Alan Mays' photos

"I am Anna 'Butch' Engle. Who the devil are you?" For a similar card, see I Am Sam Kahn, Who the Devil Are You? (below).

A pipe-smoking devil carries a "Louis Klug" sign across this nineteenth-century German calling card.

"1891 - A Carload of Strawberries from ________." If you like these tall-tale postcards (above and below), then you may want to take a look at my other Edward H. Mitchell cards.

"1899 - A Carload of Corn from ________."

"James B. Tully, florist, Spring Forest Green Houses, Binghamton, N.Y. Green house and bedding plants. Fall and spring flowering bulbs. Ornamental trees and shrubbery." James B. Tully (1840-1908) "was a florist and sexton of Spring Forest Cemetery in Binghamton, N.Y.," according to his Find A Grave entry. The following advertisement appeared in Horticulture , May 4, 1907, p. 609, the year before Tully's death: "For Sale. Desirable greenhouse plant, directly opposite Spring Forest Cemetery, Binghamton, N.Y. Large and increasing demand for funeral designs and bedding stuff; care of cemetery plots big item in receipts. A dwelling house, 10,000 feet of glass, land comprising twenty city lots. Paying business and open chance for increase. Sold on account of advance in years. Apply to James B. Tully, 47 Spring Forest Ave., Binghamton, N.Y." An American Florist Company's Directory for 1908 listed a different address for Tully's business, although I'm not certain whether it's actually a different location: "Spring Forest Greenhouses (James B. Tully), 48 Mygatt St., Binghamton." It's not clear when or if Tully sold his business, but the following note appeared five years later (and four years after Tully's death) in Horticulture , March 23, 1912, p. 412: "Binghamton, N.Y.--The Spring Forest Greenhouses, Spring Forest avenue, are now owned by the Binghamton Seed Co. The seed store has been moved to 135 Court street from 161 Water street."

"1er Avril" (April 1st.). A French real photo postcard for April Fools' Day, called poissons d'avril (April fish) in France. This hand-tinted card was postmarked on March 31, 1910.

1er Avril Le port est payé d'un baiser Vous n'allez les refuser. Possibly translated as: April 1st The shipping is paid with a kiss You will not refuse it. A French real photo April Fools' Day postcard dated 1926.

"Je vous l'offre de bout cœur." Translated as: "I offer you this with all my heart." [Thanks to John FitzGerald for the translation.] A French real photo April Fools' Day postcard from 1912.

Devinez qui? Devinez quoi? Je pense a vous; pense à moi! Avec ce poisson et ces fleurs Recevez mes vœux de Bonheur. Google translation: Guess who? Guess what? I think of you; think of me! With this fish and the flowers Receive my wishes for happiness. A French real photo April Fools' Day postcard, circa 1900s or 1910s.

Poissons d'avril (April fish). A French real photo postcard for April Fools' Day, called poissons d'avril (April fish) in France. This hand-tinted card was postmarked on March 30, 1908.

1er Avril. Tout mon Coeur. Devinez-qui? Google translation: April 1st. All my heart. Guess who? A French April Fools' Day postcard.

A photo of a cluttered or untidy or "unprofessional" background for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "'The Post Office,' Ausable Chasm, N.Y., 9/1/39." Ausable Chasm is a "sandstone gorge and tourist attraction located in the village of Keeseville, New York." Promoted as the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks , the chasm is a place where visitors can go climbing on the rock walls of the gorge, hiking along its trails, and rafting on the Ausable River, which runs through it. As seen here, the Post Office at Ausable Chasm is an area where the "rock walls are porous enough to allow tacks and other similar items to penetrate the rock like a bulletin board for the purpose of posting a note." A "Post Office" sign is partially hidden amid the shadows and messages in the center of the photo (hopefully this cluttered wall of notes qualifies as enough of a background--rather than a fore- or middle ground--for this week's VPTP theme). Unfortunately, the Post Office closed in 2004 due to the erosion and litter caused by the tacked-up notes. A logbook was placed at the site so that visitors can still leave notes for others to read. Postcard views of the Post Office are available over on Flickr (see Vintage Postcard - Post Office, Ausable Chasm, New York and A Busy Day at the "Post Office" in Famous Ausable Chasm, NY ), and a more recent photo shows the rocks without any messages (see Ausable Chasm "Post Office" ).

"'100 and 23 for yours,' said the saucy little bird on Nellie's hat. Love's Young Dream ." The illustration on this postcard is based on a song, "The Bird on Nellie's Hat," that was popular when the card appeared in 1908, and the title of the book that Nellie is reading– Love's Young Dream –is a phrase that comes from the lyrics to the song. The bird's snide utterance–"100 and 23 for yours"–to the guy who's lurking behind Nellie is a reference to the "23 skidoo" fad that started around 1906 or 1907. Telling someone "23 skidoo" or "23 for you" was a shorthand way of saying "scram," "beat it," or "get lost" (I'm not sure whether the addition of "100 and" to the more typical "23 for yours" phrase had any extra meaning). For more "23 skidoo" postcards, see my Skidoos and Lemons album. Check out the sheet music for The Bird on Nellie's Hat (1906), which is part of the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music at Johns Hopkins University, or go to YouTube to see the lyrics and hear an Edison wax cylinder recording of Ada Jones singing "The Bird On Nellie's Hat" (1913).

"Please send home that shirt you borrowed." Postmarked Los Angeles, Calif., Jan. 30, 1910, and addressed to: "Mr. Clarence Fox, RR #5, Sterling, Kans." Is it an amusingly nonsensical message to send to a friend? Or could it be a catchphrase from some forgotten song or play? Whatever the case might be, I've only seen it on early twentieth-century postcards like this one.

"Advice to Vacationists. Take the children to the country with you--this will keep you from becoming lonesome. Hey. Help. Help. Splash. August Hutaf. P.C.K. 1908." One in a series of humorous "Advice to Vacationists" postcards by illustrator August Hutaf (1874-1942). For more of his work, see my other Hutaf postcards .

"To wish you a load of Easter happiness."

"Best Easter Wishes." Not to be confused with Girls with Guns .

"A Happy Easter. Stecher Lith. Co., Roch., N.Y." Addressed to Miss Frances Hershey, Rohrerstown, Pa., and postmarked Rohrerstown, Pa., April 22, 1916, with the message, "Dear Frances, I wish you a very happy Easter." The unknown artist for this postcard was evidently trying to imitate the "fadeaway" style of Coles Phillips , an illustrator whose technique of using negative space caused viewers to mentally fill in the missing parts of an image. Unfortunately, the head, hands, chicks, and shoes in this work seem to be separately dangling in space rather than forming an outline of a little girl enjoying the Easter holiday.