Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of dressed alike . Twin brothers stand on either side of another brother as they pose for a photo in front of an elaborate painted backdrop. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with a Defender stamp box design ("Defender" at top and bottom with a blank diamond shape in the middle). This type of stamp box indicates that the photo may date to sometime between 1920 and 1945. The card is unused, and there's no address, message, or postmark on the verso.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of strange background – real or studio . In this picture, five tourists are posing in an automobile. In the background behind them is the unique rock formation known as the Three Graces, which is located in the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. See a second photo of the tourists for a close-up of the group.

A second photo of the tour group who visited the Three Graces rock formation at the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Two of the women are wearing plain dress , including bonnets, which suggests that they may belong to an Amish or Mennonite group.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of forks, knives, and/or spoons . Yum! The photographer caught this woman in midbite as she lifted a forkful of lobster to her mouth. This is an undated slide with no location information.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of rowboats . A woman grips a pair of oars and merrily rows her boat as she poses for a picture. Other boats are visible in the far distance, and trees line the shore at the other end of the lake. There's no indication where or when the photo was taken.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of holiday happenings — any kind of end-of-year holiday gathering, celebration, or decoration . A vintage photo of a boy sitting astride a donkey — it's fake (or stuffed?) and mounted on wheels — as he poses for a picture with Santa Claus. Santa's eyes seem to be closed — he must have blinked as the photo was taken. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box design (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side. This type of stamp box indicates that the photo may date to sometime between 1907 and 1918. Printed on the other side: "The Fair Studio, Chicago." See also the full version of the photo.

A real photo postcard of a boy sitting on a donkey as he poses with Santa Claus. See also a cropped version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of guess what's going on (you know but viewers have to guess) . Photographer Charles H. Venus (1872-1959), of New Berlin, Union County, Pennsylvania, took this picture of twelve men and eight women at a get-together. The photo likely dates to the early twentieth century, and many of the participants are pretending to eat something that they're holding up to their mouths. I think I know what it is. Can you guess what they're eating? For clues, see cropped versions of the left-hand side and the right-hand side of the photo and the handwritten message that's on the back of the photo .

See also the full photo , a cropped version of the right-hand side , and the handwritten message on the back of the photo .

See also the full photo , a cropped version of the left-hand side , and the handwritten message on the back of the photo .

See also the full photo and cropped versions of the left-hand side and right-hand side of the photo. Transcription of the message: Margaret, Alma, Anna, Bert, Leidy, and Melvin, out for their health after the party Mar. 4 to 5th. They seem to think that colds are a good spring opening. Oh! my taffy is gone. Anna Alma says Harner's overcoat was awful warm, his mittens also. We visited water street, altho it was Sat. morning. Anna didn't approve of Bert's proposition. But if she would of had Harner, I believe she would of have walked until daylight. The boys had watch night, & the poor fellows had to make their escape thro the back yard. We might as well have walked to our graves, but of course we didn't take cold did we Anna? If Leidy & Bert would of had overcoats too we would of had been allright.

A detail of the photo showing the framed image of a ladder propped up against a cross. For the full photo, see A Hearty Party .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of crowds, throngs, or hordes (a big bunch of people) . Top: “LHS, 1929.” Bottom right: "Ulrich Studio, 1929." Right edge: “Congratulations.” This is a composite photo that consists of about 200 individual portraits of students from the class of 1929 at Lebanon High School, Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The class size seems large for the time, but presumably these are all seniors. The high school building appears at top left and teachers are at top right. For better views of the students, see cropped versions of the left-hand side and the right-hand side of the photo. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box design (squares in all four corners) on the other side. This type of stamp box typically indicates that a photo may date to sometime between 1924 and 1949, which is consistent with the 1929 date of this photo. This postcard is unused, and there's no message, address, or postmark on the verso. For another composite photo of high school students, see Heads of the Class of 1915, New Castle High School, New Castle, Pa.

See also a cropped version of the right-hand side and the full version of this photo.

See also a cropped version of the left-hand side and the full version of this photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of seeing double (a photo with two people or things that look the same) . An amazing double exposure of a man pouring a drink as his doppelgänger holds the glass. I don't have any information about the photographer or the method used to achieve such an effect in pre-Photoshop times.

One of two Vintage Photos Theme Park photos for the theme of a pair of pictures (two photos related in some way) . These two girls posed for a souvenir photo at Pen Mar Park in Maryland. They sat on a rustic wooden bench in front of a painted backdrop depicting the three-level High Point observation tower situated on an overlook a couple of miles away from park. Pen Mar Park was an amusement park and resort area located in the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Mason-Dixon line separating Maryland and Pennsylvania. The park was a popular summertime destination in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (two corner triangles pointing up and two pointing down) printed on the other side, which indicates that the photo may date between 1910 and 1930. The back is otherwise blank with no message, name, address, stamp, or postmark. For a similar souvenir photo, see Boy Scouts with High Rock Backdrop, Pen Mar, Maryland .

Two of two Vintage Photos Theme Park photos for the theme of a pair of pictures (two photos related in some way) . Two Boy Scouts stand next to a rustic wooden bench in front of a painted backdrop of the three-level High Point observation tower located near Pen Mar Park in Maryland. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box design (squares in all four corners) printed on the other side, which indicates that the photo may date between 1924 and 1949. The back is blank with no message, name, address, stamp, or postmark. For a similar souvenir photo, see Two Girls with High Rock Backdrop, Pen Mar, Maryland . For additional photos and postcards from the park, see my Pen Mar album.