Alan Mays' photos

"Long may peace attend thee!" A Victorian-era hidden-name calling card with shaking hands, a sailing ship, and the Statue of Liberty, all surrounded by a border of roses and forget-me-nots. The colorful illustration consists of a separate die-cut that lifts up on the right-hand side to reveal the name of "Edward M. Mercer" printed underneath.

A tattered & torn (or otherwise damaged) photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten caption: "Remember that day." Handwritten note on the back: "Isn't this sweet. Give me one in the place of this." An undated and well-worn photo taken at Jefferson Rock , which overlooks the town of Harpers Ferry , West Virginia. According to Wikipedia, "The name of this landmark derives from Thomas Jefferson, who stood there on October 25, 1783. He found the view from the rock impressive and wrote in Notes on the State of Virginia that 'this scene is worth a voyage across the Atlantic.'" Note that the silhouette of someone's head and shoulders is visible in the background between two of the pillars that hold the top slab of the rock in place. Here's a 2009 view of the rock taken from a similar vantage point:

A photo of Jefferson Rock taken on a hazy, hot August afternoon in 2009. See below for a vintage view of Jefferson Rock from a similar angle:

Almost looks like a crouching insect of some sort in this shot!

Two of the pillars that support the top slab of the rock.

The Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet at Harpers Ferry , West Virginia, and the borders of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia come together here as well. In this view from Jefferson Rock, the waters of the Shenandoah River are barerly visible in the distance, as is the bridge that carries U.S. Route 340 over the river. The hills on the other side are still part of West Virginia.

In this view from Jefferson Rock, cars and trucks are visible on the bridge that carries U.S. Route 340 over the Shenandoah River.

Despite signs warning against it (see below), some people still climb onto Jefferson Rock for photos.

"I am (Devil Cards), who the devil are you?" A selection of devilish acquaintance and calling cards from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (see above and below).

"I am C. Y. Young, who the devil are you?" These two "devil cards" date to 1877.

"I am (Comic Imp Card). Who the devil are you?" A card pasted in a Victorian-era "Agent's Sample Book" that was issued by an unidentified calling card company. I also have a blank copy of this card without the "Comic Imp Card" description or a name. See I Am ________, Who the Devil Are You? (below). For an example of another card that was in the "Agent's Sample Book," see the Fireman's Card (below).

"I am ________. Who the devil are you?" For another copy of this card, see Comic Imp Card: I Am ________, Who the Devil Are You? (below).

"I am Sam Kahn. Who the devil are you?" I have found cards like these two--the one for Sam Kahn above and the other for Anna "Butch" Engle below--among collections of graduation name cards that date as late as the1940s. I don't have any definitive proof, but I suspect that high school or college students were able to order amusing cards like these from Jostens or some similar company at the same time they ordered their formal graduation announcements and name cards. These "who the devil are you" cards are, of course, just updated versions of earlier nineteenth-century Devil Cards and Comic Imp Cards (see examples below).