Alan Mays' photos

"Chas. O. Ursprung, wholesale horse collar manufacturer, No. 408 North Market St., Lancaster, Pa. CU. Special trademark." Charles O. Ursprung (1867-1935) moved his horse collar manufactory to 408 North Market Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sometime in the early 1900s (city directories from the late 1890s give his business locations as either 21 or 32 West Chestnut Street in Lancaster). For a similar business card from the same job printer ( Pluck Print ), see William C. Myers, Practical Artesian Well Contractor, Salunga, Pa.

A broadside advertisement by a grocery store owner in Tunkhannock, Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. The "WAR," of course, refers to World War I (1914-1918). War Has Not Advanced the Prices of Our Goods! We can save you money on any small order. Our prices are way down, for cash. We guarantee our goods to be all fresh and right weight. 8 bars Oak, Leaf, Lenox, or Star Soap, .25 10 bars Large Size Soap, .25 Elastic Starch, .09 Cow Brand Soda, per lb., .03 1-2 Barley, per lb., .03 1-2 A No. 1 Early June Peas, Parson Brand, per can, .06 A No. 1 Brand Sweet corn, .07 A No. 1 Brand Tomatoes, .06 1-2 None Such Mince Meat, .09 Roman Sweet Chocolate, lb., .04 1-4 Bird Gravel, per box, .04 Good Brooms, two for .25 Fine Cut Tobacco, per lb., .25 Fresh, Full Cream Cheese always on hand. Look at our prices! Don't you think that it pays you to buy at the Tunkhannock Cash Store? Our shoe department.--Men's, boys', and children's shoes. Also ladies' and misses' shoes, and Oxford ties. We are selling them at bottom prices. And dry goods! Come in and leave your order at our place, and if you cannot come yourself send someone, and we will deliver you our goods for the prices we advertise them at. Remember the place, at the old National Bank Building, Tunkhannock, Pa. Goods delivered to any part of the city, Morris Malkinson, prop'r.

"The Guernsey Cow. Farm made ice cream. World's Largest Cow. Located on Lincoln Highway, U.S. 30, at Exton, Pa." Printed on the other side: "Meet you at the Guernsey Cow, Exton, Pa. Serving tasty luncheons. Internationally famous for our cream caramels, ice cream, and Golden Guernsey milk. Landmarked by the World's Largest Cow. Mellinger Studios, Lancaster, Penna." For more information, see Sean McGlinchey's site about The Guernsey Cow, Exton, Pennsylvania and his album about The Guernsey Cow on Flickr.

"To my valentine. I'm a socialist, will you be one? Free drinks, free money, free love. Ellam." Postmarked Saginaw West Side, Mich., Feb. 4, 1911, and addressed to Ward Brown, 820 North Mason, Saginaw West Side. Handwritten message: "I hope you are as I am and don't forget that day. You know and I know, and why should we forget it." Artist-signed postcard by William Ellam.

A cyanotype real photo postcard for the Vintage Photos Theme Park theme of pick a particular format (daguerreotype, cabinet card, CDV, real photo postcard, cyanotype, slide, Polaroid, or what have you?) . Handwritten message: "It's been a long time since we saw this, and we will never see it again. I'm sorry it has been destroyed. I haven't forgotten the promised pictures of St. L. You shall have them some day. Yours, J.W." Addressed on the other side to Miss Virginia Stone, Pulaski, Va., and postmarked at Tazewell, Va., on Jan. 24, 1907 (the year is illegible on this card but I have another St. Louis cyanotype from J.W. that was postmarked on Aug. 25, 1907). J.W. and Miss Virginia Stone were two of the more than 19 million people who visited the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. The Ferris Wheel that's visible in this blue-tinted cyanotype photo was originally constructed in 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair . The wheel was disassembled in Chicago, transported to St. Louis, and rebuilt in time for the fair in 1904 (mouse over the image above for an enlarged view of the Ferris Wheel ). After the St. Louis World's Fair ended, the Ferris Wheel met its fate on May 11, 1906, when it was dynamited and sold for scrap. "It's been a long time since we saw this," said J.W. in his note to Virginia in 1907, "and we will never see it again. I'm sorry it has been destroyed." The Missouri Historical Society's World's Fair Ferris Wheel album on Flickr contains photos showing the installation and demolition of the wheel.

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

A looking at the camera photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Sign on the wall behind the train: "Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden, 17.9.62" ("Berchtesgaden Salt Mine, 9/17/62.") Twenty-four riders on a mine train are peering intently at the photographer's camera in this souvenir photo from the Berchtesgaden Salt Mine in Bavaria, Germany, on September 17, 1962. For a similar photo from a different mine, see Hallein Salt Mine Tour, near Salzburg, Austria, July 31, 1962

"You bet I am the stuff."

A snow or sand photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten caption on the back of this snapshot: "Dec. 1951. Nancy Ellen Isaacs."

"Wishing you a happy New Year." A Victorian-era greeting for the New Year.

"Viel Glück zum neuen Jahre." (Good luck for the New Year.)

Rev. B. L. C. Baer was the pastor of the Highspire Church of God in Highspire, Pa. New Year Greeting, 1912 Being deprived the privilege of coming into your home I still herewith extend to you the greetings of the season. My good wishes for your happiness and success are not limited to a day or a week--they continue throughout the year; but at this joyous Christmas and New Year season I gladly renew and emphasize my good wishes, and as I count my blessings I find your good will among those most highly prized. B. L. C. Baer, Highspire, Pa.

A futuristic photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A snapshot of a woman in a somewhat tilted view of the Unisphere , an example of the futuristic (or futurist) architecture of the 1964/1965 New York World's Fair .

Caption on the front of this postcard: " C.V.R.R. Yards, Williams Grove, Pa." Printed on the back: "14546 - Pub. by A. M. Deichler, Lancaster, Pa., for J. Hurst Est., Mechanicsburg, Pa." Postmarked Mechanicsburg, Pa., Aug. 30, 1918, and addressed to Miss Grace Hoy, 730 S. Duke St., York, Pa. Handwritten message: "Dear Cousin, Expected to see you at the Grove but failed to see you there. Such a crowd of people I never seen as was there on Thursday. All well. Hope this will find you all the same. Emma." A photographic version of this scene appeared in " Grangers at the Grove: Annual Farmers Exhibition Ended Nearly a Century Ago ," a newpaper article by Joseph Cress, which was published in The Sentinel (Carlisle, Pa.), Sept. 5, 2015. "Engine Number 30 arrives in Williams Grove during the Grangers' Picnic in 1916" was the caption of the photographic version, which was provided by the Cumberland County Historical Society.

A ticket or invitation for a "Universal Ball" held in Keene, New Hampshire, on March 5, 1852. As listed on the ticket, musician S. K. Conant played both the violin and the "Kolquearougion," an instrument he invented. Although a newspaper article in 1859 called his invention the "Kolquearougion Bells," I haven't been able to uncover any additional information about it. Universal Ball Your company, with ladies, is respectfully solicited at the Town Hall, in Keene, on Friday evening, March 5, 1852. Music by Hall & Conant's Celebrated Lowell Brass Band. D. C. Hall, cornet and bugle; S. K. Conant, violin and Kolquearougion; B. Hall, clarionett and piccolo; G. P. Kittredge, violin and prompter; W. Bennett, bass. Tickets, $1.50, to be obtained of authorized agents, and at the door. Dancing to commence at seven o'clock.

What kid wouldn't want a Simplex toy typewriter that's endorsed by Santa and works well enough to "write a good business letter"? If you're not convinced yet, take a look at the other side of this advertising card to see samples of the typewriting. For a later Santa Simplex ad, see Santa's Favorite Simplex Typewriters, 1908 . Simplex Typewriters $1.00 up. Novel and useful holiday gifts. Anyone can use them. My dear child, Come and see my grand display, more wonderful than your wildest dream of Fairy Land. Yours for fun, Santa. At my headquarters. Walter S. Calvert, 3 Main St., New London, Conn. Nicely finished machines that will write a good business letter and machines so simple a child learning its first letters will be helped. Presents that please and benefit the user and reflect credit on the giver.

See also the front of this Simplex Typewriter advertisement. For a later die-cut ad, see Santa's Favorite Simplex Typewriters, 1908 . Walter S. Calvert, 3 Main St., New London, Conn. Toys, Dolls, and Games. Sample of work of Simplex No. 1, $1.00 Dear old Santa, Please I want the 1905 typewriter. This one will be fine for cousin Jim. Sample of work of Simplex No. 2½, $2.50. Dear Gladys, I am delighted with my Simplex and do so love writing to you: Are you not to get one? Sample of work of Simplex No. 5, $5.00 Dear Father: This is in all essentials an efficient typewriter and is easy to operate. Thanks. Frank. (see other side )

A 1950s Christmas display at the National Christmas Center near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, features Jimmy, his sister, and Santa Claus. The jolly old gent is looking closely at Jimmy's note—"Dear Santa, please pause here"—which refers to the bottle of Coca-Cola ("the pause that refreshes") that Jimmy left for Santa on the mantelpiece. The kids are so surprised at seeing Santa that they haven't even noticed the unwrapped toys, including a Blockhead! party game box, that he's left for them underneath the Christmas tree.