Alan Mays' photos

Sign: "Paul Bunyan, 1937." Caption (the white lettering at the bottom is almost unreadable): "Paul Bunyan and Babe, His Blue Ox. HAK, Bemidji, Minn." A real photo postcard of a man standing between the statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox , which were originally constructed for a winter carnival in Bemidji, Minnesota, in 1937. Compare this image with a snapshot of similar statues in Ossineke, Michigan:

A sailor suits photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Whiteley Studio, 2345 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J." This little fellow doesn't look too happy at having his picture taken, even though his sailor suit fits in well with the ocean backdrop chosen for this seaside souvenir photo.

What looks like a calling card for D. B. Landis on the front (above) turns out to be an advertising trade card on the back (see below). David Bachman Landis (1862-1940) operated Pluck Art Printery, a letterpress print shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but he started out as a printer in his hometown of Landisville, which is located about eight miles from Lancaster. For the other side of this card, see The Village Vigil, Landisville, Pa., 1883 (below).

An advertising trade card for the Village Vigil newspaper (above), which has the appearance of a calling card on the front (below). Office of The Village Vigil. Landisville, Pa., 1883. The Vigil will be a small and entertaining village paper. Its contents shall be spicy, and mostly original, and it needs your support. It will be a journal for the young, and the old folks with youthful hearts. It is not a large sum to you-- 50 cents per year --to us it will do a great deal, so consider this an invitation to subscribe. We would be pleased to receive any orders for cheap and satisfactory job printing you may want. Yours very respectfully, D. B. Landis, Editor and publisher of the Vigil. D. B. Landis David Bachman Landis (1862-1940) was only 21 years old when he decided to publish the Village Vigil in Landisville, Pennsylvania, in 1883. Landis later provided the following information about himself and the Village Vigil in his book about his family's history, The Landis Family of Lancaster County: A Comprehensive History of the Landis Folk (Lancaster, Pa.: By the author, 1888), pp. 18-19: "David Bachman Landis is the only son of Israel C., and was born in Landisville, February 12 1862…. On the 7th of October, 1878, David was apprenticed to the Inquirer Printing and Publishing Company, Lancaster, to learn Guttenberg's art. After serving four years at the trade, he opened a professional job printing office in Landisville, in April, 1883. On May 1 of the same year, he issued the initial number of the Village Vigil as a tri-monthly; in a year it was printed weekly; and in 1885 the paper was enlarged to eight pages, being known thereafter as the Landisville Vigil .…. On March 13, 1886 the Vigil was discontinued, the owner connecting himself with the Lancaster Inquirer , in which establishment he has had charge of the printing since then." For the other side of this card, see D. B. Landis (below).

For a similar real photo postcard, see Three Gals on a Glider Swing .

For a similar real photo postcard, see Three Guys on a Glider Swing .

A swing photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park ( swings and hammocks—please post a photo of each if you have both ). "Blaul, Philadelphia. Extra finish." A baby posed on a swing from the studio of Louis Blaul, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. See also the reverse of this cabinet card photo.

"Blaul, Portraits in crayon and pastel a specialty. 56 N. Eighth St. and 1937 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Duplicates at any time." Photographer Louis Blaul's backmark from the reverse of a cabinet card photo of a baby on a swing .

A hammock photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park ( swings and hammocks—please post a photo of each if you have both ). A real photo postcard postmarked Greene, R.I., Dec, 15,1910, and Foster Center, R.I., Dec. 16, 1910. Addressed to Mrs. Frank Briggs, Foster Centre, R.I. Message: "Greetings from Dorothy & Schneider Tillinghast, R.F.D., Greene, R.I. Bowen's Hill." See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

See also the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

"Ontario Drill Company, East Rochester, N.Y. Eventually you will sell 'Ontario,' why not start now. Hoe or disc. H. Gamse & Bro., Lith., Balto., Md." An advertising ink blotter for the Ontario Drill Company, which manufactured grain drills and other agricultural equipment.

Sign: "Danger. Keep away from edge of cliff." Unless you're having your picture taken, of course!

Even if ewe didn't do it on porpoise, please quit your lion! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) Punning humor from a 1910 postcard with an illustration of a lion (which itself is lyin' or reclining) that substitutes for the word lyin' (as in fibbing).

"Frank Steinman, Beechcraft Hangar, Roosevelt Field, Mineola, Long Island. Phone Garden City 7919. Res. Hempstead 5457." For another copy of this card and some other business cards from Roosevelt Field, see the Miscellaneous Business Cards posting on the Port Washington Aviation History blog.

A photo of day trippers (people on a day out, groups or individuals) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Real photo postcard caption: "Palisades Hike, Feb. 14, '15. #5. E." Eight individuals appear in this "Palisades Hike" photo taken on February 14, 1915, but I'm not sure exactly what they're doing or which Palisades they're visiting (see a list of possible locations on Wikipedia's Palisades disambiguation page). The woman in the foreground is carrying an American flag, and the two men on the left are apparently moving rocks around (or looking under them?) as a boy standing in the middle of the stream watches. The others in the background seem to be cautiously making their way over some of the large boulders situated along the other side of the stream. Perhaps the "#5" designation means that this is the fifth in a series of photos taken that day by a photographer whose name might be indicated by the circled "E." If so, we may have to wait to see if additional photos turn up in order to learn more about these Palisades hikers and the trip they took on Valentine's Day in 1915.

Looks like the skyline below the plane is intended to depict Paris. Among the recognizable landmarks are the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River, and the two towers of the old Trocadéro Palace , which was demolished in 1935.