Men in Vintage Photos

For more information, see a center view and the full version of this real photo postcard.

"Happy New Year — 1911 — from the Morgans." A real photo postcard greeting from the Morgan family, location unknown.

A beards photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Photographer: "Steinhoff, 527 Kansas Avenue, Topeka, Kansas." A cabinet card photo of a bewhiskered Midwestern fellow.

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Judging by the banner hanging above the tents, Camp Chicken is the name of this encampment. Three women and a child pose in front of the three tents on the right. On the other side, a man is lying in a hammock, and behind him is a boy and another man, both of whom are sitting on chairs. A breeze blowing through the woods has blurred the large American flag flying above the kitchen tent, and some of the smaller flags hanging above the openings to the other tents are also blurred. Sunlight filtering down through the trees has formed a dappled pattern in the clearing. This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box on the other side (four corner triangles pointing up) that indicates a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. For similarly in-tents scenes, see Tents at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania , Bob White Camp , and The Methodist Church Choir Camp, 1908 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of shape up! (people exercising) . This is an early twentieth-century real photo postcard with the name "Lambert Weston & Son, Folkestone" embossed in the lower right-hand corner (the embossing isn't really visible in this image, unfortunately). The photo shows a number of men who are getting some exercise by running a footrace. The runners, strangely enough, are wearing neckties and white shirts more suitable for an office than an athletic field. A large crowd has gathered to watch the competition, and a large round building is visible in the background. The building in the background appears to be one of the Martello towers --"small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century"--and might be one of the towers that are located in Folkestone, Kent, England.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of ship out! (taking a trip by any conveyance but extra credit by ship or boat) . A souvenir real photo postcard of tourists riding in a gondola on the Venetian Lagoon in Venice, Italy. It's dated 1952 on the other side. The dome of St Mark's Basilica and its tall campanile (bell tower) are visible in the background.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of taking care of the house and yard (house chores) . A suburban version of Grant Wood's American Gothic in an undated snapshot.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cozy and warm on a winter's day . An undated Christmastime snapshot of an obviously cozy couple. Probably warm, too.

A photo of mail carriers, post offices, mailboxes, etc. for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is an early twentieth-century real photo postcard showing four men and a boy posing in front of a building. The boy is holding the reins of two horses hitched to a wagon, and a variety of items, including benches, barrels, and tools, are visible on the porch and on the ground in front of the building. After scanning and enlarging the photo, I was able to read the lettering on the window in the middle of the building and discovered that it served as the "Leck Kill Post Office" (see a close-up view of the window ). Leck Kill is a small community located in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, and its Wikipedia entry indicates that the post office there closed in 2004. Amazingly enough, I was able to find a 2009 view of the building on Google Maps (see my composite image of old and new views ). A 2018 online real estate listing provided additional details: "Property at one time was used for the local post office with a store and tavern. Presently used as a home with apartment and still has P.O. space." So it's possible that the post office in the building was still in use as late as 2004.

Two men stand in front of the "Leck Kill Post Office" in Leck Kill, Pennsylvania, as indicated by the lettering in the window. The building also contained a store with some merchandise, such as brooms and a watering can, stored on the porch. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard and a composite image of old and new views of the post office building.

This is a composite image of old and new views of a building in Leck Kill, Pennsylvania, that served as a post office, store, and tavern. The top view is from an early twentieth-century real photo postcard, and the bottom view is a Google Maps capture from 2009. See the full version of the real photo postcard for more information.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of dressed in uniform . Handwritten note on the back of this snapshot: "Churchill and Elliott James Roosevelt, Iceland." The uniformed man on the right who's holding a cane is Winston Churchill , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Despite the note on the snapshot, however, the man at left is not James Roosevelt nor is he Elliott Roosevelt . The man is, in fact, Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr , another son of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt . The date of Churchill's visit to Iceland was August 16, 1941. He had just come from a meeting with President Roosevelt where they issued a joint statement known as the Atlantic Charter on August 14. Franklin Jr. was an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve. For more information about Churchill's trip to Iceland, see Winston Churchill in Iceland, August 16, 1941 and 80 Years Since Churchill Charmed the Icelandic Nation .

Sinister Sam lurks in the background as two women pose in front of a car with a 1940 California license plate. "61B626, California, 1940."

A photo of a dog or cat on a chair for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard of a man and his dog. I haven't been able to decipher the inscription on the front (except for the year), and there's no name, address, or postmark on the verso. Printed on the other side: " R. Guilleminot, Bœspflug et Cie . Paris."

A fruits and vegetables photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. William H. Martin (1865-1940), a Kansas photographer, created this amusing photomontage and published it as a real photo postcard in 1909. This photo postcard was addressed on the other side to Mr. Alfie Watts, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and postmarked in Lima, Ohio, on Nov. 20, 1910. Handwritten message: "Lima, Nov. 20/10. Write soon. Friend James. 116 Circular St. W., Lima, Ohio."

A calling card for "H. E. Grothe" with attached photo. I purchased this from a dealer in Seattle, Washington, who obtained it along with other calling cards (without photographs) from an estate sale in Idaho. For other photo calling cards, see: -- Warren Perkins -- Miss Ellen Sophia Auchey -- Irwin G. Waggener

A patterns photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A young man nervously looks for an escape route as he's surrounded by the patterned designs of the wallpaper, wicker rocker, and carpet. This is an unused real photo postcard with a divided back but no stamp box. For similar photos with distinctive wallpaper, see Girl Cornering on a Tricycle, Harrisburg, Pa. and Girl Standing on a Chair in Front of Patterned Wallpaper .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of my old pal—depicting friends, buddies, pals enjoying each other's company . Sign: "We don't care if we never go back." Banner: "Indianapolis." An unused real photo postcard of two friends pretending to be in a hot air balloon as they pose for a souvenir photo in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Noko stamp box on the other side suggests that it may date between 1907 and 1929. I have other cards with photos of the fellow on the left that were postmarked in 1911. See also I Don't Care If I Never Come Back .