Alan Mays' photos

See also the front of this pass (below). "I hereby accept this free ticket, and assume all risks of accidents, losses and injuries, both to person and property, on the route of this Company, while using it whether occasioned by negligence of its agents or otherwise." "This ticket is invalid unless signed by the individual named thereon, and, if presented by any other person, is to be taken up by the Clerk."

Don't let this fellow get your goat! From a postcard dated 1908.

A wizard casts a spell to turn the leaves from bales of tobacco into fully formed cigars as his black cat watches.

A tall-tale postcard created by M. L. Oakes in 1907. For other postcards by Oakes, see Washington Pear and Peach Orchard and The Way They Dig Potatoes in Idaho (below). Postmark on the other side of the card: April 5, 1910, Portland, Ore. Sta. E ( railway post office , RPO). Addressed to C. M. Bierly, Dents Run, Elk Co., Penna. Message: "Howdy? Dan."

Some mixed emotions (people displaying distinctly different reactions in a photo) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. During her birthday party, a gleeful little girl opens a box containing a Minnie Mouse doll (probably a Gund from the late 1940s). Her mom and dad are eagerly watching their daughter, perhaps a little relieved that she seems to like her present so much. Another little girl--in the background next to the window--is wide-eyed with excitement. One of the boys in the photo is excited about the doll, too, and he appears to be frantically reaching up to grab it away from the birthday girl. The other boy on the left, however, is glumly contemplating the proceedings, as if he's disappointed that he didn't get something that nice. In a second photo (below), the glum boy is looking down at something else while the birthday girl and her girlfriends inspect the new doll. The grabber is almost out of the picture on the extreme right--perhaps the dad pulled him aside after he attempted to snatch the doll away. The third photo (see below) shows the birthday girl smiling proudly as she poses with her new Minnie Mouse doll.

The second of three photos from a birthday party where Minnie Mouse is the center of attention. See the other photos of the birthday girl opening the box containing the doll and posing for a picture with it (below).

The third of three photos featuring Minnie Mouse at a birthday party. Here the birthday girl stands on a chair to pose for a picture with her new doll. The other photos show her opening the box containing the Minnie Mouse doll and setting the doll on the table to take a close look at it (see below).

"John Kelly's Fine Shoes, Rochester, N.Y." Rubberstamped on the other side of this Victorian-era trade card: "John E. Brown, No. 46 E. State St., Ithaca, N.Y." Perhaps this was a nineteenth-century prototype for Amazon's drone delivery. 8-)

At least it doesn't say Stop! There's no date or any other identifying info on the photo, unfortunately. Not to be confused with Speed Limit 15 Miles (below).

A picture that tells a sad story (either in the photo or written on the back) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The woman at left on the front of this real photo postcard is Jennie B. Dorsey, who was visiting her aunt (her father's sister), Mrs. Amanda J. (Dorsey) Watkins, in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1911 (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the women). As Amanda wrote on the back of the card, "This is a picture of my niece who has the consumption," which was another term for tuberculosis , an incurable infectious disease at the time. On the front of the card, Amanda added, "She has been failing ever since she returned to her home in Scranton, Pa." Sadly, Jennie did pass away the following year on April 3, 1912. She was only 24 years old, and her death certificate listed the cause of her death as pulmonary tuberculosis. This real photo postcard was postmarked in Columbus, Ohio, on July 13, 1911. It was addressed to Miss Lizzie Seitz, Post Office Box, Muncie, Ind. Message on the front of the postcard: Jennie Dorsey & Mrs. Watkins in Clarksburg, W.Va. She has been failing ever since she returned to her home in Scranton, Pa. Message on the other side: Dear Miss Seitz, This is a picture of my niece who has the consumption and I on our lawn, and this is the house we live in. We are at the camp for 2 days. We are not very well in body. Will write more in a letter soon. We all send love. So sorry about your eyes. Use salt water diluted and get the juice of a grape vine. Be careful, don't use strong medicine. Be careful and rest them all you can. I cured mine with salt water.

Jennie B. Dorsey, left, and her aunt, Mrs. Amanda J. (Dorsey) Watkins, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

"Compliments of John E. Kaughran & Co., Dry Goods. 767 & 769 Broadway, cor. of Ninth St., New York." This is one of a six-part "Comic Visiting" card series printed by E. Currier & Co., Boston (probably related to the Currier of Currier & Ives but I'm not sure how). Other cards show a woman offering a cracker to a parrot (see below), a man peering through his eyeglasses at an owl, and a baby dangling a cup or something else to get a dog's attention. For the front and back of another Kaughran advertising trade card, see J. E. Kaughran, New York and John E. Kaughran, Dry Goods, New York (below).

The Sunday school of the Third Moravian Church of Philadelphia used share certificates like this to raise funds for the purchase of a church bell. The sale of all 2,500 shares at 10 cents each would have raised $250, and perhaps that would have covered the cost of a bell in the 1870s, which is when these certificates were issued. For another nineteenth-century fundraising strategy that involved buying bricks rather than shares, see The Owner of This Card Has Purchased One Brick in the People's Church, Boston, Mass., ca. 1880 (below). Third Moravian Church Sunday School, Harrowgate, Philadelphia. 2,500 shares. 10 cents each. This is to certify that John Diehne is entitled to one shares in the bell of the Third Moravian Church at Harrogate, Philadelphia. Chas. Thieley, president. J. Lietz, secretary, Senseman & Son, Printers, 416 Callowhill Street, Philadelphia.

The dealer's tag at the antique mall where I purchased this small photograph of a fellow dressed up like Uncle Sam said, "Antique photo, 4th [of] July parade, Concord, Mich." There's no other identifying information on the photo, unfortunately. See also On the Lam with Uncle Sam :

A photo of a dog or cat with toy for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This photographic greeting card, dated "Christmas 1971" on the back, features smiling kids and a dog in a little playpen. The dog doesn't seem too happy, however, even though it has a doll to play with.

A photo of an old-fashioned chore for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Or maybe these fellows are actually bored with this washtub and washboard as they pose with them for humorous effect. From an unused real photo postcard with no postmark or message. Thankfully, hand washing clothes in a tub is an outmoded task, and other onerous chores—like cleaning rugs by beating them or cutting grass with a push-powered reel mower (see below)—have also become unnecessary.

Printed on light paper. Possibly intended for use as a label.

A late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century business card for a breeder of pigs and chickens. C. H. Dildine, Greenwood, Columbia Co., Pa. Greenwood Centre herd of thoroughbred swine. Poland China & Chester White swine a specialty. Barred Plymouth Rock and Light Brahmas, poultry. My stock are fine finish. Heavy bone and quick maturing. Pigs two months old and young sows bred, for sale. Prices reasonable. Stock recorded. Correspondence solicited. Romeo, vol. XX.