Alan Mays' photos

This is the season the maidens dream Things of future unforeseen. Dream sweet dreams, oh! ladies fair; But of the future have a care! A postcard addressed on the other side to my grandmother, "Miss Annie Sturtz, Fairhope Boswell, Pa." (I'm not exactly certain where my grandmother lived at the time and why Fairhope was crossed out and Boswell written in). There are two postmarks--one from Somerset, Pa., and another from Fairhope, Pa.--both dated Oct. 29, 1908. The handwritten message on the back of the card is "Annie taking warning. B." My grandmother evidently didn't heed the warning from the unnamed "B." and married my grandfather a year later.

"How we do things at Lancaster, Pa. Our Kind." Alfred Stanley Johnson, Jr., of Waupun, Wisconsin, created this postcard in 1911.

One more Halloween photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park ( post as many photos as you want--no limit!--that relate directly or indirectly to Halloween ). A jack-o'-lantern in a Halloween window display at a Kodak camera store. For a better view of the display and the inside of the store, see Halloween at Your Friendly Kodak Dealer .

A Halloween window display at a camera store. I believe that the sign that's partially visible above "Your Friendly Kodak Dealer" is "Service Photo Supply Co." Does anyone recognize the camera or other equipment? Is this a photo store scene from the 1960s or 1970s? For a close-up of the pumpkin, see Halloween Kodak-O'-Lantern .

Why is the witch holding a knife? Is that a plate of ice cream with a wedding ring on top? Is that a black cat or could it be a big rat? What is pumpkinhead boy smiling at? Why are some early twentieth-century Halloween postcards so puzzling?

A witch holds her broomstick tightly as she rides in the back seat of a watermelon car driven by a wide-eyed veggie creature. A black cat sits next to her, and a bat flies above. A date of "Oct. 31st, 1908" is written on the other side of this postcard, which was published by the British firm of Raphael Tuck & Sons and issued as part of its popular Halloween series 150 .

A woman dressed in a spiffy outfit poses with her bicycle in front of a house with a picket fence. Another woman—her mother, perhaps?—stands on the porch. The number on the house is 722 but there are no other clues to help identity the location. This is a larger photograph mounted on cardboard, and it reminds me of a similar photo of Two Women and a Bicycle . The women in the other photo are also wearing long dresses, one has a hat, and there are houses in the background.

Cropped version of a photo mounted on cardboard. See also the full version of this photo (below).

Photo mounted on cardboard. See also a cropped version for a close-up of the two women (below).

Yet another Halloween photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard with a Halloween portrait of kids (including twins?), a cat, and a jack-o'-lantern all posing on the front porch (see also a cropped version of the photo). The family sent this as a Christmas greeting (notice the decorative holly leaves and berries added at the bottom) to Miss Geneva B. Haley, Cornish, Maine. The card was postmarked in Brunswick, Maine, on December 17, 1943. Handwritten message on the other side: "Yours was a lovely card. Peter read it to the other children. It's their favorite Christmas carol. Greetings from all, Cecil & Marion." I don't recall ever seeing any other Halloween-themed Christmas cards.

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

Another Halloween photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A kid hugging a pumpkin, date and location unknown.

Caption at bottom (difficult to see): "179. Copper River Salmon, Cordova , Alaska. Photocraft." Sign on building: "Northern Meat [Market]." Addressed on the other side to Bob Bern, Seward, Alaska, and postmarked Cordova, Alaska, Sep. 30, 1937. Message: "Dear Bob, How is everybody in Seward? Cordova ain't so bad, but I haven't met any girls yet. We are about a half a mile from town so I go every day. Write some time and let me know how you are. Vic Hughes, c/o Wright & Stock, Cordova, Alaska."

A Halloween photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A Halloween portrait with a kid in a Lone Ranger costume and an eerie (oops, I mean ear-y ) jack-o'-lantern in the window (notice how the lamp ended up on the chair for the picture-taking session). The big ears and toothy smile of the jack-o'-lantern remind me of Alfred E. Neuman . A logo consisting of the numbers "1/55" inside a sideways letter "D" appears on the top border of the full version of this snapshot (see below). I'm not sure what the D refers to, but I take the numbers to mean that the photo was developed in January 1955, which suggests it was taken during Halloween the previous year. The boy's choice of costume reflects the popularity of the Lone Ranger TV series , which ran from 1949 to 1957.

A sideways letter "D" containing the numbers "1/55" (left of center along the top border) suggests that this photo was developed in January 1955. For additional information, see the cropped version :

Postmarked South Amboy, N.J., Oct. 8, 1909, and addressed to Miss E. E. Isenberg, R.F.D. No. 1, Box 17, Hollidaysburg, Pa. Handwritten message: "South Amboy, Oct. 8th. Dear Elda, We were all to New York yesterday. Had a nice time, went to the Hippodrome , the day was fine. I looked about plume [feathers for hats; see plume hunting ]--you can do better in Altoona. Do not forget to meet me at Frankstown on Monday eve at [the] five [o'clock] train. You can come in buggy. Mama." In this Halloween postcard by illustrator Bernhardt Wall , a young woman is tossing a long apple peel over her shoulder, believing that the peel will fall to the floor in the shape of a letter that will reveal the first letter of her future husband's name (strangely, a number of peels that spell "Hallowe'en" are floating in the background). This apple peeling practice is one of a number of Halloween games and rituals that were depicted on postcards published in the early twentieth century.

"O, is my true love tall and grand? O, is my sweetheart bonny?" Mirrors , cakes , apple peels , and chestnuts (see below) have all figured in the Halloween fortune-telling games depicted on early twentieth-century postcards. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I found this postcard by Ellen H. Clapsaddle , which suggests that young women could use cabbages (or kales ) to foretell what kind of husband–tall and grand? bonny?–they might marry. In a discussion about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My! , Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains how picking a cabbage from the garden could predict a woman's romantic future: "If the selected cabbage or kale was difficult to unearth, it denoted difficulty in a relationship. Kale with clumps of dirt stuck to the roots signified a rich husband, and the size, shape, and taste of the kale foretold the physical attributes and personality of a future spouse." Ellen Clapsaddle illustrated a number of other prognosticating postcards like this one. For another example, see Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After .

"May love light your Hallow-e'en lantern! H.B.G." A Halloween postcard illustrated by H. B. Griggs (H.B.G.). For another Griggs card, see Have a Devilishly Happy Halloween .