Real Photo Postcards

Three out of four men display their patterned footwear in this socks (striped, Argyll, tights, fishnets, men's/women's garters) photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. For some other pertinent previously posted pictures, see my slides of Yellow Socks Guy (also known as Pipe-Smoking Man ). This is a real photo postcard showing four men posing for a souvenir picture at Devil's Den , which is an outcropping of massive granite boulders located on the Gettysburg Battlefield , a U.S. Civil War site in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The man who's barely visible at bottom left is probably peering down to take a look at a small pool of water produced by a spring underneath the boulder. For additional photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

A real photo postcard showing two couples--Cal and Grace, Harry and Alvilda--picnicking somewhere in or near Portland, Oregon. See also a cropped version of this photo showing a close-up of the picnickers and their box of Abetta Biscuits. Posted as a barbeque/picnic photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park group. Handwritten message on the front (above) by "Alvilda," who's the woman on the right in the photo: This is Cal and Grace, Harry and I, out on a picknick . Printed on the back: Cal Calvert, 10 Minute Postcard Man, City Park, Washington St., Entrance, Portland, Oregon. Mazeograph process. Copyrighted. Handwritten message on the verso (there's no address, stamp, or postmark): Hello, Mama and Papa, When are you coming to see us. We are having lovely weather and would like for you to come before the rain starts again. Cal and Grace was down and spent the eve last night. Business is doing fine now. Hop-picking is over you know and people have money now. Good bye, your Alvilda.

The Brook Leaf Love Nest was an oversized tree house built along Kreutz Creek on a farm in Hellam Township, York County, Pennsylvania, in the 1920s. Newlyweds on their honeymoon rented the "love nest," and it was a well-known local attraction until it burned down in the late 1940s after being struck by lightning. Interestingly, The Haines Shoe House, Hellam, Pa. , was another nearby destination for honeymooners. For additional information, see the following York Blog postings: Brook Leaf Love Nest Tree House Known as Hellam Honeymoon Spot and Hellam Tree House Makes the Movie News Reels .

Does anyone recognize this location? There's no identifying information on the back of this real photo postcard, and I can't quite figure out what the word written at the top might be.

Posted as a "reading" photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park group, this real photo postcard shows two Iowa sisters, Lilly and Mazie Hitzemann, who are reading--or maybe just looking at--a magazine. The girls are dressed nicely for the photo session, and Lilly, left, is wearing a necklace while Mazie, right, sports a bow in her hair. Both girls are staring intently at the magazine they're holding. From what I could make out after enlarging the image, the front cover of the magazine displays a young child's head, and a full-page advertisement for "1847 Rogers Bros." silverware appears on the back cover (1847 is part of the brand name and doesn't indicate when the magazine or ad was published). Visible under enlargement on the front cover of the magazine is a date that includes the year "1912," and the title of the magazine looks like it ends in "-n-ator" (I couldn't determine the letter between n and a). One possibility is that this was an issue of The Delineator , a popular women's magazine published by the Butterick Publishing Company of sewing patterns fame. The covers of Delineator issues from this time, however, typically featured illustrations of fashionably dressed women rather than children's heads. Additional information from the back of the postcard: Handwritten message: "From Mazie to Grandma." Postmarked: "Columbia, [Iowa?], Jan. 13, 1913." Addressed to: "Mrs. Henry Hitzemann, Box 202, Akron, Iowa." Later handwritten annotation on back: "Right - Mazie Hitzemann. Left - sister Lilly. Daughters of Chas. and Mabel Hitzemann."

Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park group as a "strange clothing" photo. This real photo postcard shows a group of men who belonged to "Katunka Tribe No. 453," which was the York, Pa., chapter of the Improved Order of Red Men , or IORM for short. The York chapter no longer exists but the national group is still around (despite the fact that "Red Men" is now considered an offensive term for Native Americans) and calls itself " America's Oldest Fraternal Organization " on its Web site. When you realize that none of the men in this photo were Native Americans, it seems awfully strange--at least from our modern perspective nearly a century later--that they dressed in Native American garb (however inauthentic their interpretation of the clothing may have been) for their group ceremonies and rituals. In case you're interested in additional information, Blake Stough discussed the history and controversial aspects of the York IORM group in his article Politically Incorrect or Not--Still A Part of York County History on the Preserving York blog (the article included this photo with my permission).

I hope they escaped in time! A Florida souvenir real photo postcard. Postmarked: Miami, Florida, Nov. 13, 1923. Addressed to: Mr. Adam Petcher, Box 515, Somerset, Pa.

Handwritten message on the front of this real photo postcard (see writing at right, above): "High Water Mark. 12/2/06. This was all done today. What do you think of that grin? The fellow tried to take the picture without exposing the plate and we were trying to keep from laughing." The giant book behind the two men is part of the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument , which is, as Wikipedia explains, "a Gettysburg Battlefield memorial which identifies the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia units of the infantry attack on the Battle of Gettysburg, third day, with a large bronze tablet, as well as the Union Army of the Potomac's 'respective troops who met or assisted to repulse Longstreet's Assault.' The memorial is named for the line of dead and wounded of Pickett's Charge which marked the deepest penetration into the Union line at The Angle when '4,500 men threw down their arms and came in as prisoners.'" For later views of the monument, see Bicyclists at the High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., 1912 and High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., August 8, 2013 (below).

Handwritten on the other side of this real photo postcard: "Fannie Kline." The unique elements in this photo--the tilted orientation, massive stone house, little chicken/big horse juxtaposition, shadow people at the bottom, and unenthusiastic look of the woman posing with the plow--all combine to make for an odd yet amusing scene.

Handwritten on the back of this real photo postcard: "Grandpa Boor. Robert H. Studebaker. 82 & 2." Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park group for "old age" theme week. It's poignant how the boy is resting his hand on top of his grandfather's.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of steps, stairs, staircases . This is a real photo postcard of young women standing on the steps leading up to the entrance of a building. They're wearing uniforms with scarves or neckerchiefs, and the banner they're holding simply says, "Flash." In the corners of the banner are what seem to be drawings of stylized top hats. Peeking out from below the banner are two pairs of what might be athletic shoes. Although someone over on Flickr amusingly suggested that this might be an early example of a flash mob , I suspect that these young women belonged to a club or sports team at a high school or college. But I'm not sure what "Flash" meant to them or why the top hats -- if that's what they are -- appear on the banner.

A wallpaper photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard postmarked Chicago, Dec. 24, 1908, and addressed to Miss Anna Wallace, New Florence, Pennsylvania. Message written on the back: "A merry Xmas. How do you like your job by this time? Received your postal. Best regards to all, Sam." Judging by the pennant hanging on the wall (which probably spells out "Law") and what appear to be law book bindings in the bookcase and on the small table, Sam may have been a law school student.

Mouse over the image for a closer view of the bug toy . Either that's a giant mutant insect getting ready to attack that poor kid or it's a toy of some sort, perhaps something like the mechanical crawling beetle pictured in the Victoria and Albert Museum's image collection.

See also the full photo of the bug toy (below). Either that's a giant mutant insect getting ready to attack that poor kid or it's a toy of some sort, perhaps something like the mechanical crawling beetle pictured in the Victoria and Albert Museum's image collection.

"Arizona Kid and His Cow Girls, Reading, Pa., 1941. Arizona Kid, Sun Set, Texas Jean, Moon Beam, Utah Ginny, Montana Patsy, Popeye, Chuckles, Winnie, and Sheriff and Cactus Sam. WYZ."