Alan Mays' photos

An on the beach photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The guy on the left--with his hat and cigarette and distinctive stance--looks like he may be a bit wilder and crazier than the kid and the other fellow.

Lives of great men all remind us, Life is really not worthwhile, Unless we all can leave behind us, Some excuses for a smile. These women don't look too amused, but someone with a sense of humor must have added the poem to this real photo postcard. These four lines of rhyme appeared in 1905 in The Silly Syclopedia , a book by "Noah Lott" (an entertaining pseudonym for the writer George V. Hobart). The poem turns out to be a parody of the following stanza from " A Psalm of Life ," by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time.

A photo from Budapest for the Vintage Photos Theme Park in memory of our dear friend, Nori (see Sad News ). A mother and her two daughters posed for this cabinet card photo in the Budapest studio of Elbl and Pietsch sometime after 1897 (see below for the back of this photo). Note the girls' unique hairstyles and their fashionable dresses with enormous leg-of-mutton or gigot sleeves. The painted backdrop is somewhat indistinct but what looks like the bottom of an elaborate staircase appears on the left. The chairs are made of bamboo (or perhaps faux bamboo) and are decorated with tassels. As one girl sits in a chair holding a book, the other girl stands with one hand resting in a comforting gesture on her mother's shoulder. Her other hand is holding some flowers alongside the arm of her mother's chair. So let's remember dear Nori and cherish the treasured images she has shared with us here on Ipernity and over on Flickr . Perhaps you'll want to compare this photo with the dozen other photos and backmarks from the same studio that Nori collected in her Elbl & Pietsch album on Flickr.

Elbl és Pietsch, udvari fényképész, Fő utcza 18, Budapest. Approximate translation: Elbl and Pietsch, royal photographer, 18 Main Street, Budapest. Can anyone figure out the handwritten words at the bottom? Perhaps they're the names of the three women who appear on the front of this cabinet card:

"Buckeye Force Pumps. Mast, Foos & Co., Springfield, O.-U.S.A. Manufacturers of Buckeye Lawn Mowers, Iron Turbine & Buckeye Wind Engines." A dramatic illustration of why Victorian-era families needed Buckeye Force Pumps--so the kids could help extinguish house fires!

"Liberty Steam Fire Engine & Hose Co., No. 3, 517 N. 9th St. (Liberty Square), Lebanon, Pa." Printed on the back of this postcard: "24222 - Pub. by Harpel's Art Store, Lebanon, Pa. Officers. President - James E. Fisher. Vice-Pres. - Frank W. McAdams. Secretary - Jno. H. Kochenderfer. Treas. - Jno. Werner. Chief Eng. - James Wagner. Driver - Jacob Copenhaver. Hose Chief - E. G. Meily. Organized July 1872. Equipment - 1st size Clapp & Jones Engine & Hose Wagon." According to an article that appeared in the Lebanon Daily News on April 22, 1970, p. 19, this was one of a series of fire company postcards published by Harpel's Art Store for the thirty-third annual convention of the Pennsylvania State Firemen's Association, which was held in Lebanon on September 10 to 14, 1912. Similar postcard views of other firemen posing with horse-drawn equipment in front of their stations were common in the early twentieth century. Here are some additional examples:

A photo of someone who looks like a character from a book for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. When I first saw this real photo postcard, I thought of the Queen of Hearts and her retinue in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland . Wikipedia, in fact, specifically mentions The Playing Cards as characters in the book, describing them as "playing cards with a human head, arms, and legs. They are loyal servants as well as guards for the Queen of Hearts. They mainly carry spears with the tip shaped as a heart." Could this fellow have been an actor in a stage production of Alice in Wonderland ? But did the court of the Queen of Hearts include human cards from the diamond suit who carried spears tipped with diamonds rather than hearts? Another curious detail in this photo is the disk affixed to the front of the guy's hat (mouse over the image to see an enlargement ). It's decorated with a club, diamond, spade, and heart, and numerals indicating the year--1909--appear in the center of the disk. Unfortunately, though, there are other words above and below "1909" that I can't make out. Have you ever seen someone wearing a similar costume? Was Alice in Wonderland adapted as a theatrical production as early as 1909?

For more information, see the original photo :

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of quirky humor (submit a photo on this topic each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic). I was saddened to learn that Barbara "Babs" Bird (aka corduroy cat), a former member of the Vintage Photos Theme Park, passed away on February 9, 2020. I always appreciated her quirky sense of humor. Although all of her comments disappeared when she left Ipernity a couple of years ago, I remember that she said that this was her favorite photo of mine. -------- Lots of fun details here--pouts, grins, somber looks, closed eyes, big hats, wall hangings, patterned wallpaper, a mirror. And then there's that kid in front who's yelling at the top of his lungs and ruining the picture: Aieeeeee!!! The photo came in a nice paper frame , too:

For more information, see the cropped version of this photo:

Printed on the back: "Theochrom Serie 1225-24." This postcard dates to about 1911 and makes a humorous reference to questions about whether explorer Frederick Cook actually reached the North Pole in 1908 as he claimed.

"G. C. Liesenberg, B.O. Box 48, Empangeni, Zululand, S. Africa. Photo by H. Duncan Abraham, P.O. Box 1699, Durban." A photographic QSL card from 1939 that provided G. C. Liesenberg's old radio call sign--exZT5F--as well as his new one--ZS5AW. The writing on what was intended to look like an oversized QSL card that Liesenberg's holding is an acknowledgement that he made contact with another radio operator on January 14, 1939. I like how his kid is pretending to turn one of the dials on the radio.

"Ach! ________ ve hurd yer talkin' schpielen vay ofer he-yah in Dutch country, yet! Signal received ________, 19____ at ________. Genuine hex sign." Translation of the fake Pennsylvania German : "Oh! ________ we heard your talking [while it was] playing [on the radio] way over here in the [Pennsylvania] Dutch country , yet!" This QSL card is a postcard that was intended for use in acknowledging communications between amateur Citizens Band (CB) or shortwave radio operators. The cartoonish Amishman is pointing to the location of Lancaster County within the outline of the state of Pennsylvania . Ironically, Amish do not add hex signs or any other decorations to their barns. I'm not certain of the origin of this QSL card. Perhaps it was sold at tourist attractions in Lancaster County when CB radio was popular in the 1970s, or maybe it was printed for a meeting of radio enthusiasts that took place in the county.

"Souvenir of Ed Shudy's Rainbow Park, Drumore, Pa. Ernest Tubb on stage. Roy Acuff on stage. View of park & stage. View of parking lot & park." Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Complete line of amusement and entertainment by nation's popular string and hillbilly bands. Concessions and novelties. Favorite fisherman's stop on the way to [the Chesapeake] Bay. Complete line of fishing tackle. Owned and operated by Ed Shudy. Address: Drumore, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County. Mellinger Studios, Lancaster, Penna."

Sign: "This Is It! Restaurant. Cabins. Heated. Steaks, chops, chicken." Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "This Is It! The Place to Dine. Our every desire is to please you--not only with food and service, but with our surroundings as well! If you like logs--knotty pine--a huge fireplace, and a cheery atmosphere THIS IS IT! Restaurant, service station, log cottages. Located 6 miles east of Harrisburg on Rt. 22. Telephone 56368. Mellinger Studios."

"Carlisle Hygienic Ice Co., Poor House Road, E. North Street, Phone 735. Hang with amount required on top. 25, 50, 75, 100." A card to place in the window to indicate how many pounds of ice (for your icebox ) you'd like the iceman to deliver.

"A souvenir of Golden Gate International Exposition, 1939. A Pageant of the Pacific. Leland W. Cutler, president. H. C. Bottorff, exec. secretary. M128027."