Alan Mays' photos

Pass issued in 1935 by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (TMER&L. Co.), which operated streetcar lines in Milwaukee until the 1950s. "The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company. Within the single fare areas of Milwaukee and Racine only. Good from 5:00 a.m. Sunday until 5:00 a.m. the following Sunday. Not good on Wisconsin Motor Bus Lines. Pass must be shown on demand. 32273. July 4, 1776. 27. June 30 to July 6, 1935 incl. $1 weekly pass S. B. Way, president."

"Fotograph your boy before the 4th of July: you may not get a chance after." Macabre photographic advice from an early twentieth-century postcard. For more dark humor about Fourth of July fireworks, see The Glorious 4th of July / The 5th of July :

"It's the same guy 3 times!" is what the dealer wrote on the back of this real photo postcard. Someone else--perhaps the fellow who posed as the checker-playing threesome--added a handwritten poem on the other side: When days are dull And from work we are free, oh I like to play a little game Especially with my trio! Here's the uncropped version of the card:

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

A photo of the family car for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Well, I guess these family members are pretty much ready to go for a ride in the car, but I suppose they should get that broken headlight fixed if they plan to be out after dark (mouse over the image for an enlargement of the automobile and its occupants). Anyone recognize the make and model of the car?

See also the full version of this real photo postcard:

Uncle Sam and some boys use fireworks and a cannon to break through a gigantic American flag in order to deliver a message of "Hurrah for the Fourth of July." See below for some more Fourth of July postcards.

"July third. I beg you not to shoot too hard and cause a conflagration, but give 'three cheers' for the stripes and stars on this birthday of our nation. AAR."

A real photo postcard showing "Daddy" (handwritten in the upper left-hand corner) posing on the deck of an "F-6" submarine. Although the postcard is heavily soiled and some details of the painted scene in the background are difficult to make out, it appears that there are two or three ships floating (or sinking?) in the heavy waves behind the sub, while smoke billows from the smokestacks of a ship that's visible on the horizon at left. Meanwhile, two or three biplanes and an airship are visible in the sky above. The "F-6" hull number on the submarine is puzzling, but perhaps it's intended to refer to the U.S. Navy's submarine no. 6, the USS Pike , which saw service between 1903 and 1922. For more information, see the Navy Historical Center's page regarding USS Pike (Submarine # 6, later SS-6), 1903-1922 and Wikipedia's article on USS Pike (SS-6) .