Album Political Ephemera from Alan Mays

Election Day Photo, November 7, 1916 (Back)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 22:40:02 +0000

"Taken on Nov. 7, 1916. Election of Pres. Wilson."

For more information, see the front of this photo.

Election Day Photo, November 7, 1916

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 22:40:04 +0000

The handwritten note on the other side of this photo says, "Taken on Nov. 7, 1916. Election of Pres. Wilson."

Judging by the grizzled appearance of this bearded fellow, the 1916 U.S. presidential election—when incumbent Democratic President Woodrow Wilson fought the Republican candidate Charles Evans Hughes to win reelection to a second term—must have been as harrowing and distressing an experience as the 2020 presidential election turned out to be.

A Thanksgiving Greeting from the United States Capitol

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 22:58:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A couple of turkeys arrive at (or depart from?) the United States Capitol Building, Washington, D.C., in this illustration from a Thanksgiving postcard dated 1910.

The postcard is addressed on the other side to "Mrs. Geo Hamlin, 9 Dean[e] St., Portland, Me.," and postmarked in New York City on November 23, 1910.

Handwritten message: "Rena & Geo out for a ride. Best love to both of you & hope you have a happy Thanksgiving. Kitty."

Rena (1882-1974) and George Hamlin (1882-1958) were both twenty-eight years old and had been married for about three years when they received this postcard. It's possible that Kitty, the sender of the card, was Catherine Lewis, Rena's mother.

For some other turkey motorists, see Thanksgiving Day Fugitives and A Wingless Steed Will Take the Winner to a Fine Thanksgiving Dinner.

Thomas Dewey and His Wife at the Republican National Convention, Philadelphia, June 1948 (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 03:56:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

This is Thomas Dewey, the 1948 Republican presidential nominee, and his wife in an image from the televised broadcast of the 1948 Republican National Convention. The image is a photograph of the screen of a television set that received the convention broadcast in 1948.

See also the full version of this photo and a snapshot of the actual Philco 48-1001 television set that was tuned in to the convention broadcast.

Thomas Dewey and His Wife at the Republican National Convention, Philadelphia, June 1948

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 03:56:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Handwritten caption: "Taken on our 10" television screen - June 24, 1948. Dewey nominated for pres."*

This snapshot of 1948 Republican presidential nominee Thomas Dewey and his wife is actually a photo of an image from the screen of a Philco 48-1001 television set tuned in to the broadcast of the 1948 Republican National Convention, which "was the first presidential convention to be shown on 'national' television". In 1948, according to Wikipedia, "there were 27 television stations in full operation in the US and an estimated 350,000 TV sets in the whole country."

For a better view of the televised image, see a cropped version of this photo.

*Although the handwritten caption below the photo gives the date as June 24, it's possible that it was a day later, on June 25, 1948.

Philco Television Set, 1948

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 03:56:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo of outdated technology (typewriters, record players, etc) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

This is a photo of a Philco 48-1001 television set, which was manufactured in 1948 and had a 10-inch television screen. I bought this along with a second photo showing 1948 Republican presidential nominee Thomas Dewey and his wife at the Republican National Convention, which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in June 1948. The image of Dewey and his wife is actually a photo of the screen of this TV set taken during the broadcast of the Republican convention, which was the first nationally televised presidential convention. See also a cropped version of the second photo.

Harry Truman's Baby Picture

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 06:44:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of defaced or altered—any photo that was found with the face scratched off, marked out, cut, etc. If you don't have a defaced photo in your collection, you can post any found photo that has been altered in some way, such as with writing, drawing, collage, etc.

I found this cabinet card at a local antique mall a while ago. The elaborate wicker chair was what first caught my eye, and I was somewhat disappointed when I realized that someone had pasted Harry Truman's head on the photo. But I ended up purchasing it anyway for the surreal—or maybe just silly—juxtaposition of presidential head and baby body.

For other altered photos, see Altered Victorian Cabinet Card Portrait with Painted Skull Mask, Harrisburg, Pa., and Does the Foreman Know about This?

Ulysses S. Grant Calling Card

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 16 Feb 2018 06:10:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"E pluribus unum. Remember me."

A Victorian-era hidden-name calling card with an illustration of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885). The colorful die-cut scrap was a memorial to the president, and it lifts up on the right-hand side to reveal the name of "Mabel E. Emerich" printed underneath.

Will You Be My Socialist Valentine?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 04:53:30 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"To my valentine. I'm a socialist, will you be one? Free drinks, free money, free love. Ellam."

Postmarked Saginaw West Side, Mich., Feb. 4, 1911, and addressed to Ward Brown, 820 North Mason, Saginaw West Side.

Handwritten message: "I hope you are as I am and don't forget that day. You know and I know, and why should we forget it."

Artist-signed postcard by William Ellam.

President Roosevelt Dead at 63

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 06 Aug 2017 04:09:01 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo of a person or people reading for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Snapshot of a man reading the headline, "President Roosevelt Dead at 63," which appeared in the Stars and Stripes newspaper following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945.

Where Women Vote—By the New Fireside

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:01:54 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

One in a series of humorous "Where Women Vote" postcards published in the 1910s that demonstrated the dire consequences of giving women the right to vote. It took until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, to ensure that all women in the United States had the right to vote.

This postcard was postmarked Broad Top, Pa., May 8, 1913, on the other side and was addressed to Mr. Ralph L. Diggins, Millersville, Lanc. Co, Pa., M.S.N.S., indicating that Diggins was a student at the Millersville State Normal School in Millersville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, at the time.

Handwritten note on the back: "Dear Brother, We are very busy. Will write you a letter on Sunday. It is very warm today. The trees are in blossom. The apple tree is white and also the cherry trees. The plums are froze. Elsie."

This postcard and others from the "Where Women Vote" series are pictured in Kenneth Florey's book, American Woman Suffrage Postcards: A Study and Catalog (McFarland, 2015), pp. 344-47.

William Jennings Bryan

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 May 2017 02:41:53 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A real photo postcard of a guy pretending to have his photo taken with a man who appears to be William Jennings Bryan, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for U.S. president in 1908.

Interestingly enough, a similar novelty photo (see below) evidently features William Howard Taft, Bryan's Republican rival in the 1908 presidential election. Taft won the election that year and became the twenty-seventh president of the United States (1909-1913).

William Howard Taft

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 May 2017 02:41:55 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park for the theme of famous--a person or place.

As far as I can determine, the famous person that the fellow in this real photo postcard is pretending to greet is William Howard Taft, who won the U.S. presidential election as the Republican nomnee in 1908 and served as the twenty-seventh president of the United States from 1909 to 1913.

I found a similar postcard (see below) with another guy pretending to have his picture taken with a man who's sitting at a table and reading a newspaper. This man, as far as I can ascertain, is William Jennings Bryan, who ran unsuccessfully against Taft as the Democratic nominee for president in 1908.

I haven't located any other novelty photos featuring Taft or Bryan, but I wonder if these were produced in 1908 during the presidential election.

Votes for Women Valentine—No Votes, No Hearts

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 20:10:15 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A die-cut Valentine greeting card with a suffragette girl giving a soapbox speech about women's voting rights. It wasn't until the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920 that all women in the United States had the right to vote.

For another copy of this card, see "No Votes No Hearts," Comic Valentine, ca. 1910-1920 over on Flickr.

Votes for Women—No Votes, No Hearts.

If words could tell of all the love within this heart of mine.
I'd keep on speaking till I'd won you for my Valentine.

Happy Days Are Here Again—Dream of Prosperity

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 19:11:15 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Prohibition-era comic postcard that depicts a man dreaming about a change to the Volstead Act that would allow the sale of beer and create work—and prosperity—for brewers, farmers, and other laborers.

As Wikipedia explains, the Volstead Act "was enacted to carry out the intent of the Eighteenth Amendment, which established prohibition in the United States" and banned the production and sale of alcoholic beverages beginning in 1920. Prohibition lasted until 1933, when the Twenty-first Amendment was ratified in order to repeal the Eighteenth Amendment.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt used "Happy Days Are Here Again" as his presidential campaign song in 1932, and the repeal of Prohibition took place soon after Roosevelt took office.

Signs and captions: "Free lunch today. Good old time lager beer. Free beer tomorrow. Happy days are here again."

Dream of Prosperity

Last night I dreamed that the Volstead law had been amended permitting the sale of beer (Oh! what a grand and glorious feeling!). Immediately 100,000 carpenters, bricklayers, and laborers went to work building and refitting breweries; 50,000 brewery truck drivers, helpers, vatmen, and coppersmiths were hired; and 100,000 printers were put to work printing beer labels. Bottle works and barrel makers engaged thousands more. Bookkeepers, stenographers, clerks, and salesmen found ready employment by the hundreds of thousands. Thousands of farmers left the city and returned to farms to raise hops and barley. 150,000 musicians went to work in the beer gardens. There was no unemployment. The country hummed with industry. The tax secured from the sale of beer was placed in a fund that was used for an old age pension. Then the scene changed–I saw 1,000,000 bootleggers holding a protest meeting. Disgusted, I then awoke.

I Am Honored to Be Your First Cat—Socks

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 17:42:16 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"The White House, Washington. Thank you for writing to me. I am honored to be your 'First Cat.' Socks."

An oversized postcard postmarked Washington, D.C., Sept. 28, 1993.

When Bill Clinton served as the 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001), Hillary was the First Lady and Socks was the First Cat.

I wrote to Socks after he became First Cat, and he graciously acknowledged my letter by sending me this postcard. I guess we'll learn who will become the next First Pet on Election Day tomorrow.

Let the Women Vote

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 22:49:09 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

With Hillary Clinton as a U.S. presidential candidate in 2016, it's incredible to think that not all women in the United States had the right to vote until the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920. This postcard was published by the Pennsylvania Woman's Christian Temperance Union around 1915.

Four Million Women Vote
Why Not the Women of Pennsylvania?

They are as intelligent as any in the world.

They are as interested in all that pertains to the welfare of the Home and the State.

They should be given the Right and it is their Duty to take part in the Government which is responsible for the Welfare of the People.

The state needs the help of the women.

Let the Women Vote.

Pennsylvania W.C.T.U.

Union Label. Allied Printing Trades Council, Philadelphia. 18.

Printed on the back: "Penna. W.C.T.U. Supply Office, Beaver Falls, Pa."

D'lighted, July 4, 1907

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 22:09:16 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A recipient of this Fourth of July postcard in 1907 would have recognized this puzzling array of fireworks as a parody of then-President Theodore Roosevelt's facial features.

The lit firecrackers and smoke portray Roosevelt's toothy grin and moustache, the two interconnected diamond-shaped arrangements represent his characteristic pince-nez glasses, and the cavalry hat with the crossed sabers reflect his service in the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War.

Even the "D'lighted" caption for the scene of the boy lighting the fireworks derives from Roosevelt's frequent use of "Dee-lighted!," which along with "Bully!" was one of his favorite exclamations.

Woodrow Wilson—The Man of the Hour, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1912 (Detail)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 02:32:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

See also the full photo and a cropped version of this photo:

Woodrow Wilson—The Man of the Hour, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1912 (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 02:32:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

See also the full version and a detail from this photo: