Album Birds, Strange and Otherwise from Alan Mays

Joe's Prize Rooster (Full Version)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 04:36:02 +0000

A real photo postcard featuring "Joe's Prize Rooster." See also a cropped version of the prize.

Joe's Prize Rooster

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 04:36:04 +0000

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of birds of a feather (whether proverbially sticking together or not).

Handwritten note on the other side: "Joe's Prize Rooster."

This is a real photo postcard with a divided back and a type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side that suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1907 to 1918. There's no address, postmark, or other information on the verso that would provide any additional clues to the date or location of the photo.

See also the full version of the photo.

Boy with a Gun Next to the Chicken Run

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 04:45:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of an accident waiting to happen.

In this photo, four members of a family are posing in front of a fenced-in area for the chickens. It's a little disconcerting to see that the gun that the boy is holding over his shoulder is pointed directly at the man -- his father? -- standing behind him. The faded quality of the upper portion of the photo makes it difficult to see the faces of the man and two women, giving them an almost ghostly appearance.

This is an image from a real photo postcard with no address, message, or stamp on the other side. The Azo stamp box (with two corner triangles pointing up and two pointing down) printed on the verso indicates that the photo may date to as early as 1910 to 1930.

A Happy New Year in the Sky and on the Sea

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 03:33:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A nineteenth-century New Year calling card with a fanciful illustration.

In the sky, a man is holding the reins connected to a pair of large birds who are pulling the airship that he and a female passenger are riding in. The initials "A.H.N.Y." on the airship's balloon stand for "A Happy New Year."

Down below, a sailor on a ship is waving his hat as he hangs on to a mast next to a large banner that also displays a greeting for "A Happy New Year."

Posing with Pigeons for a Plebeian Picture on the Piazza

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 29 Nov 2021 04:58:57 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of birds (wild or domesticated).

Four women pose among the pigeons in the Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) in Venice, Italy, probably sometime in the 1920s.

There's no stamp, postmark, or address on the other side of this real photo postcard, but one of the women wrote this message:

"Yes, Lucy actually said we ought have her picture taken in this plebeian manner. The pigeons annoyed and scared us but otherwise we are perfectly happy."

Printed on the other side: "Cartolina Postale" (Italian for "postcard") with a "Satrap" stamp box.

Gliding Swans Ride, Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, Pa., ca. 1966

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 03 May 2021 03:40:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of amusement parks.

This is a 1960s snapshot of the Gliding Swans ride at the Dutch Wonderland amusement park, which opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1963. Austen Dennison in his book, Dutch Wonderland (Arcadia Publishing, 2015), p. 21, provides some details about the swan-shaped vehicle:

"A unique tram-like ride with a swan design was introduced in 1965. Beneath the swan overlay, the ride's framework consisted of a farm tractor with two trailers that carried passengers throughout the park. The Gliding Swans, as they were referred to in a 1966 pamphlet, operated for only three seasons before being removed due to increased foot traffic."

For another photo from the park, see Amish Folks at Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, Pa.

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.

Easter Chick Recital

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 12 Apr 2020 16:04:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"A Happy Easter." These strange but distinguished chick musicians appear on a postcard that was postmarked in Baltimore, Md., on April 5, 1912.

Thanksgiving Greetings from the Pole

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 03:57:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Young polar explorers wear warm clothes to celebrate Thanksgiving at "the Pole" in this postcard illustration from 1910. But which pole--North or South?

Frederick Cook claimed that he reached the North Pole in 1908, and Robert Peary said that he arrived there in 1909. Around the same time, Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott were attempting to be the first to reach the South Pole.

In the 1900s and 1910s, polar expeditions received widespread attention in newspapers and magazines in the same way that the later news media covered the race to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. The publisher's generic caption about "the Pole" gave the postcard a longer shelf life since it applied equally to whichever direction--North or South--a polar expedition was going.

Printed on the other side of the postcard: "Thanksgiving Series No. 10"

Just Part of the Flock, 1921

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 05:02:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Handwritten note on the back of this snapshot: "This is me & my flock of 1921 turkey[s]. Just part of the flock."

For more turkey photos, see Day of the Turkeys, Turkeys at the Fry Brothers Turkey Ranch, Trout Run, Pa., and Thanksgiving Season's Greetings.

Thanksgiving Day Escapees

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 05:12:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Thanksgiving Greetings."

In this illustration from an early twentieth-century postcard, two turkeys are making their escape in an automobile to avoid being the main attraction at a Thanksgiving Day meal.

The postcard is addressed on the other side to Miss Elsie Thornton, Main Street, Fox Chase, Pa., and was postmarked in West Philadelphia, Pa., in November (day and year smudged and unreadable). Handwritten message: "With love, Dot and Lee."

Printed on the back: "A.S.B. 290. Made in Germany."

See also Thanksgiving Day Fugitives and A Wingless Steed Will Take the Winner to a Fine Thanksgiving Dinner.

Message Side of Don't Get Carried Away!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 03:58:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

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.

Don't Get Carried Away!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 23 Sep 2019 03:58:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

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.

Woman at the Cawston Ostrich Farm, South Pasadena, Calif.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 03:32:28 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

I chose ostriches in order to pick a theme about animals (or any other topic) for the second week of Wild Card Month—Pick Your Own Theme! in the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Sign: "Cawston Ostrich Farm, South Pasadena, Cal."

This is an unmailed real photo postcard with an AZO stamp box (four corner triangles with two pointing up and two pointing down) on the other side, which suggests a date as early as 1917 to 1930. The Cawston Ostrich Farm in South Pasadena, California, was in operation from 1886 to 1935, and many visitors posed for souvenir photos like this. For another example, see Rajah Shriner at the Cawston Ostrich Farm, South Pasadena, Calif.

Where We Learn to Be Wise at Pine Island, Minnesota, ca. 1910

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 20 May 2019 03:59:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park with the assignment to find a poem to match your photo.

"Where we learn to be wise at Pine Island. Our public schools."

This real photo postcard features a pre-digital photomontage of oversized owls perched on the roof of the public high school in Pine Island, Minnesota, circa 1910.

"A Wise Old Owl," a nursery rhyme dating to 1875 or earlier, seems an appropriate match to this whimsical photo:

A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?

Jockey Chicks at the Easter Rabbit Race

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:48:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Easter joy attend you."

For a similar postcard, see A Very Happy Easter to You.

Easter Serenade for the Picnic Chicks

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:48:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Easter Greetings."

Compare this postcard with Best Easter Wishes from Mr. and Mrs. Bunny-Chick and Family.

A Joyous Easter—His Morning Drive

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 08:48:40 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"With all good wishes for a joyous Easter. His morning drive."

A real photo postcard of a boy with his toy wagon and rooster.

A Very Happy Easter to You

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 04:25:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An early twentieth-century Easter postcard.

Day of the Turkeys

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 07:44:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Two men, one of whom is holding a child, pose with turkeys.