Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: reading

An enlargement of the bookshelf on the college student's desk revealed the following titles: Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology , 9th ed., College Zoology , by Heg[ner], and Organic Chemistry . I was able to identify the first book as the ninth edition of Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology , by Diana Clifford Kimber, Carolyn Elizabeth Gray, and Caroline E Stackpole, which was published by Macmillan in 1934. The second book, College Zoology , was authored by Robert W. Hegner and was also published by Macmillan, with a third edition in 1932 and a fourth in 1936. Although I didn't attempt to track down details about Organic Chemistry , the presence of the other two books confirms that this photo dates to 1934 or later. See also the original photo and a cropped version .

A college student sitting at her desk. Notice the small "Sargent" pennant on the wall (upper right-hand corner of the photo), which suggests she was a student at Sargent College (now Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College ). For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard and an enlargement showing the books visible at the side of the desk.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of college memories (your own or someone else's) . This is a real photo postcard of a female student sitting at a desk and pretending to read a book as she poses for a photo. On the back of the card is an Azo stamp box design (with squares in the corners) that indicates a time frame ranging from 1924 to 1949. A small "Sargent" pennant on the wall above the desk (see a cropped version of the photo for a better view of the pennant) suggests that the woman was a student at Sargent College, which is known today as the Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College . An enlargement of the bookshelf on the desk revealed the following titles: Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology , 9th ed., College Zoology , by Heg[ner], and Organic Chemistry . I was able to identify the first book as the ninth edition of Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology , by Diana Clifford Kimber, Carolyn Elizabeth Gray, and Caroline E Stackpole, which was published by Macmillan in 1934. The second book, College Zoology , was authored by Robert W. Hegner and was also published by Macmillan, with a third edition in 1932 and a fourth in 1936. Although I didn't attempt to track down details about Organic Chemistry , the presence of the other two books confirms that this photo dates to 1934 or later.

A photo of libraries or books for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Transport Mercury. Red Cross. From American Library Association for all men on board. Not to be opened until return voyage." This real photo postcard shows a photograph taken on board the USS Mercury , a United States Navy ship, as it transported troops home following the end of World War I. The sign on the left indicates that the American Library Association provided books for the troops. I located another photograph of this same scene that was taken from a different angle. This second photo was cataloged as NH 45345 by the Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command, and its description also applies to my real photo postcard: "Scene in troop spaces in a hold below the waterline, showing a card game in progress [why aren't they reading their books?], with banjo accompaniment [the banjo player's hands are partially visible at far right in my photo], circa 1918-1919. Note books at left, placed on board by the Red Cross and the American Library Association. Sign with the books indicates that the photo was taken as Mercury was transporting troops back to the U.S. from Europe after the World War I Armistice [November 11, 1918]."

A detail showing a close-up of the North American newspaper from a real photo postcard. For more information, see the original photo .

A photo of readers (people reading books or magazines) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. (Or people reading newspapers? Hopefully my fellow VPTPers will indulge my topic drift from magazines to newspapers.) A real photo postcard of a young girl holding an issue of the North American newspaper (mouse over the image for a close-up view of the paper —I haven't been able to determine a date or decipher any of the headlines, unfortunately). The girl has a smirk on her face and a pair of pince-nez glasses on her nose as she looks down at her newspaper. I'm not sure what might be in the case that's on the floor next to her chair.

Elbl és Pietsch, udvari fényképész, Fő utcza 18, Budapest. Approximate translation: Elbl and Pietsch, royal photographer, 18 Main Street, Budapest. Can anyone figure out the handwritten words at the bottom? Perhaps they're the names of the three women who appear on the front of this cabinet card:

A photo from Budapest for the Vintage Photos Theme Park in memory of our dear friend, Nori (see Sad News ). A mother and her two daughters posed for this cabinet card photo in the Budapest studio of Elbl and Pietsch sometime after 1897 (see below for the back of this photo). Note the girls' unique hairstyles and their fashionable dresses with enormous leg-of-mutton or gigot sleeves. The painted backdrop is somewhat indistinct but what looks like the bottom of an elaborate staircase appears on the left. The chairs are made of bamboo (or perhaps faux bamboo) and are decorated with tassels. As one girl sits in a chair holding a book, the other girl stands with one hand resting in a comforting gesture on her mother's shoulder. Her other hand is holding some flowers alongside the arm of her mother's chair. So let's remember dear Nori and cherish the treasured images she has shared with us here on Ipernity and over on Flickr . Perhaps you'll want to compare this photo with the dozen other photos and backmarks from the same studio that Nori collected in her Elbl & Pietsch album on Flickr.

For more information, see the original strip of five photos .

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park topic of photobooth photos (or any interesting head and shoulders studio portraits if you don't have any from photobooths) . A photo strip with portraits of a woman wearing a hat, reading a Collier's magazine, and holding a parasol, along with two photos without props. For easier viewing, I cropped and rearranged the photos into two rows (the parasol photo is repeated). The Collier's magazine is the issue from September 1908. See my comparison of the original cover with the one the woman's holding .

"'100 and 23 for yours,' said the saucy little bird on Nellie's hat. Love's Young Dream ." The illustration on this postcard is based on a song, "The Bird on Nellie's Hat," that was popular when the card appeared in 1908, and the title of the book that Nellie is reading– Love's Young Dream –is a phrase that comes from the lyrics to the song. The bird's snide utterance–"100 and 23 for yours"–to the guy who's lurking behind Nellie is a reference to the "23 skidoo" fad that started around 1906 or 1907. Telling someone "23 skidoo" or "23 for you" was a shorthand way of saying "scram," "beat it," or "get lost" (I'm not sure whether the addition of "100 and" to the more typical "23 for yours" phrase had any extra meaning). For more "23 skidoo" postcards, see my Skidoos and Lemons album. Check out the sheet music for The Bird on Nellie's Hat (1906), which is part of the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music at Johns Hopkins University, or go to YouTube to see the lyrics and hear an Edison wax cylinder recording of Ada Jones singing "The Bird On Nellie's Hat" (1913).

"Old South Manor Motor Court & Restaurant on U.S. 17, 4½ mi. S., Savannah, Ga." Signs: "Old South Manor Hotel Tourist Court. Restaurant. AAA." Inset: "Reading lounge and lobby." Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Old South Manor Motor Court and Restaurant on U.S. 17, 4½ mi. S., Savannah, Ga. Very attractive court on beautiful landscaped grounds. 40 unusually inviting accommodations beautifully furnished....Attractive reading lounge with television for our guests....Well known for a variety of good food, served in atmosphere of southern courtesy at moderate prices."

"Don't be a dunce. Try to get a little useful information about things in general." Book title: "Things You Should Know." An example of a "cynical, sarcastic, often mean-spirited" vinegar valentine .

I'm not sure what to make of this scene. A man and woman are posing with three sculptural pieces in the shapes of a boy, a woman, and a man. The sign above the boy says, "Hey, mom, is that guy Rip Van Winkle?" The mom replies, according to the second sign, "Yeah, and look at his wrinkled wink." Unfortunately, the third sign is only partially visibile, and I can't determine what it says. The guy with the wrinkled wink who turned out to be Rip Van Winkle is reading a book entitled Love Stories , and the cover of the book also says, "For the love of Mike." Inscribed on part of the stump just below Rip is the name "Ben Funk." Does any of this ring a bell with anyone?

"Presented to Lizzie Kensinger by E. A. Feight, teacher."

I picked up this battered copy of The New England Primer after noticing how it claimed to be An Easy and Pleasant Guide to the Art of Reading just above the woodcut illustration showing a man being burned at the stake as a crowd of children and adults uneasily watch the gruesome and unpleasant scene. " The New England Primer Improved, or An Easy and Pleasant Guide to the Art of Reading; To Which Is Added the Assembly's Shorter Catechism . Pittsburgh: United Presbyterian Board of Publication."

Posted as a "reading" photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park group, this real photo postcard shows two Iowa sisters, Lilly and Mazie Hitzemann, who are reading--or maybe just looking at--a magazine. The girls are dressed nicely for the photo session, and Lilly, left, is wearing a necklace while Mazie, right, sports a bow in her hair. Both girls are staring intently at the magazine they're holding. From what I could make out after enlarging the image, the front cover of the magazine displays a young child's head, and a full-page advertisement for "1847 Rogers Bros." silverware appears on the back cover (1847 is part of the brand name and doesn't indicate when the magazine or ad was published). Visible under enlargement on the front cover of the magazine is a date that includes the year "1912," and the title of the magazine looks like it ends in "-n-ator" (I couldn't determine the letter between n and a). One possibility is that this was an issue of The Delineator , a popular women's magazine published by the Butterick Publishing Company of sewing patterns fame. The covers of Delineator issues from this time, however, typically featured illustrations of fashionably dressed women rather than children's heads. Additional information from the back of the postcard: Handwritten message: "From Mazie to Grandma." Postmarked: "Columbia, [Iowa?], Jan. 13, 1913." Addressed to: "Mrs. Henry Hitzemann, Box 202, Akron, Iowa." Later handwritten annotation on back: "Right - Mazie Hitzemann. Left - sister Lilly. Daughters of Chas. and Mabel Hitzemann."