Photos, videos and docs of Alan Mays, with the keywords: "1900s"

Goofy Guys Backwards and Frontwards (Fronts)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 03:53:04 +0000

Three funny fellows pose facing the camera in this photograph. See also another photo with the same fellows with their backs to the camera. For more information, see the original real photo postcard, which incudes both pictures.

Goofy Guys Backwards and Frontwards (Backs)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 03:53:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Three funny fellows pose with their backs to the camera in this photograph. See also another photo with the same fellows facing the camera. For more information, see the original real photo postcard, which incudes both pictures.

Goofy Guys Backwards and Frontwards

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 03:53:08 +0000

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A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of Rückenfigur or "back to camera" - any photo in which one or more of the subjects have their backs fully or partially facing the camera.

On this real photo postcard, which combines two separate photographs, three funny fellows pose twice, first with their backs to the camera and then a second time as they face the camera. The three are sitting on a board or plank that extends between two chairs. In the first photo, all of them have bowler hats on their heads, and the guy in the middle has what looks like a picture frame hanging over his shoulder and down over his back. A stool and a wooden box with a handle are visible on the floor in front of them. The wall behind the men is partially covered by a painted backdrop, so presumably they're having their picture taken in a photo studio, though no studio name appears on the front or back of the card.

In the second photo, the guys seem even goofier as they face forward with funny expressions. The man on the left has a mischievous look on his face, and he's holding a small kettle with the handle of a spoon or some other utensil sticking out of the top. The guy in the middle has opened his mouth as if he's laughing or yelling. The bowler on his head is jauntily tilted to the side, and his right hand is blurred -- was he pumping his fist or gesturing toward the basket that he's holding in his lap? And what's in the basket? The third man is grinning, probably because instead of a hat he's wearing something on his head that looks like a lampshade with ruffles. He has his arms wrapped around himself as if he's cold, and he's holding a pitcher under one arm.

The undivided back (for an address only) on the other side of this real photo postcard indicates that it dates before 1907 (when both an address and a message were allowed on the verso), and the Cyko stamp box design (in use as early as 1904) printed on the back also fits this time frame.

Grand Spelling Bee, Fair View School, Mechanicsville, Pa., March 24, 1906

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 03:09:02 +0000

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Katharine Hostetter Kauffman, later known as Katharine “Katie” Kauffman Herr (1886-1986), was the teacher who organized the spelling bee advertised on this handbill.

For a similar item from a later event, see Spelling Bee, Terre Hill, Pa., April 3, 1925.

Come One! Come All! To a Grand "Spelling Bee"

To Be Held at the
Fair View School
Near Mechanicsville
along Manheim Trolley Road

Saturday Eve., March 24, '06

Classes are as follows:
Class I. Open to Pupils of 11 years and under.
Class II. Open to all Public School Children.
Class III. Arithmetical Contest, open to all.
Class IV. General Information, open to all.

16 Valuable Prizes to be Distributed
The Program will consist of Music, Phonograph and School Recitations and Dialogues

General Admission - 10 Cts.
Proceeds to be used for the School Library.

Doors Open at 7 o'clock. Exercises begin at 7:30 o'clock.

Katharine H. Kauffman, Teacher.

Should the weather prove too unfavorable the Bee will be held the first fair evening following Monday.

L. B. Herr Print, 51-53 N. Queen St., Lancaster, Pa.

Fallen from the Crust, Jacksonville, Florida, March 31, 1906 (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 03:24:02 +0000

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For the message accompanying this picture, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

Fallen from the Crust, Jacksonville, Florida, March 31, 1906

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 03:24:04 +0000

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A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of unique or outrageous hats.

This is a real photo postcard sent from Jacksonville, Florida, to Newton, New Hampshire, on March 31, 1906.

Printed on the other side: "Post Card, Souvenir, Jacksonville. J. A. Hollingsworth, Tourist Photographer, Hogan St., Opp. Park Hotel, Jacksonville, Fla."

Message written on the front: "Jacksonville, Fla., March 31. Whatever you do, don't come to Florida. Look at this picture and see how we have 'fallen from the crust.' Am so weak that I can hardly manage my auto. Hope to be better by tomorrow. Will."

If Will could afford an automobile like the one he's pretending to drive, then he must not have "fallen from the [upper] crust," as he jokingly suggests.

See a cropped version for a better view of Will and his wife, their hats, and the automobile.

Peculiar Peek-a-Boo, July 3, 1908

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 20:04:41 +0000

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What appears to be an odd game of hide-and-seek in a spooky forest is captioned "Peek-a-Boo, July 3, 1908," on the front of this real photo postcard. The image's irregular edges add to the strangeness of the scene.

The imprint on the back—"W. W. Deatrick, Kutztown, Pa."—identifies this as a photo by William Wilberforce Deatrick (1853-1925), who was a longtime faculty member at what is now Kutztown University.

Additional examples of Deatrick's photos are available for viewing in the Kutztown University Postcard Collection. See also "W. W. Deatrick Left His Mark at Kutztown," an article by George M. Meiser that appeared in the Reading Eagle, April 6, 1983.

Something New — Vaudeville Show at Woodford Farm, Ogdensburg, New York, July 9, 1903

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 20:53:02 +0000

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This is a handbill advertising a vaudeville show that took place at Woodford Farm, a venue in Ogdensburg, New York, from Thursday, July 9, through Saturday, July 11, 1903.

The Ogdensburg Journal newspaper, in its issue for Friday, July 10, 1903, p. 4, didn't mention the Williard's Fun Makers or Burt Flower, but it had this to say about Prof. Hamnet's act (it spelled his name with an extra "t");

"Good Show at Woodford. Prof. Hamnett's Trained Animals and Birds Pleased Audience. Prof. Hamnett's trained animal show opened an engagement at Woodford Farm last night, giving a first-rate performance that pleased the 300 or more persons who assembled in the canvas pavilion. Prof. Hamnett's exhibitions are given by finely trained dogs, goats, geese and birds and the show is at all times bright and entertaining. It will be repeated tonight and Saturday night with a special matinee tomorrow afternoon for ladies and children."

Almost as interesting as Prof. Hamnet (his full name was Florus Hamnet Frost) are the various typefaces used for this handbill. The typeface for "Woodford Farm" and "Don't Miss It" with its uniquely shaped "O" is particularly distinctive.

Something New.

Vaudeville Show
at Woodford Farm

Commencing, Thursday Ev'g,
July 9,
Three Nights,
Saturday Matinee.

Prof. Hamnet's Educated Dogs, Goats, Geese & Birds

The Williard's Fun Makers

Burt Flower in New Songs & Dances

Don't Miss It.

Doors Open 7 P.M., Performance at 8:15.

Admission, 10c.

Vacationing at Woodland Beach, Staten Island, New York, August 1908 (Full Version)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 02:56:02 +0000

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A real photo postcard from 1908. For more information, see the cropped version of the card.

Vacationing at Woodland Beach, Staten Island, New York, August 1908

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 Jul 2022 02:56:04 +0000

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A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of on vacation / holiday.

Sign: "The Club." Life preserver: "U.S. Vol. Life Saving Corps."

This is a hand-tinted real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Miss G. Manning, 331 W. 29 St., N.Y. City. It was postmarked at Midland Beach, Staten Island, N.Y., and New Dorp, N.Y., on August 25, 1908.

Handwritten message (with original spelling): "Dear Grace, I'm having a splendid vacation down here. We have a bungaloe down here for the month of August & part of Sept. It's great sport. I would have written sooner but never think of writing down here. I didn't attent that millinery class in the YWCA because you didn't. Love, F. Cooper."

Added to the message: "Drop me a card. My address -- name. c/o W. H. Putnam, New Dorp, St. Island, N.Y. Woodland Beach."

See also the full version of this card.

What We Did Last Sunday

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 09 May 2022 01:51:04 +0000

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A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of crossed arms.

A real photo postcard postmarked in Groton, South Dakota, on August 23, 1909, and addressed to "Mrs. Lottie Larson, [Westley?], [Wis.?]."

Handwritten message: "This Is what we did last Sunday. What do you think of it? Frank."

For another photo with crossed arms, see Girls and Women on a Rustic Bridge.

Wishing You All a Happy New Year, 1908

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 01 Jan 2022 17:20:02 +0000

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Twenty-four adults and one child posed for this real photo postcard, which was used as a New Year greeting.

Handwritten message (at right): "Wishing you all a Happy New Year. Lovingly, Emma."

Addressed on the other side to Mrs. John Kreisel, 17 Cherokee St., S. Bethlehem, Pa., and postmarked in Allentown, Pa., on Jan. 3, 1908.

Compare this photo with New Year Gathering, Chicago, Illinois, 1912.

Beat Us If You Can

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 Jan 2021 04:39:02 +0000

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Caption: "Beat us if you can."

Printed on the back of this unused real photo postcard: "Slater's Interurban Post Card Studio, 430 Superior St., Toledo, Ohio."

Judging by the design of the stamp box on the other side (it has the initials "PMC" and diamond shapes in each of its four corners), it's possible that the date of the photo may be as early as 1907 (see Playle's How to Identify and Date Real Photo Vintage Postcards).

For similar photos, see Two Jolly Good Fellows, Aunt Lora and Uncle Will Are Coming Home, March 10, 1908, and Men in Bowler Hats.

Keep Cool

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 May 2020 04:18:02 +0000

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"Keep Cool." A postcard published by D. Hillson in 1907.

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.

Lithia Spring Park, Temple, New Hampshire

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 22:01:02 +0000

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Caption on the front of this real photo postcard: "Lithia Spring Park, Temple, [New Hampshire]."

Sign on larger, nearer building: "Pack Monadnock, Lithia Spring, Bottling House."

Sign on far building: "Pack Monadnock, Lithia Spring, Temple, N.H."

Two men and two women pose for a photo in front of the bottling house at Lithia Spring Park, which was located on Pack Monadnock Mountain near the town of Temple, New Hampshire. During the last decade of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth century, visitors to the park could partake of the lithia water that was available from the spring. The lithium salts in the water were thought to have medicinal benefits.

A book by authors Michael G. Dell'Orto, Priscilla A. Weston, and Jessie Salisbury about the New Hampshire towns of Wilton, Temple, and Lyndeborough (Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia, 2003) explains what eventually happened to the park:

"People flocked to Pack Monadnock Lithia Springs, which operated from 1891 until 1911, to enjoy picnics and slides and teeters free of charge and to take the therapeutic waters. 'Contains more Lithium than any other Lithia Spring known,' claimed proprietor Sydney Scammon. 'Best Remedy for Kidney Trouble and Indigestion.' The popular (and profitable) enterprise went out of business abruptly when Scammon was observed adding bottled lithium to the 'natural' spring water."

Armada and Her Mamma with Oklahoma Apple Blossoms, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1906

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 08 May 2015 21:20:10 +0000

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"Oklahoma City, Apr. 19, 1906. Dear Cousin, Here we are with our best wishes and some Oklahoma apple blossoms. Yours lovingly, Armada Ruth Tinkham and her mamma, Etta Brown Tinkham."

Etta Brown Tinkham also sent a second real photo postcard to her cousin on the same date (she must have sent them both in an envelope since there's no address, stamp, or postmark on either of them). See Greetings from the Future Popcorn King, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1906:

Greetings from the Future Popcorn King, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1906

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 08 May 2015 21:20:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Oklahoma City, Apr. 19, 1906. Greetings from the future 'Popcorn King,' James Isaac Brown."

"Popcorn King"? Huh?

Well, after a bit of searching, I finally located a brief newspaper article, "Is Called 'Popcorn King,'" Oklahoma State Capital (Guthrie, Okla.), July 21, 1909, p. 2, that sheds some light on the subject: "Shawnee, Okla., July 20.--Four years ago Isaac A. Brown of Pittsburg, Pa., came to Oklahoma with a view of locating and establish[ing] himself in business. He saw his opportunity in Oklahoma City and embraced it. Brown is known far and wide as the 'popcorn king' of the new state [Oklahoma became the 46th state in 1907]. He manufactures an average of thirty-five pounds of popcorn a day and a near total of six tons a year."

As far I've been able to determine, Isaac A. Brown, the Popcorn King named in the article, is the father of James Isaac Brown, the Future Popcorn King who's pictured above. Unfortunately, I haven't found any further evidence regarding the later reign of father or son as Popcorn King.

Etta Brown Tinkham, who wrote the message about the Future Popcorn King, was apparently James Isaac Brown's mother or stepmother. She wrote another message on a second real photo postcard on the same date as this one. See Armada and Her Mamma with Oklahoma Apple Blossoms, Oklahoma City, Okla., 1906 (is the Future Popcorn King holding the same kind of apple blossoms, or might he be grasping a handful of popcorn instead?).

Woman with Fancy Stove

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 04:30:02 +0000

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Sheltering in place with a fancy stove in a sunlit room during the early twentieth century.

This is an unmailed real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a date as early as 1904 to 1918.

Order of Railroad Telegraphers Membership Card, 1900

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 07:33:02 +0000

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A membership card for the Order of Railroad Telegraphers (ORT). As Wikipedia explains, "telegraphers would be stationed in individual depots along the railroad line in order to receive train orders from a centrally located dispatcher and report back on train movements; telegraphed train orders would be written out on paper and 'handed up' to the crews of passing trains."

See also a 1915 version of the ORT membership card.

The Order of Railroad Telegraphers

Issued to L. W. Ricker.

Good until June 30th 1900 unless revoked.

W. V. Powell, president. H. B. Perham, secretary and treasurer.

The Order of Railroad Telegraphers, Grand Division.