Gettysburg and Adams County, Pa.

A real photo postcard (no. 2181, according to the photographer's notation) showing a family posing for a souvenir picture at Devil's Den , which is an outcropping of massive granite boulders located on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania. For other photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

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 souvenir photo ("no. 3729," as noted by the photographer) showing four men at Devil's Den , an outcropping of massive granite boulders located on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania. The man who's partially visible at far left is probably looking at a small pool of water produced by a spring underneath the boulder (the sign on the rock above him--although unreadable in this photo--likely provides information about the spring). For more photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

A souvenir photo (no. 3344, according to the photographer's notation) of a family visiting the Devil's Den area of the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania. For additional photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

A souvenir photo taken during a 1959 school field trip to Devil's Den , a rock formation located on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania. For other photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

A curious souvenir photo taken at Devil's Den , a rock formation located on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania. A man, hat in hand, stands in the middle in front of one of the enormous granite boulders, while another man stands on top of the boulder at right. A small group of people are visible on the other side of the rock at lower right. In front of the rock is a tripod with a cloth cover, presumably hiding a camera. Could the group be assembling for a photo by a commercial photographer (who would be using the camera on the tripod) while the man in front poses for a picture taken with someone else's camera? It's possible that the man on top of the boulder is simply another tourist who happened to wander into the photo (the boulders are accessible via the hill behind them, and visitors can still walk on top of the rocks today). For similar photos, see my album of Souvenir Photos from the Gettysburg Battlefield .

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).

A real photo postcard. Caption: "#5268. High-Water Mark. 1912." Four young men pose with their bicycles near the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument , which is located on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Gettysburg, Pa. The woman in the background is taking a closer look at the monument. For an earlier postcard view of the monument, see High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., December 2, 1906 . For a recent photo, see High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., August 8, 2013 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of "what’s that on his shoe?" or other unexpected details . In this snapshot, a woman sits for a souvenir photo in front of the giant book that's part of the High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. When I purchased this photo, I noticed that there's a man on the right who's oddly standing behind the woman and near the back of the monument. I didn't think anything of it until I got home and scanned the photo. When I took a look at an enlarged version (mouse over the image above to see it), I made the unexpected discovery that the fellow was irreverently thumbing his nose as the photographer snapped the picture. Photobombing , of course, is nothing new! See below for monument photos from 1906 and 1912 as well as a recent view .

For more information, see the original photo :

For more information about the monument and an earlier postcard view of it, see High Water Mark Monument, Gettysburg, Pa., December 2, 1906 (below).

"Battle of Gettysburg. Scholar's ticket. This ticket and 15 cents admits a scholar to matinee." The Battle of Gettysburg , one of the bloodiest clashes during the American Civil War , began 150 years ago on July 1, 1863, when Union and Confederate forces met near the town of Gettysburg in south central Pennsylvania. This is an early student ticket for the Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama , a huge 360-degree panoramic painting that depicts a dramatic scene from the battle. The Gettysburg Cyclorama was created in 1884 for display in Boston, moved to Gettysburg in 1913 in time for the hundredth anniversary of the battle, and is now part of the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center .

Hunt's Cafe is located in the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, not far from the Gettysburg National Military Park . It looks like the potatoes there--dressed in Union blue and Confederate gray uniforms--are getting ready to reenact the Battle of Gettysburg.

The lovely neon sign at the now-closed Distelfink Drive-In restaurant near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is sadly in need of repair (see below for another view showing the other side of the Darkened Distelfink Drive-In Sign ). An article about the drive-in (see Lillian Reed, " Fate of Gettysburg's Distelfink Drive-In in Question Once Again ," in the Hanover, Pa., Evening Sun , June 4, 2013) revealed that the original owner of the restaurant, Cecil Sandoe, still lives in the brick house that's visible across the intersection. Sandoe operates a business that rents out storage units (visible to the left of the house) and is saddened by the decline of the drive-in over the years. "We wish we had moved because we have to see that it's not getting taken care of," he said, according to the article. “I do have regrets about selling it, but, at the time, my children were too young to take it over." Check out the Google Maps Street View of the drive-in, too.

The Distelfink Drive-In restaurant near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is closed and for sale, and its lovely neon sign is sadly in need of repair. When I passed by the place this summer, I took a took a few photos of the sign (see below for another view showing the other side of the Distelfink Drive-In Sign ). Afterwards, I discovered a recent newspaper article that doesn't hold out much hope for the future of the drive-in (see Lillian Reed, " Fate of Gettysburg's Distelfink Drive-In in Question Once Again ," in the Hanover, Pa., Evening Sun , June 4, 2013). Check out the Google Maps Street View of the drive-in, too.

Getting ahead among the roots and rocks. The dealer from whom I purchased this photo speculated that it may have been taken at Devil's Den or some other rocky area on the Gettysburg Battlefield in Adams County, Pennsylvania, but I have not been able to confirm this.

Exterior of the Jennie Wade House Museum in Gettysburg, Pa.

Authentically original wavy glass at the Jennie Wade House Museum in Gettysburg, Pa.