Alan Mays' photos

"This beats walking. Monongahela Incline, Pittsburgh, Pa."

"Merchants Hotel, corner of Smithfield and Third Sts., Pittsburgh. S. H. Rial, proprietor." S. H. Rial used this tiny business card to promote the hotel he managed, and he also placed the following advertisement in the Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pa.), July 6, 1866, p. 2. MERCHANTS' HOTEL. Corner Smithfield and Third Streets, Pittsburgh. This old favorite hotel, having been thoroughly renovated, repaired, and refurnished, is now open for the reception of guests. The proprietor (formerly of St. Charles) expects from its central location, his experience, determination to please, and by moderate charges, to deserve and receive a liberal patronage. S. H. Rial, proprietor.

A man pretends to steer an airplane in this early twentieth-century real photo postcard that's survived the years despite some damage. The painted plane that he's piloting may be a Curtiss Model D biplane, circa 1911. For a similar photo with a younger pilot, see Inflight Infant in an Early Biplane (below).

An infant for the ABC Group (4/20/2017). A rather dark real photo postcard with a young child who doesn't appear too excited to be steering a painted version of an early biplane that looks similar to a 1911 Curtiss Model D . For another vintage novelty photo that uses the same backdrop, see Man in a Biplane (below).

"Travers American Hammock. Trademark. Patented July 29, 1879. New style, perfect in shape, beauty & strength; brass mounted, cardinal binding. Samples by mail, $3.00, postage, 50 cents. Hellerson." Vincent P. Travers, who was one of the officers in the company that manufactured Travers American Hammocks, held a number of hammock patents, but I haven't been able to locate one dated July 29, 1879. Perhaps the patent cited on this trade card was actually Improvement in Hammock-Supports (U.S. Patent no. 221,984), which the Patent Office approved a few months later on November 25, 1879.

A souvenir photo (no. 3344, according to the photographer's notation) of a family visiting the Devil's Den area of the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania. For additional photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

A souvenir photo (no. 990, as indicated by the photographer's notation) of a woman and man (a mother and son, perhaps?) visiting the Devil's Den area of the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania. For additional photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

A fish on a vintage real photo postcard for the ABC Group (4/17/2017). This is one of the amusing pre-digital photomontages composed by William H. Martin (1865-1940) in the early twentieth century. For more info and additional examples of Martin's work, see my brief discussion about Havesting a Profitable Crop of Onions in Iowa .

A dog on a vintage real photo postcard.

A postcard view of the miniature railroad and playground at Pen Mar Park , circa 1937.

Cats for the ABC Group (4/14/2017). See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

See also a cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A hand-tinted real photo postcard that's postmarked Accrington, Lancashire, England, 29 March 1918. A Happy Easter May my greeting be the first To meet you, on this Easter morn, May nothing mar your happiness, And only peace and joy be born.

An early twentieth-century French tinted real photo postcard for Easter. Pâques Pour Pâques choisissez les fleurs ou mon amour, Je vous donne les deux en ce bienheureux jour. Google translation: Easter For Easter choose flowers or my love, I give you both on this blessed day.

An apple --and an "apple-butter" (get it?)--on a vintage postcard for the ABC Group (4/12/2017).

The eye-catching cover of Escape the Night , a 1944 murder mystery by Mignon G. Eberhart .

Oh no, Harry has an atom bomb in his closet! That's what we're told on the back cover (see below) of The Smuggled Atom Bomb , a 1951 novel by Philip Wylie . The front cover (above) warns us about "an atomic plot against America" and poses the question, "Is the fate of America ticking away?"

The back cover (above) of The Smuggled Atom Bomb (see below for the front cover ). Here's the dramatic back-cover blurb that sets the scene: The fate of America is ticking away. Your friend Harry is above suspicion--you think. He's an everyday Joe--likable, respectable, good at bridge, average with the women. He wouldn't hurt a fly--you think. Yet in his room is a closet. On the closet door is a lock. You're a sucker for gadgets and so, just for a gag, you jimmy it. Inside is a box--heavy, lined with lead. And inside that-- IS AN ATOM BOMB!