. The sign on the left indicates that the American Library Association provided books for the troops. I located another photograph of this same scene that was taken from a different angle. This second photo was cataloged as NH 45345 by the Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command, and its description also applies to my real photo postcard: "Scene in troop spaces in a hold below the waterline, showing a card game in progress [why aren't they reading their books?], with banjo accompaniment [the banjo player's hands are partially visible at far right in my photo], circa 1918-1919. Note books at left, placed on board by the Red Cross and the American Library Association. Sign with the books indicates that the photo was taken as Mercury was transporting troops back to the U.S. from Europe after the World War I Armistice [November 11, 1918]."

Addressed to Miss Alice Mae Burns, Welch, McDowell Co., W.Va., and postmarked Oct. 30, 1911. Message: "Guess who."

"Yankee Doodle came to town. July 4."

"Three cheers for George Washington."

"Have just run across some old friends." A postcard addressed on the other side to Master Willie McClinton, Black Bank, Ont., and postmarked Toronto, Ont., March 6, 1911. Handwritten message: "Sunday [March 5]. Dear Willie, Your mother was up to see us a few minutes today. You will have a great time keeping house. We are having a snow storm tonight. Robert's cat can play the piano. He walks back and forth over the keys. Goodbye for now. Your cousin, Dorothy."

One in a series of sports trading cards printed on the back of Wheaties cereal boxes in 1952. For another Wheaties card, see Gretchen Fraser, Sun Valley Skiing Champion .

"Rice & Robinson Soap Co., Petroleum Soaps. Presented by O. S. Rice. E. S. Rice, president. R. L. Rice, v, pres't & gen'l mgr. J. C. Robinson, sec'y. E. H. Beardsley, treas. Trademark. Drake. First oil well, 1859. Titusville, Pa. G. H. Dunston, Buffalo, N.Y. Over." The Drake Well Museum near Titusville, Pennsylvania, includes a replica of the historic Drake Oil Well , which is featured in the illustration on this card.

A photo with decorative border or frame for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Reporting for diaper duty, sir!" With an elaborate border consisting of an eagle, flag, canons, bombs bursting in air, and other patriotic and military symbols, it's surprising that this real photo postcard features an image of a child rather than a soldier.

A real photo postcard printed with a decorative mask. The scrollwork and flowers in the design of the mask make it look like an elaborate picture frame.

A woman standing among the shrubbery is surrounded by the stylized scrolls and flowers of the decorative mask used to print this real photo postcard.

"H. G. Louser, manufacturer and dealer in bicycles. Guns, revolvers, ammunition. Agent for the Columbia. Bicycles rented and repaired. 50 North Ninth Street, Lebanon, Penn'a."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of grandma and/or grandpa with the grandchildren / sitting on grandpa or grandma's lap . A real photo postcard showing a baby and two men--looks like the kid's father and grandfather--posing on a studio mockup of the City of Toledo , which was a steamship that plied the waters of Lake Erie between Toledo and Put-in-Bay, Ohio, beginning in the 1890s.

"I walked through an elephant. Lucy, Margate, New Jersey. National Landmark. 1881. 11253." An undated ticket stub from a tour of Lucy the Elephant , "a six-story elephant-shaped example of novelty architecture" and possibly "the oldest surviving roadside tourist attraction in America," according to Wikipedia.