Vintage Decorated Vehicles

A birds or bees photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Those poor kids don't seem to have a clue that they're about to be carried off by that raptor that's swooping down upon them. Or at least that seems to be what we're supposed to think with that stuffed bird suspended above them. I'm not sure why these children are riding in a decorated cart pulled by a donkey. There's no address, date, or postmark on the other side of this real photo postcard, but there is a message written in French that I haven't had any success in deciphering.

Message written in French on the reverse of Don't Get Carried Away! , a real photo postcard. When I posted this over on Flickr , one person was able to provide the meanings of some of the words, but otherwise I haven't been able to figure out if the message provides any additional information about the puzzling image on the front of the card .

A real photo postcard of two women, presumably participating in a parade of some sort, on a horse-drawn carriage profusely decorated with flowers. The woman on the left is holding the reins in one hand and a whip in the other, while the woman on the right is holding a parasol. The hat of a third woman, who may be riding on the far side of the carriage, appears to the left of the woman holding the reins. The figure of a man, apparently riding on top of another vehicle, is partially visible behind the carriage, and in the distance are telephone poles and what looks like the side of a mountain. There's a sign affixed to the building at left, but the letters are too small to make out what it says.

In this real photo postcard, a man and woman sit in a carriage decorated with flags on the wheels and top. Perhaps they're waiting to join a parade for the Fourth of July or some other patriotic occasion. Note, too, the two children who are looking on in the background. And nailed to the tree just behind the horses is a "Ladies Only" sign.

License plate: "Penna. 1907 8267." Salvaged from a grimy real photo postcard.

A parades photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. In this undated real photo postcard, a girl playing the part of Lady Liberty stands in a decorated car and holds her torch high as she poses for the photographer. A man and a woman (Lady Liberty's parents?) in the front seat of the car and three girls (her sisters?) in the back seat are also dressed in patriotic garb and seem to be awaiting the start of a parade (note the second vehicle behind this car). The word "Liberty" appears on the windshield of the car and on Lady Liberty's cap. If you look closely (mouse over the image above to see an enlarged view of the occupants of the car ), you'll notice that no one seems to be too enthusiastic about their participation in the parade--Lady Liberty is frowning, her mother is givng the photographer an icy look, the kids in the back don't seem happy, and dad is hiding his face. I certainly hope their moods changed once the parade began!

See also the full version of this real photo postcard:

A flowers or trees photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is a real photo postcard of two men sitting in an automobile decorated with flowers. The painted backdrop behind them depicts a tree-lined country road. The sign in the upper left-hand corner of the photo appears to be one for the "Morrow-Umatilla County Fair." This is now the Umatilla County Fair, which is still held in Hermiston, Umatilla County, Oregon. According to the fair's Web site (archived version), Morrow and Umatilla counties both sponsored the fair for its first year in 1912. Beginning in 1913, however, Umatilla County was the sole sponsor. If this is correct, then this postcard probably dates to 1912. The banner that the man on the left is holding says, "The Round-Up, Let 'er Buck, Pendleton," which refers to the Pendleton Round-Up , a rodeo that's been held in nearby Pendleton, Oregon, since 1910. Another Pendleton banner is partially visible on the wall behind the man on the right.

A 1970s photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. In the original scan of this photo, the Pennsylvania license plate on the back of the truck looks like it has a "74" or "75" sticker in one corner, so I'm reasonably sure that it dates to the 1970s.

Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park for the theme of Fourth of July (flags, fireworks, patriotic, freedom, red-white-blue, barbeques, etc.) . Judging by the American flag and other decorations that the boy has on his bike in this somewhat battered photo, I suspect that he rode it in a Fourth of July bike parade. If that's the case, he probably received the book he's holding in his hand as a prize for participating in the parade. (By the way, after searching for images on Google, I was surprised to see how popular Fourth of July bike parades seem to be.) Although the book cover is difficult to make out (mouse over the image above for an enlarged but still blurry view), it looks like the title begins with the words "Tom Swift," and the shadowy images seem to correspond to the submarine and octopus that appear on the covers of early editions of Tom Swift and His Jetmarine . Since this Tom Swift title was first published in 1954, it's likely that this boy rode his bike in a Fourth of July parade that year or sometime later in the 1950s.

See the full version of this photo for more information:

A parades photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo of engineering students from the Pennsylvania State College (now Penn State University) participating in a parade, probably sometime in the 1910s, The sign above the horse-drawn wagon that's carrying the first parade float (on the right-hand side of the photo) identifies it as belonging to the "Department of Mechanics and Materials of Construction," which was established in 1906. Today it's known as the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics within the University's College of Engineering. Students on the wagon appear to be operating some sort of machinery (a lathe, perhaps?). The next float (in the middle of the photo) is mounted on an automobile. A student marching in front of it is carrying a sign proclaiming, "I Can Travel 30 Miles in 10 Hours." The sign on the side of the automobile says, "Railway Mechanical Engineering," and then--as far as I can tell--repeats the student's sign: "I Can Travel 30 Miles in 10 Hours." A model of a locomotive is barely visible at the back of the float, but I'm not sure whether railway travel at 3 miles per hour for 10 hours was an engineering achievement worthy of a parade float in the early twentieth century. Finally, almost hidden in the shadows in the upper left-hand corner of the photo is another horse-drawn float with a sign for "The Thespians."

Students demonstrate some sort of machinery on a parade float. For more information see the full photo: Penn State Engineering Students on Parade, ca. 1910s .

The first line of the sign on the side of this parade float says, "Railway Mechanical Engineering," and--as far as I can tell--the second line is "I Can Travel 30 Miles in 10 Hours," which is also the message on the sign that the student is carrying. A model of a locomotive is barely visible at the back of the float. Was railway travel at 3 miles per hour for 10 hours an engineering accomplishment worthy of a parade float in the early twentieth century? For more information see the full photo: Penn State Engineering Students on Parade, ca. 1910s .

Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "This is as we looked Monday, July 5th, 1909, after the floral parade. Ed, Edith, Edward, Russell, Hattie, and Otto Zahn." Hand-lettered card attached to the car: "29." Number above the doorway of the building in the background: "1004." I didn't think I'd be able to uncover any information about a "floral parade" held in 1909. As it turned out, however, the Washington Post newspaper sponsored an Independence Day celebration in the form of a "Floral-Flag Automobile Parade" on July 5, 1909, that received widespread coverage. The weekly Horticulture magazine on July 3, 1909, p. 8, for instance, expressed the hope that the event would sell more flowers during a hot summer: "Washington has been sweltering under the most torrid wave that has visited the city in years. Business is quite dull, commencements are over, and even Cupid is enervated by the heat. All the city is agog, though, over the forthcoming automobile and flower parade that will take place on the 5th of July. Autos will be decorated with flags and flowers. The Washington Post offers a first prize of $100 for the handsomest decorated auto. It is to be hoped that this flower parade, at least, will become an annual custom. It will be of inestimable value to the florists, as well as to the flower-loving public." Henry Litchfield West, in an article about "A Safe and Sane Fourth of July" in The Forum , August 1909, p. 108, described some of the parade cars: "The Washington Post conceived the idea of an automobile floral-flag parade, and this event proved to be a genuine spectacular and artistic success. There were over a hundred motor cars in line, and the decorations were extremely novel and pleasing. One automobile was reconstructed into an accurate representation of the Confederate ram Merrimac, and was manned by young men in sailor costumes; another was converted into a yacht with masts and sails; another was a floral boat apparently drawn by an enormous white swan; and still another was in the form of a pergola, decorated with wistaria vines and blossoms. An electric machine which elicited the applause of the thousands who lined the route of parade was apparently a huge wicker basket of pink roses, in the centre of which and surmounted by a canopy of roses was seated the lady who operated the car. Another electric machine was a symphony in red, white and blue. Altogether the event proved to be a most unique and beautiful celebration…." The decorations on this automobile weren't as elaborate (see a cropped version for a closer view), but it's remarkable that with a few details we can find information about a Floral-Flag Automobile Parade held over a century ago.

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