Album Interiors from Alan Mays

Television in the Corner

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 03:59:02 +0000

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.

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Two Boys with Lots of Toys

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 18 May 2026 03:37:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of birthday presents.

There's no birthday card or cake, but I suspect that this undated photo shows a display of birthday gifts on the coffee table in front of two boys. One of them -- perhaps the younger boy in the white shirt -- is presumably the birthday boy.

Toys on the table include a car, airplane, boat, rocket, and two pull-string flying propellers. There's also an Erector Young Builder's Set (Gilbert Set No. 10021) with packaging that features an illustration of two boys assembling a robot. Next to the Erector set is a container of Davis Pick-up Sticks manufactured by the Davis Toy Corp., Brooklyn, N.Y.

There are two books and a stamp album on the table. One book is The Bible Story, Volume 10, by Arthur S. Maxwell, and the other is How to Tell Time: A Little Golden Activity Book (1957), by Jane Werner Watson. George A. Tlamsa was the editor of My First Stamp Album (Minkus Publications, 1960), and a packet of 130 foreign stamps is visible in front of the album.

I'm not sure what the boy on the right is holding, but is that a barrel of a rifle in the hands of the boy on the left? Could that be another birthday gift?

See also the full version of this photo.

Two Boys with Lots of Toys (Full Version)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 18 May 2026 03:37:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An undated photo of two boys with a bunch of toys.

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

A Hearty Party (Detail with Print of Ladder and Cross)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:58:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A detail of the photo showing the framed image of a ladder propped up against a cross. For the full photo, see A Hearty Party.

A Hearty Party (Verso)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:58:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

See also the full photo and cropped versions of the left-hand side and right-hand side of the photo.

Transcription of the message:

Margaret, Alma, Anna, Bert, Leidy, and Melvin, out for their health after the party Mar. 4 to 5th. They seem to think that colds are a good spring opening.

Oh! my taffy is gone. Anna

Alma says Harner's overcoat was awful warm, his mittens also.

We visited water street, altho it was Sat. morning. Anna didn't approve of Bert's proposition. But if she would of had Harner, I believe she would of have walked until daylight. The boys had watch night, & the poor fellows had to make their escape thro the back yard. We might as well have walked to our graves, but of course we didn't take cold did we Anna? If Leidy & Bert would of had overcoats too we would of had been allright.

A Hearty Party (Cropped Right)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:58:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

See also the full photo, a cropped version of the left-hand side, and the handwritten message on the back of the photo.

A Hearty Party (Cropped Left)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:58:12 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

See also the full photo, a cropped version of the right-hand side, and the handwritten message on the back of the photo.

A Hearty Party

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 04:58:14 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of guess what's going on (you know but viewers have to guess).

Photographer Charles H. Venus (1872-1959), of New Berlin, Union County, Pennsylvania, took this picture of twelve men and eight women at a get-together. The photo likely dates to the early twentieth century, and many of the participants are pretending to eat something that they're holding up to their mouths. I think I know what it is. Can you guess what they're eating?

For clues, see cropped versions of the left-hand side and the right-hand side of the photo and the handwritten message that's on the back of the photo.

A Bed and a Broomstick

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 03:58:50 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of beds and bedrooms.

This is a snapshot of a man lying in a hospital bed. Suspended over the front of the bed is a triangular-shaped "trapeze bar" that the man can use to reposition and lift himself, if he's capable of doing that with what looks like a cast on his right leg.

Judging by the nearby door, the floor lamp, and the cuckoo clock and artwork on the walls, this poor fellow is resting at home in his living room rather than in a hospital room.

The handwritten note on the other side of this snapshot is dated January 14, 1954, and says, "The broomstick that is between his legs is so he can be handled easier and turned."

Looking at Pictures, May 30, 1969

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 02:56:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of looking at pictures (photos of people looking at photos).

Written on the back: "Joracy & Sally Looking at Pictures, May 30, 1969." Printed on the back: "Kodacolor Print Made by Kodak, June 69R."

Two women are seated in figure-8 chairs at their dining room table as they look at photos. They've pushed back their dinner dishes and part of the table covering to make space for the photos. Behind them is a display cabinet filled with dolls, including two dressed in Amish garb in the upper right-hand section.

Woman Ironing

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Aug 2025 03:49:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of people seemingly unhappy being photographed.

I found this photo yesterday at an antiques barn in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. As I was paying for it, the person at the counter commented on the woman in the photo, saying that "it doesn't look like she wants her picture taken." I knew that I had my photo for this week's theme!

Women with Typewriter

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 03:38:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

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

Six women pose for a photo as they sit awkwardly on office shelves. An L. C. Smith typewriter is visible on the desk in front of them.

This is an undated snapshot with no other information about the women or the location of their office.

A Little Girl and a Big Birthday Cake (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 03:10:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Twelve or more candles on her birthday cake! Could she be that old?

See also the full version of this photo.

A Little Girl and a Big Birthday Cake

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 03:10:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of birthday cakes – or any other kind of cake.

A young girl pauses for a photo before blowing out the candles on the large birthday cake on the TV tray table in front of her. There are a dozen or more lit candles on the cake, but surely she's not twelve years old!

See a copped version of this photo for a closer look at the girl and her cake.

Dandy with His Easter Candy (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 05:38:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A table and console radio covered in all sorts of Easter candy. See also the original photo.

Dandy with His Easter Candy

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 20 Apr 2025 05:38:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of lollypop, lollypop -- featuring a lollypop, candy cane, or other confection.

This is a 1959 snapshot of a dandy young fellow who is dressed in a suit and holding an Easter bunny toy. The table next to him is covered with Easter baskets and a variety of candy confections. There's even more candy on top of the console radio that's on the other side of the table. See also a close-up of the candy.

Roommates

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 03:58:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of wallpaper.

"Room mate" is handwritten along the right-hand side of this photo of two young men. They're pretending to study as they sit at their desks, which are covered with twenty or more books. One is writing with a pencil, and the other is reading a book. Someone has added dots to the eyes of the student on the left.

Behind the two roommates, we can see wallpaper, a calendar (the year isn't visible, but the month is December), a mirror (with a reflection of another calendar on a different wall), photos displayed on a shelf and on the wall, an alarm clock among the photos on the shelf, curtains, and an overhead light.

This is an unmailed real photo postcard with a type of Azo stamp box (four corner triangles with two pointing up and two pointing down) on the other side that suggests a date that may be as early as 1917 to 1930. "Mother" is written on the verso, but otherwise there's no message, address, postmark, or other clues to the location or date. Comparing the December dates with the days of the week on the wall calendar (December 3, for instance, falls on a Sunday) suggests that the year could be 1916 or 1922.

Dreaming of a Gold Christmas

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 23 Dec 2024 02:53:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of holiday happenings -- any kind of end-of-year holiday gathering, celebration, or decoration.

Gold is the color of the day in this holiday scene that includes a gold Christmas tree, a gold sculpture on the wall, and gold wrapping paper and bows on the some of the presents. Even the carpet has a yellowish-almost-golden hue.

There's no date on the photo. What do you think -- 1960s?

Seventies Sleeper Sofa

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 03:11:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of grabbing some z’s (sleeping somewhere other than a bed or cot).

A 1970s sleeper on a sofa. The same woman appears in another photo wearing a dress with bell sleeves instead of the patchwork pants (is that what they're called?) we see here. The same wallpaper pattern is visible in both photos.

Boy with Toy Guitar and TV

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 03:52:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

I chose televisions for the Vintage Photos Theme Park theme of pick your own theme about things—objects, artifacts, or items.

A young boy, who's wearing a robe over pajamas, is playing a toy guitar as he sits on an ottoman. There's a television set on the table behind him, and the walls are covered with the type of knotty pine paneling that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s.

The boy's pajamas and all the Christmas decorations -- a poinsettia on the fireplace, ornaments in a glass bowl on top of the TV, and some more ornaments on the table that's partially visible on the right -- make me wonder if the boy has just received the guitar as a present on Christmas morning.