Real Photo Postcards

A little girl stands on a rustic bench as she poses in front of a painted backdrop showing the High Rock observation tower located in Pen Mar Park . The photo was taken at the studio located at the Pen Mar amusement park. Compare the painted backdrop version with this postcard view of High Rock.

A Spanish real photo postcard showing a mirror photo of a little girl standing on a chair. It's dated 1919 on the other side. For more like this, see my Mirror Photos album.

The Cosmopolitan Club was the precursor to the International Students Organization at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Springfield College Digital Collections contains additional Cosmopolitan Club photos from various years.

"1er Avril. Le baiser le plus doux est celui qui vient de loin!" Google translation: April 1st. The sweetest kiss is the one that comes from far away! A French hand-tinted real photo postcard for the first day in April.

For the Vintage Photos Theme Park, a photo of people photographed in bushes or plants (not beside them but in them--as seen in the Vintage Floraflage group on Flickr) . An early twentieth-century real photo postcard of people dallying in the daisies. For some similar photos, see my Floraflage album.

In this real photo postcard, a minister of a church (location and date unknown) stands in the midst of fruits and vegetables that decorate the altar in preparation for a Harvest Home service. "Harvest Home" is a religious celebration that's still held today at some Lutheran, Reformed, and other churches in Pennsylvania and elsewhere during the late summer or early fall. As seen here, the observance typically involves a display of tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, cornstalks, flowers, etc. For additional examples, see Harvest Service, Lutheran Church, Strasburg, Pa., 1907 , and Harvest Home Greetings, Methodist Church, Strasburg, Pa., 1909 . In this photo, the inscription at the bottom of the stained glass window on the right-hand side says, "Donated by Robert, Ella, & Sallie Wise." The signboard hanging on the wall on the left-hand side of the photo provides the following information about the church: Register - Attendance & Offering Number on the roll - 200 Attendance today - 114 Attendance a year ago today - 81 Offering today - 236 Offering a year ago today - 104

"Harvest Service, 1907. Lutheran Church, Strasburg, Pa." For other photos that show church altars decorated for a Harvest Service (also called Harvest Home), see Harvest Home Display with Minister and Harvest Home Greetings, Methodist Church, Strasburg, Pa., 1909 .

"Harvest Home Greetings. Methodist Church, Strasburg, Pa." Addressed on the other side to Mr. Roy D. Mowrer, Strasburg, Pa., and postmarked Iva, Pa., Oct. 20, 1909. Message: "The musical is to be held in the Hall. You know. A.B.D." For other real photo postcards of Harvest Home celebrations, see Harvest Home Display with Minister and Harvest Service, Lutheran Church, Strasburg, Pa., 1907 .

A photo of umbrellas or parasols for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Strunk's Studio, 730 Penn St., Reading, Pa." A young girl poses with a parasol in J. D. Strunk's photo studio in Reading, Pennsylvania. For earlier cabinet photos by Strunk, see Twin Boys with Bows, Reading, Pa., 1890s and Roy Peiffer on Strunk's Studio Horse, Reading, Pennsylvania .

A photo of sporting events or competitions for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Two runners end (or begin?) their footrace in a blur of motion as they cross a finish line (starting line?) marked by a long branch held up over their heads by two young men. It's unclear whether the runners are beginning or ending their race since the guy at far left is holding the branch with one hand while his other hand is pointing what may be a starting pistol straight up in the air. Another fellow on the left is holding a round object that looks like a large alarm clock, which he may be using--or pretending to use--to time the race. He seems to be peering down the road as if he expects to see more runners show up in the distance (that's one reason why I assumed at first that this must be the end of a race). Curiously, a bucket and a glass bottle with unknown contents are visible along the roadway (you can see them in the background between the two runners), and there's also a bucket at the feet of a guy on the right who's holding a cloth of some sort. This is an unused real photo postcard, and there's nothing on it to indicate where or when this race took place. For a better view of some of the details, mouse over the image above to see a cropped version of the photo .

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

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of making friends with the locals (travelers photographed with people from the indigenous population) . English-language sign on one of the buildings in the background: "Here you can have your photo taken in Volendam costume." The members of a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) tour group (notice the men's overseas caps ) pose with three young girls who are wearing the traditional clothing of Volendam , a town in the Netherlands (mouse over the image above for a close-up of the girls and part of the group ). For another example of a tourist posing with the locals, see Amish Folks at Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, Pa.

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

A photo of people exchanging "a look" that the photographer has captured perfectly for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Never mind that it's a fake look in a fake boat—the photographer who created this real photo postcard has captured a studio scene of a man and women looking into each other's eyes and pretending to be in love. I just hope that the swan got out of the way before it got caught in the wake of the speeding boat!

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of trick or treat (go crazy with this one and post as many photos as you want--no limit! Halloween, costumes, masks, skeletons, devils, human monsters, things that go bump in the night, ghostly apparitions, or anything you find scary or creepy) . These two are posing for a picture as they pick pumpkins in preparation for Halloween (take a look at a close-up of the couple ). The windmill scene seems like a strange selection for use as a background for pumpkin pickers.

See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

An extra wild card photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park on the topic of The Long and Winding Road - road photos, winding or otherwise (submit a photo on this topic each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic) . Caption: "21 miles east of Cumberland, Md., U.S. 40." Sign: "Top of Green Ridge Mountain. Elevation 1115 feet, 1¼ miles down grade. Descend in second gear when road is wet. Use brakes only to snub to safe speed. State Roads Commission."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of He's (or She's) a Real Nowhere Man (or Woman) - solo individual photographed in open space . "Lovers' Leap and the Narrows, 900 feet above the National Hy., Cumberland , Md. U.S. 40." This is a real photo postcard showing the silhouette of a lone man at the top of the overlook known as Lover's Leap . Below the rock outcropping is the Cumberland Narrows , a water gap through the mountain. Wills Creek , the National Road ( U.S. Route 40 ), and railroad tracks run through the Narrows .