Real Photo Postcards

A photo of something beginning with T (in this case, T as in Tower) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Bill's Tower, Bill's Place, Pa. Top of Rays Hill. Elev. 1958'." Bill Place, a roadside stop and service station along the Lincoln Highway (U.S Route 30) in south central Pennsylvania, was situated on Rays Hill at an elevation of 1,958 feet. Bill's Tower, as seen here in this real photo postcard, provided a 40-mile view of the surrounding area. Bill's Old Backhouse , the outhouse at Bill's Place, was also featured on a postcard (see below). For another roadside tower, see Yonker's Tower, Polish Mountain, U.S. Route 40, Maryland (below).

An ice cream photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "#1248. A. Hoch's Cow in Patriotic & Industrial Parade, July 3, 1909, Newburg, Pa. Laughlin Photo. Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor." Photographer and postcard publisher Clyde A. Laughlin originally published a series of real photo postcards showing scenes from the Patriotic and Industrial Parade in Newburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1909, not long after it took place. This photo shows a boy riding a cow to advertise "Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor" (mouse over the image for a closer look ). The details in this photo are sharp, but I purchased the card knowing that it does not date to 1909. Unlike other early Laughlin photos, this one is reproduced in black and white rather than sepia, and the Kodak postcard backing was obviously manufactured much more recently than 1909. Fortunately, I have a copy of the book, Clyde A. Laughlin, "Postcard King of the Cumberland Valley": Biography of the Artist and Photographer and Checklist of His Postcards , written and published by Clyde's grandson, Walter Lewis Cressler, Jr., in 2000. The author explains on page 30 that his grandfather reprinted the photographic cards from the Newburg parade in 1961 when the town celebrated its centennial. So it's likely that this version of the Hoch's Cow photo is one of the cards from 1961. For another ice cream photo, see Eating Ice Cream at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania , and check out my Ice Cream album for additional photos and items of ephemera.

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

"The Instrumental Aires, featured at the Sapphire Room, Hotel Floridan, Tampa, Florida." A real photo postcard showing the three suave fellows who performed as the Instrumental Aires at the Hotel Floridan (now the Floridan Palace Hotel ). An ad from 1955 identified the musicians as "Bill Horn, direct from 2 years in Las Vegas, Bill Byers, Tampa's favorite vocalist, [and] Rickey Powell, wizard of the strings" (I'm not sure who's who in the photo, however).

A family with pets photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Printed on back of the back of this real photo postcard: "Penn Park Studio, 25-29 W. College Ave., York, PA. Near the York High School. Duplicate orders can be obtained any time." One dog, five bunnies, and fifteen people posed for this picture (mouse over the image for a close-up featuring the pets ).

For more information, see the original photo :

A real photo postcard with a note: "Uncle Ira with His Pigs on Wig Hill, the homestead that grandpa H. I. Johnson [built]." See the full version for the uncropped photo and accompanying note (below).

"Uncle Ira with His Pigs on Wig Hill, the homestead that grandpa H. I. Johnson [built]." For a better view of Uncle Ira and his pigs, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard (below).

"S. S. Grand View Point Hotel. A Steamer in the Allegheny Mountain[s]. 17 miles west of Bedford, Pa. U.S. 30. Elevation 2464 feet." An aerial view of this ship-shaped hotel, once a popular stop along the Lincoln Highway in western Pennsylvania, shows just how precariously it was perched on the side of the hill. Mouse over the image for an enlarged view of the building and the cars and trucks parked along the road. For more information about the hotel, see the Grand View Ship Hotel: A Steamer in the Allegheny Mountains, 1932 . For additional postcard views, see below.

Part of a real photo postcard of the Grand View Ship Hotel (see below). Note all the vehicles parked along the road. Is that a bus with the Greyhound logo?

A photo of an old-fashioned chore for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Or maybe these fellows are actually bored with this washtub and washboard as they pose with them for humorous effect. From an unused real photo postcard with no postmark or message. Thankfully, hand washing clothes in a tub is an outmoded task, and other onerous chores—like cleaning rugs by beating them or cutting grass with a push-powered reel mower (see below)—have also become unnecessary.

A picture that tells a sad story (either in the photo or written on the back) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. The woman at left on the front of this real photo postcard is Jennie B. Dorsey, who was visiting her aunt (her father's sister), Mrs. Amanda J. (Dorsey) Watkins, in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1911 (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the women). As Amanda wrote on the back of the card, "This is a picture of my niece who has the consumption," which was another term for tuberculosis , an incurable infectious disease at the time. On the front of the card, Amanda added, "She has been failing ever since she returned to her home in Scranton, Pa." Sadly, Jennie did pass away the following year on April 3, 1912. She was only 24 years old, and her death certificate listed the cause of her death as pulmonary tuberculosis. This real photo postcard was postmarked in Columbus, Ohio, on July 13, 1911. It was addressed to Miss Lizzie Seitz, Post Office Box, Muncie, Ind. Message on the front of the postcard: Jennie Dorsey & Mrs. Watkins in Clarksburg, W.Va. She has been failing ever since she returned to her home in Scranton, Pa. Message on the other side: Dear Miss Seitz, This is a picture of my niece who has the consumption and I on our lawn, and this is the house we live in. We are at the camp for 2 days. We are not very well in body. Will write more in a letter soon. We all send love. So sorry about your eyes. Use salt water diluted and get the juice of a grape vine. Be careful, don't use strong medicine. Be careful and rest them all you can. I cured mine with salt water.

Jennie B. Dorsey, left, and her aunt, Mrs. Amanda J. (Dorsey) Watkins, in Clarksburg, West Virginia. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

A real photo postcard of a young Mennonite woman. She's identified as Edna Good on the other side of the card. For another photo, see Edna Good Seated on a Chair (below).

A real photo postcard of Edna Good, a young Mennonite woman. See also Edna Good in a White Dress (below).

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of: And the band played on (people enjoying themselves while a band plays) . In this real photo postcard, musicians pretend to play an accordion, drum, and triangle in the midst of a group of young men, most of whom have flowers in their boutonnieres and mugs of beer in their hands. The German sign in the middle appears to say, "Jahrgang. 1895. Die Bassgeig kan̈ein jeder Kratzen selbst der Bär mit seinen Tatzen." But I haven't been able to determine what this means (something about a bass fiddle and a bear scratching himself with his paws?). In any case, I suspect that these guys enjoyed some more beer and music after they finished posing for the photo.

A photo of public transportation (at the airport, or bus or train depot) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. For this real photo postcard, mouse over the image above to see details showing close-ups of Uncle Tom , the Bald Eagle Lookout , and the Greyhound bus . Caption: "Uncle Tom's Cabin, 7 Miles West of State College, Pa., Route 322." Signs on the building: "Bald Eagle Lookout, see 75 miles, free tower." "See Bald Eagle, 1000 ft. below." "Free tower." "Coca Cola." "Uncle Tom's Cabin." "PeRo the ice cream, delicious." Bus: License plate 03219. Destination was Chicago. "Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines." "4188. New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Detroit." "PRR" (keystone logo of the Pennsylvania Railroad). "Pennsylvania Greyhound Transit Co. Pa. P.S.C Certificate 19425." "Pennsylvania Greyhound Transit Company, carriers & operators."

Is that Tom (or whatever the proprietor's name actually is) standing there in the middle? And I wonder if the man at right is placing one of these postcards in the mailbox. In addition to this close-up of Uncle Tom, see below for the entire postcard and details showing the Bald Eagle Lookout tower and the Greyhound bus . Caption: "Uncle Tom's Cabin, 7 Miles West of State College, Pa., Route 322."