Temperance, Abstinence, and Indulgence

A close-up of the table in We Had a Big Old Time--Playing Cards and Drinking Wine . Note the puzzling letters (including "TAITN," I believe) that appear underneath and adjacent to the pipe. I haven't been able to figure out what the letters might spell or even what they're printed or inscibed on.

A tipsy or drunk photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A souvenir real photo postcard presumably from Tijuana ( not "Tiajuana" with its extra "a"), Mexico, shows three intrepid travelers--all holding bottles--posing in front of a painted backdrop of a Pullman railroad car . Although this was obviously staged in a photo studio, something about the giddy expressions on their faces (especially those of the man on the right-hand side and the woman) suggests to me that they may actually have been imbibing before the photo was taken.

A paper moon photo for the theme of photographic tricks and amusements during the free-for-all week of Wild Card Month in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

See also the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of smiling faces of yesteryear (photos of smiling people, based on the Flickr group of the same name) . "Memento of the world-famous Bavarian evenings at the Café Bauer, Garmisch." Stamped on the back of this real photo postcard: "Foto Franz, 81 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Kainzenbadstr. 26, Tel. 3202. Erinnerung an die weltbekannten Bayerischen Abende im Café Bauer, Garmisch."

A drinking photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Seventeen of the twenty men in this image from a real photo postcard are holding glasses of beer. The keg in the middle of the crowd bears the name " Lebanon ," which refers to the city that's the county seat of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. A handwritten name and address—" Samuel D. Watson , Rexmont, Pa."—and a year—"1912"—appear on the other side of the photo card, but there's no stamp, postmark, or message. Rexmont is now part of Cornwall , which is also located in Lebanon County.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of odd backdrops or backgrounds . A souvenir real photo postcard from " Happy Hollow " (McLeod's Amusement Park), which was located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Some of the signs and labels visible in the photo are: "Gambling room down stares. No drinks served." "Wild cat mine for sail chepe." "Don't ask for no darn fool dude drinks." "Old Crow, 2 bits a drink." "Wite mule, 2 bits per drink, good stuff." "Ky. booze XXX." "Pabst Blue Ribbon on drought." "Shiref's offis." "Tanglefoot strate, 2 bits." "Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer of quality." "On a slow train through Arkansas."

A nineteenth-century ticket for a temperance lecture, date and location unknown. Grand Temperance Lecture 10 Cents, Admit One.

John B. Gough (1817-1886) was a "United States temperance orator," meaning that he lectured about the evils of alcohol. For a brief discussion of his career, see John B. Gough (1817-1886): The Temperance Orator as Revivalist . I haven't been able to determine the location of the Seamen's Friend Society where Gough delivered this lecture. The group may have been the Boston Seaman's Friend Society , the American Seaman's Friend Society in New York, the Woman's Seamen's Friend Society of Connecticut, or another organization with a similar name. For another nineteenth-century ticket, see Grand Temperance Lecture Ticket . Gough's Lecture. Seamen's Friend Society. May 4, 1865. Parquette. Seat H No. 18 Thursday, May 4. Retain this portion of the ticket, as it secures your seat.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of bad habits . The man at upper left is smoking a cigar as he opens a bottle of wine. The man at upper right also has a cigar in his mouth and is holding a bottle in one hand as he reaches down with the other to give the man at lower left a drink. There's no date, location, or manufacturer indicated on this celluloid photographic medallion, which consists of a metal backing and a photograph covered by celluloid, an early type of plastic. For additional examples, see my album of Celluloid Photographic Medallions and the George Eastman House's collection of Celluloid Medallions & Buttons on Flickr. See also Gerald Perlman and David Trachtenberg's book, Collecting Celluloid Photo Medallions , published by Victoria Victoriana Antiques in 2014.