Contributions of the group old photos

Central Pennsylvania Gospel Band

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:40:02 +0000

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of bands (music groups).

An unused real photo postcard of the fifty-seven members of the Central Pennsylvania Gospel Band, circa 1951.

See also an announcment of an appearance by The Central Pennsylvania Gospel Band, Roxbury, Pa., June 23, 1957.

Steamboat on the Street, Cleveland, Ohio, 1913

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 03:57:46 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

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

This is a real photo exaggeration postcard showing a steamboat with smoke billowing from its smokestack as it navigates through the surging floodwaters on a city street. The water has stranded some pedestrians at the curb, where they were evidently waiting to cross the street.

Although the location isn't identified, one clue is the business name stamped in the lower right-hand corner: "The Dodd Rogers Co., Kodaks and Cameras."

According to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, the Dodd-Rogers Co. operated in Cleveland under that name between 1906 and 1914.Just before the business changed its name, the Great Flood of 1913 inundated Cleveland and affected the rest of Ohio as well as other states (see The 1913 Flood: "Ohio’s Greatest Weather Event", an article by Sarah White on the Cleveland Historical site).

Other exaggeration postcards appeared after the flood. One was captioned The Big Flood in Cleveland, and a second one also used the the same title.

Although I haven't matched this photo with a specific street and it doesn't bear a date, I believe that it was created in 1913 as a humorous reaction to the flood in Cleveland.

This is an divided-back real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a time frame—1907 to 1918—that covers the year of the flood. The card is unused with no message, address, or postmark on the other side.

Sending You My Picture So You Will Fall in Love

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Jul 2026 03:24:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the topic of nautical.

The handwritten message on the other side of this real photo postcard says, "I['m] senting [sending] you my pitcher [picture] so you will fall in love with me. Your friend, A.M., USS Mercury."

There's no stamp or postmark on the verso, but the card is addressed to Miss Ida Nelson, Lakeport, N.H.

Printed on the other side: "This Photo can be Enlarged or Duplicates made at the Modern Studio, 46 Sands St., Brooklyn, N.Y."

This is a divided-back photo postcard with a type of Azo stamp box (four corner triangles with two pointing up and two pointing down) that suggests a date as early as 1917 to 1930.

Skiff Decorated for a Fourth of July Regatta, ca. 1914

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:56:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the topic of Fourth of July (flags, fireworks, patriotic, freedom, red-white-blue, barbeques, etc.).

"This is my skiff decorated for the regatta 4th July celebrations" is the description written on the other side of this photo.

This is divided-back real photo postcard with no address, date, stamp box, or postmark on the verso. The message written on the back of the card, however, includes some questions about events leading up to World War I, so it's likely that the photo dates to 1914, the year the war began (see Ultimatum of July 23, 1914, for background information).

See also the full version of this photo postcard.

This is the message written across the back of the card (I made it easier to read by creating paragraphs, but the text is the same):

This is my skiff decorated for the regatta 4th July celebrations.
L. Brown

Forgive me for not writing. It is just laziness on my part. My correspondence has got in an awful shape. I am sending this card to show I have not forgotten. I will get a letter written someday.

Here are some funny questions that sometimes enter my head. My socialist [Pro-Ger?].

--What was the Kaiser scared of even more than fighting all Europe?
--What big convention was to be held in Vienna one week after war started?
--Did not Servia [Serbia] accede to all points except one or two, and wished to arbitrate?
--Why was the war rushed?

Car Festooned with Flags, Palace Garage, Fremont, Ohio, ca. 1920

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 15:36:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly topic of real photo postcards.

This is a photo of two men seated in an early automobile decorated with flags for a Fourth of July parade or some other patriotic celebration.

The distinctive "Palace Garage" sign (behind the telephone pole on the left), the "Garage" sign (above the flag at the back of the car), and the design of the building all match a 1920 photo of the Palace Garage in Fremont, Ohio, that appeared as part of a "History Spotlight" feature in the Fremont News-Messenger (you may encounter a paywall if you try the link).

This is a divided-back real photo postcard with a Cyko stamp box ("Cyko - Place Postage Stamp Here") printed on the back (there's no name, address, message, or postmark). This stamp box design indicates a date between 1907 and the 1920s, which corresponds to the date of the photo published in the newspaper.

A Cake and a Couple of Mugs, 1964

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 03:59:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of in a doorway.

Handwritten description on the other side of the photo: "A cake and a couple of mugs."

A man and a woman stand in (the vicinity of) a doorway as they silently contemplate the cake on the table in front of them. Perhaps it's their wedding anniversary, but they don't seem too excited about it.

Gazing at the Gorge, Royal Gorge, Canon City, Colorado

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 02:15:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of top of the rock.

Printed on the back of this souvenir real photo postcard: "Glenn L. Gebhardt, Royal Gorge Pavilion, Canon City, Colo."

This vantage point is labeled the "Wonder View" on other early photos. It overlooks the Royal Gorge, a deep canyon of the Arkansas River located near Cañon City, Colorado.

Tourists Riding an Elephant

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 02:32:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of yep, that's an elephant.

Two tourists sit awkwardly atop an elephant in this souvenir photo. The back is blank, but similar photos posted online date to 1950s India.

Elephants that carry tourists in this way can suffer spinal damage, and at least one country, Indonesia, has banned all elephant riding.

Television in the Corner

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

Alan Mays has posted:

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.

.

Three Pals Posing with a Perplexing Pile

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 May 2026 03:59:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of stuff in the yard.

Three gussied-up guys are standing in a grassy area that looks like it might be someone's yard. In front of them is a perplexing pile of who knows what. Is it a naturally occurring rock formation? Could it be a modernistic sculpture? Or maybe it's the byproduct of some kind of industrial process.

This is an undated photo with "Quality Jensen Print" stamped on the other side.

See also a cropped version of this snapshot.

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.

Man with Long Beard, Valley Falls, Kansas

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 May 2026 03:44:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of hippies (certified or imitation).

Photographer: "[Arthur] Mason's Art Studio, Valley Falls, Kansas."

A nineteenth-century cabinet card photo of an unidentified man with a long beard. If he were alive today, perhaps his beard would have qualified him as a hippie or possibly a hipster.

For other hip longbeards, see Man with Beard, Topeka, Kansas, Rasputin and the Amorphous Enigma, and Benjamin Purnell, Founder of the House of David, Benton Harbor, Michigan.

Girl with a Spinning Wheel and Dogs with a Cart

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 May 2026 03:40:21 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a dog and a tree.

In this photo, a little girl sits in front of a spinning wheel next to two large dogs who are hitched to a cart. A tree is visible behind the girl, and there's also a fence and smaller trees or bushes in the background.

This is a divided-back real photo postcard with "Made in Canada" printed on the other side. There's no message, address, or stamp on the verso, but the type of Velox stamp box design on the back may indicate that this card dates to between 1923 and 1939.

In a different photo, the same girl, spinning wheel, dogs, and cart appear, but there's also a boy sitting in the cart and the dogs are adorned with hats, glasses, and pipes (see Spinning a Tale of Dogs in Glasses).

I have to do some more checking, but I believe that these photos may have originated in Quebec, Canada, where spinning wheels were manufactured and dog carts were used in rural areas.

Those Daring Young Men with Their Jaunty Bicycles

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 May 2026 03:27:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly theme of CDVs and cabinet cards.

A nineteenth-century cabinet card photo of two young fellows posing with their bicycles in a studio located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. See also a cropped version for a better view of the guys and their bikes.

Names written on the back of the photo: "Adam J. Althouse & Calvin P. Muhey."

Stamped in ink on the verso: "W. S. Anspach, Photographer, Cor. 3rd & Lehman Sts., Lebanon."

A Joyous Picnic Outing, August 1913

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 03:55:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

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

Caption at the bottom of the photo: "A Joyous Outing." Date written vertically on the tree in the background: "Aug. 1913."

A photo of twenty-six men and women who have gathered around a picnic blanket covered with food and place settings. See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of the food.

This is a divided-back real photo postcard with no message, address, or postmark on the other side. The Cyko stamp box ("Cyko - Place Postage Stamp Here") printed on the verso indicates a date between 1907 and the 1920s, which matches the August 1913 date written on the front.

Ruth and Sara on Board the L-21 Submarine, August 25, 1917

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 19 Apr 2026 17:44:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fancy studio backdrops.

A novelty photo with two young women in sailor costumes. The elaborate painted backdrop depicts an ocean of heavy waves with two ships billowing smoke on the horizon. A biplane is barely visible in the sky above them. The painted foreground features a submarine labeled "L 21 U.S." The submarine's hatch is open, its periscope is up, and it's flying an American flag.

Submarine hull: "L 21 U.S."

Handwritten caption: "R. Dodd. Sara Miller. 8-25-1917." Writing on the back also identifies the young women as "Ruth Dodd" on the left and "Sara Miller" on the right with the date given a second time as "8/25/1917."

For a similar real photo postcard, see Daddy on the Deck of the F-6 Submarine.

Time

nobody@ipernity.com (Rachel J Bowler) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:20:54 +0000

Rachel J Bowler has posted:

The tide slips backwards.
The ripples circle inwards.
Memory is shifting.
Photos on the wall.
Music is playing
The noise of a party.
Voices I once knew.

The river flows away.
The rain falls upwards.
The room once warm is now cold.
Childhood toys,
Are scattered on the floor.
The sun rises and glistens.
Through the window
Of the living room.
Where my father sits.

The tears flow upwards.
The sink fills downwards.
The cat once found is lost.
There is laughter.
I listen from my room upstairs.

August becomes July.
The clock chimes five then four.
The shed becomes a greenhouse,
We all sit on the bench.
There is more laughter
But I’m not there.

Old grows young.
The puddle sinks upwards.
The beach once full
Is now empty.
I remember this beach.
I should never have come back.

The robins disappear.
The sun rises from the west.
I am watching through
The bars of my cot.
I hold on to them
And I won’t let go
I won’t let go.

The Smart Set?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 15:42:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of strange or unusual.

Despite the caption on the photo, this group doesn't look like a sophisticated and fashionable "Smart Set."

Who are these people? Are two of them guys dressed as women (at left and in the middle)? Why is the one woman (second from left) wearing a white dress with a black hat, black shoes, and what looks like black bloomers sticking out below the dress? What kind of costume, which includes a skirt, vest, and sash, is the other woman (second from right) wearing? And, strangest of all, what or who is the person on the right — with a waist-level sign that says, "Ariel," and a puzzling hat that covers the whole head except for the nose and some dark glasses — supposed to be?

This is an unused divided-back real photo postcard with trilingual text — "Post Card - Carte Postale - Postkarte" — printed on the other side that suggests a European origin. The back is otherwise blank, and there’s no message, address, or postmark to provide additional clues about when the photo was taken or where it came from.

See also the full version of this photo.

Don't Keep the Bus Driver Waiting

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 02:51:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of on the bus or off the bus.

A driver is smoking a cigarette and standing at the door of his bus as if he's waiting for additional passengers to board. A blurry logo on the door may include the name of a bus company or an organization, but it's difficult to decipher any words or identify the design.

For a closer look at the bus driver and the logo, see the cropped version of this snapshot.

Woman with Crutches, 1942

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:53:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of casts or crutches.

A woman with a cast or bandage on her left foot uses crutches to stand and pose for a photo with a second woman. They're on a sidewalk along a street, and a trash can and an automobile are on their right.

Written on the other side of the photo is the date of "February 1942," which was only two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into World War II.

See also the full version of this photo.