Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of significant window reflection (or another kind of reflection if you don’t have one from a window) . A family poses for a photo in a boat named Ruth . The still water captures a mirror-like reflection of the boat and its occupants. This is a divided-back real photo postcard with a type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing) that suggests that the photo may date to sometime between 1907 and 1918. The card is unused with no message, address, or postmark on the other side.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of statues and monuments . Caption: "Vegetable Tower, New York State Fair, Sept. 1918." Erected for the 1918 New York State Fair, the "Vegetable Tower" was an elaborate harvest-time monument adorned with pumpkins, ears of corn, and other seasonal vegetables. Similar structures created for other fairs and festivals were also known as "farm products monuments," "fruit columns," or "fruit monuments." This is a divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (two corner triangles pointing up and two pointing down) that dates the card to between 1910 to 1930, which correlates with the year of the fair. The back is otherwise blank with no message, name, address, stamp, or postmark. For a closer look at the tower, see a cropped version of the card.

A "Vegetable Tower" constructed for the 1918 New York State Fair in Syracuse, N.Y. For more information, see the full version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fields (cornfields, football fields, academic fields, or any other kind) . Handwritten note on the other side: "Landisville, Pa. Nissley Rd." An early twentieth-century scene of men harvesting grain in a field near Landisville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A reaper pulled by four horses is cutting the grain, and sheaves of cut wheat that have already been stacked into shocks are visible in the background. This is an divided-back real photo postcard with a type of Azo stamp box (featuring four upward-pointing corner triangles) that suggests that the photo may date to sometime between 1907 and 1918. The card is unused with no message, address, or postmark on the other side.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of bands (music groups) . An unused real photo postcard of the fifty-seven members of the Central Pennsylvania Gospel Band, circa 1951. See also an announcment of an appearance by The Central Pennsylvania Gospel Band, Roxbury, Pa., June 23, 1957 .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of curbside . This is a real photo exaggeration postcard showing a steamboat with smoke billowing from its smokestack as it navigates through the surging floodwaters on a city street. The water has stranded some pedestrians at the curb, where they were evidently waiting to cross the street. Although the location isn't identified, one clue is the business name stamped in the lower right-hand corner: "The Dodd Rogers Co., Kodaks and Cameras." According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, the Dodd-Rogers Co. operated in Cleveland under that name between 1906 and 1914. Just before the business changed its name to Dodd Co. in 1914, the Great Flood of 1913 inundated Cleveland and affected the rest of Ohio as well as other states (see The 1913 Flood: "Ohio’s Greatest Weather Event" , an article by Sarah White on the Cleveland Historical site). Other exaggeration postcards appeared after the flood. One was captioned The Big Flood in Cleveland , and a second one also used the the same title . Although I haven't matched this photo with a specific street and it doesn't bear a date, I believe that it was created in 1913 as a humorous reaction to the flood in Cleveland. This is an divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a time frame—1907 to 1918—that covers the year of the flood. The card is unused with no message, address, or postmark on the other side.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the topic of nautical . The handwritten message on the other side of this real photo postcard says, "I['m] senting [sending] you my pitcher [picture] so you will fall in love with me. Your friend, A.M., USS Mercury." There's no stamp or postmark on the verso, but the card is addressed to Miss Ida Nelson, Lakeport, N.H. Printed on the other side: "This Photo can be Enlarged or Duplicates made at the Modern Studio, 46 Sands St., Brooklyn, N.Y." This is a divided-back photo postcard with a type of Azo stamp box (four corner triangles with two pointing up and two pointing down) that suggests a date as early as 1917 to 1930.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the topic of Fourth of July (flags, fireworks, patriotic, freedom, red-white-blue, barbeques, etc.) . "This is my skiff decorated for the regatta 4th July celebrations" is the description written on the other side of this photo. This is divided-back real photo postcard with no address, date, stamp box, or postmark on the verso. The message written on the back of the card, however, includes some questions about events leading up to World War I, so it's likely that the photo dates to 1914, the year the war began (see Ultimatum of July 23, 1914 , for background information). See also the full version of this photo postcard. This is the message written across the back of the card (I made it easier to read by creating paragraphs, but the text is the same): This is my skiff decorated for the regatta 4th July celebrations. L. Brown Forgive me for not writing. It is just laziness on my part. My correspondence has got in an awful shape. I am sending this card to show I have not forgotten. I will get a letter written someday. Here are some funny questions that sometimes enter my head. My socialist [Pro-Ger?]. --What was the Kaiser scared of even more than fighting all Europe? --What big convention was to be held in Vienna one week after war started? --Did not Servia [Serbia] accede to all points except one or two, and wished to arbitrate? --Why was the war rushed?

For more information, see the cropped version of this photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly topic of real photo postcards . This is a photo of two men seated in an early automobile decorated with flags for a Fourth of July parade or some other patriotic celebration. The distinctive "Palace Garage" sign (behind the telephone pole on the left), the "Garage" sign (above the flag at the back of the car), and the design of the building all match a 1920 photo of the Palace Garage in Fremont, Ohio, that appeared as part of a " History Spotlight " feature in the Fremont News-Messenger (you may encounter a paywall if you try the link). This is a divided-back real photo postcard with a Cyko stamp box ("Cyko - Place Postage Stamp Here") printed on the back (there's no name, address, message, or postmark). This stamp box design indicates a date between 1907 and the 1920s, which corresponds to the date of the photo published in the newspaper.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of in a doorway . Handwritten description on the other side of the photo: "A cake and a couple of mugs." A man and a woman stand in (the vicinity of) a doorway as they silently contemplate the cake on the table in front of them. Perhaps it's their wedding anniversary, but they don't seem too excited about it.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of top of the rock . Printed on the back of this souvenir real photo postcard: " Glenn L. Gebhardt , Royal Gorge Pavilion, Canon City , Colo." This vantage point is labeled the "Wonder View" on other early photos. It overlooks the Royal Gorge, a deep canyon of the Arkansas River located near Cañon City, Colorado.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of yep, that's an elephant . Two tourists sit awkwardly atop an elephant in this souvenir photo. The back is blank, but similar photos posted online date to 1950s India. Elephants that carry tourists in this way can suffer spinal damage, and at least one country, Indonesia, has banned all elephant riding.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of television sets in the living room . This photo is a little blurry, but I believe it shows the same television that appears in a slide of the Pipe-Smoking Television Man . The footstool in front of the TV also appears in both photos (the man is sitting on it in the other photo). For related photos, see my album of slides of the Pipe-Smoking Man and His Family . This is an undated red-border "Kodachrome Transparency" (slide), circa early 1950s. .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly topic of slides and color photos . A color photo of a woman near an amusement park ride, date and location unknown.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of windows and windshields (photos through or of) . This cropped version of a real photo postcard shows a close-up of three men standing outside of a corner grocery store (location unknown, unfortunately). A bicycle is propped up against the building at left, a number of bushel baskets containing fruits or vegetables are situated on the sidewalk, and several market baskets with handles are visible in the store window at right. The full version of this postcard reveals that the grocery store itself is located in a separate building, but a number of row houses extend down the street just beyond the store.

This real photo postcard shows three men standing outside of a corner grocery store (location unknown, unfortunately). The store itself is located in a separate building, but a number of row houses extend down the street just beyond the store. A close-up view of the men and the storefront (mouse over the image above) reveals a bicycle propped up against the store building at left, a number of bushel baskets containing fruits or vegetables situated on the sidewalk, and several market baskets with handles hanging in the store window at right.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of stuff in the yard . Three gussied-up guys are standing in a grassy area that looks like it might be someone's yard. In front of them is a perplexing pile of who knows what. Is it a naturally occurring rock formation? Could it be a modernistic sculpture? Or maybe it's the byproduct of some kind of industrial process. This is an undated photo with "Quality Jensen Print" stamped on the other side. See also a cropped version of this snapshot.