Album Shoes from Alan Mays

Benny the Tramp — Yours for Laughter, ca. 1937

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 17 Nov 2025 04:48:02 +0000

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

Inscription: "Yours for Laughter, Benny the Tramp."

I uncovered three mentions of Benny the Tramp in newspapers in 1937. The Mount Joy Bulletin (Mount Joy, Pa.), Sept. 22, 1937, p. 7, for instance, ran an advertisement for a Rheems Fire Company entertainment with local music groups, including "Happy Johnny & Vonnie and their group, featuring Benny the Tramp in the Funniest Man." I'm not sure what the "Funniest Man" was or what kind of performance Benny the Tramp provided. His attire, with a unique hat, round glasses, suspenders, striped stocks, and clown shoes, suggests a comedy act.

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Photo by Shadle's Studio, York, Pa."

The Agfa Ansco stamp box (with "Place Stamp Here" in the middle and two stars at the bottom of the box) on the other side of this card indicates a date in the 1930s or 1940s.

Babes in the Wood

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 23:49:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

(I'm still catching up on the Vintage Photos Theme Park postings I missed while Ipernity was offline.)

A photo of shoes for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

This is an early twentieth-century comic photo postcard, issued as part of Bamforth's "Life Model Series." The "Babes in the Wood" caption is an ironic reference to the expression meaning a "person who is innocent, naive, inexperienced, or helpless, especially with respect to an unfamiliar situation or environment."

Here, however, we have two not-so-innocent "babes" in wooden stocks who are being punished for some unknown crime. Judging by the debris on the ground around the stocks, it appears that passersby have been throwing garbage at the miscreants.

Haines Shoe House Snapshot (Detail)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 03:49:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Haines the Shoe Wizard" is visible on the side of this car, which is parked in front of the Shoe House in York County, Pa. For more information, see the full photo.

Haines Shoe House Snapshot (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 03:49:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A 1950s snapshot of the Shoe House in York County, Pa. See also a close-up of the car parked in front of the building.

For more information, see the full photo.

Haines Shoe House Snapshot

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Jul 2019 03:49:12 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

I chose shoes in order to pick a theme about things—objects, artifacts, or items (or any other topic) for the third week of Wild Card Month—Pick Your Own Theme! in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. I thought about posting an actual photo of shoes but decided that a shoe-shaped house might be more interesting.

Handwritten caption on this snapshot, which probably dates to the 1950s: "Haines Shoe House, Hellam."

This is a photo of the Haines Shoe House in Hellam Township, York County, Pennsylvania. Businessman Mahlon Haines, who called himself the "Shoe Wizard," built it in 1948-49 to promote his shoe stores. The Shoe House is still standing and is open for tours.

See also a cropped version of the photo and a close-up of the car parked in front of the building.

If He Gets No Puncture—Kreider Shoe Manufacturing Company, Elizabethtown, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 04:23:05 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A humorous "advance card" for the A. S. Kreider Shoe Manufacturing Company in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Salesmen from the company sent postcards like this in advance of their trips to let store owners know when they planned to visit.

The salesman depicted here is wearing his motoring clothes—goggles, cap, and coat—as he steers his shoe-shaped automobile through the dusty streets. His "A. S. K. Shoe Co." case of sample shoes is safely stowed on the running board.

The Kreider Shoe Manufacturing Company is no longer in business. Its former factory buildings in Middletown (below) and Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, now contain apartments.

For other salesmen postcards, see my album of Advance Cards.

If He Gets No Puncture

Our Mr. ________ will be at your store on or about ________.

The Kreider Shoe Mfg, Co., Elizabethtown, Pa.

Boys', youths', and little gents' McKay sewed and Goodyear welts.

A. S. K. Shoe Co.

Dalmatian Pups in Boots on Engine No. 13

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 21:23:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Your favorite dog photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Seated on fire engine no. 13, these proud Dalmatian parents watch over their seven pups, who are trying to squirm their way out of firefighter's footwear.

I haven't been able to determine the origin of this snapshot. I spent quite some time squinting at the hood of the engine in an attempt to figure out the name of the fire company. It's possible that the letters "aniley" are in part of the name above "[fi]re co." but I wouldn't bet any money on it.

In any case, this is currently my favorite dog photo.

Amazing Feats on Board the Steamer Dubuque (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 22:11:20 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For more information, see the uncropped version of this photo:

Amazing Feats on Board the Steamer Dubuque

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 14 Jan 2016 22:11:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park posting for the topic of hands/feet (a photo in which hands or feet are prominent)--if you have both, please feel free to post 2 photos.

This jolly bunch documented their trip on board the steamer Dubuque by writing "STR DUBUQUE" on the bottom of their shoes and then propping their feet up for the photo (mouse over the image for a better view of the shoes). If you look closely enough, you may be able to see a faint erased "S" on the "T" shoe. Notice also the steamboat's smokestack, which is located behind the boy on the right. Part of the boat's decorative trim is visible to the right of the smokestack, too.

This Dubuque was the fourth and last steamboat with that name, according to the Encyclopedia Dubuque. The description for a postcard in the collection of the Davenport Public Library (see Steamer Dubuque on Mississippi River) provides some additional details about this Dubuque, which was "a stern wheel packet steamboat originally named Pittsburgh and built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1879. It was rebuilt at Dubuque, Iowa, in 1896 for the Diamond Jo Line and renamed Dubuque. The boat sank in 1901 but was raised and Streckfus Steamers [another steamboat company] took over. In 1919-1920 it was converted to an excursion boat and renamed Capitol."

Given that chronology, it seems likely that this photo was taken sometime in the 1900s or 1910s. Whatever the date, I'd wager that this photo was a shoe-in for the funniest one taken of this bunch during their excursion on the steamer Dubuque.

Lucy Dunham

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 18:06:36 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Pipe-Smoking Man in Front of the Fireplace

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 20:43:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Pipe-Smoking Man (aka Yellow Socks Guy) relaxes in front of a warm and cozy fireplace. Tasteful art--The Half Way House, Thatcham (1848), a copy of a painting by William Shayer Sr. (1787-1879)--hangs above the mantle, an issue of Seventeen is peeking out of the magazine rack, and the same floral-print curtains that were visible in The Silence in the Room Was Deafening show up here, too. See also Pipe-Smoking Television Man.

(Thanks to goenetix for identifying the painting!)

For related slides, select the thumbnail images below.

Pipe-Smoking Television Man

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:28:34 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An undated red-border Kodachrome slide (probably late 1950s).

This pipe-smoking fellow reminds me of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs of Church of the SubGenius fame.

In another slide (see The Silence in the Room Was Deafening, below), this same man is holding his pipe as he sits in a chair. A third slide (see Birds at Home, below) shows the same room from a different angle (compare the lamp, table, and floral-print chair).

These Legs Are Mine

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 15:10:01 +0000

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The upper portion of this photo has been torn off, and a handwritten note on the back of the photo explains why: "The top of this picture was no good, but these legs are mine."

Cheryl Lee and the Carter Brothers, 1968

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 15:26:52 +0000

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"Cheryl Lee and the Carter Brothers. Stage, radio, television, recordings." Manufacturer name on the pedal steel guitar: "Sho-Bud, Nashville, Tennessee."

A glossy promotional photo, with the year "1968" handwritten on the back along with autographs by Cheryl Lee and Roy Dudley. Dudley was the drummer, while Gary, left, and Jimmy, right, were the namesake brothers. Cheryl, despite her separate billing as "Cheryl Lee," was Gary and Jimmy's sister.

These cool kids performed at fairs and carnivals in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere in the 1960s and 1970s. They recorded 45s with songs such as "Is That My Baby," "This Man Has Taken All He's Gonna Take," "Muddy Mississippi," and "Left Over Feelings."

Elwood Nettleton at His Dancing Class Reception, 1911

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 21:33:16 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "Elwood Nettleton, age 11, as he looked at his dancing class reception, April 1911."

Interestingly, a brief biography of Edward L. Nettleton in A Modern History of New Haven and Eastern New Haven County, Volume 2, by Everett Gleason Hill (New York: Clarke Publishing, 1918), pp. 321-22, mentions a son named Elwood: "Elwood T. Nettleton, the third son, was born in West Haven in 1899 and is now attending the Sanford School at Redding Ridge, Connecticut." Since Elwood T. Nettleton would have turned 12 years old sometime in 1911, it's possible that this is a photo of the same Elwood Nettleton taken prior to his birthday that year.

Twin Boys with Bows, Reading, Pa., 1890s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 16:45:49 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Handwritten note on the back of this cabinet photo: "Sister Annie's. Martin - Samuel Heffner (twins)."

Photo studio: "J. D. Strunk, 730 Penn St., Reading, Pa."

Leg Men

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:46:55 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Part of a real photo postcard that was cut out at this angle by the original owner.

Have a Merry Ice Skating Christmas

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 16 Dec 2013 20:59:11 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Merry Christmas. Miles, Geal, and Rosalie Hudson."

Ladies Lift Legs for Laughs!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 18:04:40 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A strike a pose photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Clowning around in a cornfield!

Hercules Baseball Player, Reading, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 23 Jul 2014 18:38:52 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Photo studio: John S. Fritz, 852 Penn Street, Reading, Pa.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to uncover any information regarding a "Hercules" baseball team in or around Reading, Pennsylvania, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.