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

Flash

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 17:09:02 +0000

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of steps, stairs, staircases.

This is a real photo postcard of young women standing on the steps leading up to the entrance of a building. They're wearing uniforms with scarves or neckerchiefs, and the banner they're holding simply says, "Flash." In the corners of the banner are what seem to be drawings of stylized top hats. Peeking out from below the banner are two pairs of what might be athletic shoes.

Although someone over on Flickr amusingly suggested that this might be an early example of a flash mob, I suspect that these young women belonged to a club or sports team at a high school or college. But I'm not sure what "Flash" meant to them or why the top hats -- if that's what they are -- appear on the banner.

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."

A Sunny Afternoon at Camp Chicken

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 04:55:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A camping/tents photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Judging by the banner hanging above the tents, Camp Chicken is the name of this encampment. Three women and a child pose in front of the three tents on the right. On the other side, a man is lying in a hammock, and behind him is a boy and another man, both of whom are sitting on chairs.

A breeze blowing through the woods has blurred the large American flag flying above the kitchen tent, and some of the smaller flags hanging above the openings to the other tents are also blurred. Sunlight filtering down through the trees has formed a dappled pattern in the clearing.

This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box on the other side (four corner triangles pointing up) that indicates a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918.

For similarly in-tents scenes, see Tents at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania, Bob White Camp, and The Methodist Church Choir Camp, 1908.

Order of Railroad Telegraphers Membership Card, 1900

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

Alan Mays has posted:

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.

Christmas Greeting, Edward Ridley & Sons Department Store, New York City, 1880

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 16:45:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Edward Ridley & Sons, a New York City department store, printed this trade card for customers during the holiday season in 1880, and the store also took out newspaper ads to offer its "annual greeting."

The other side of the trade card is a wintertime illustration of a little girl holding some toys as she stands in the snow. This side (above) features the store's Christmas greeting:

32nd Annual Greeting

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Toys, Dolls, and Holiday Presents.

Edw. Ridley & Sons

309, 311, 311½ Grand St.
59 Orchard St.
58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70 Allen St.

New York

The following excerpt from the store's advertisement in the New York Herald on December 5, 1880, provides additional details about its holiday sales:

Thirty-second Annual Greeting

Santa Claus' New Building. Opening Monday, December 6.

First Floor—Endless variety toys, dolls, hobby horses. Also china, glass ware, &c.

Second Floor--Work boxes, writing desks, Japanese varieties, &c., &c.

Tuesday, December 7. Third Floor—Dolls, dolls, dolls. And everything belonging to a doll.

Fourth Floor—Wednesday, December 8. Will contain toys of the very finest description….

Our new building gives 23,000 square feet. All devoted to toys. Come and see the toys and our methods.

Worsted embroideries, slipper patterns, brackets, &c. Photo and auto[graph] albums, in plush, Russia[n] leather and French calf bindings.

Handsome jewel and combination cases, pocketbooks, cigar cases, &c.

Prices below every other house—we warrant.

Girl with Toys in Snow—Christmas Trade Card for Edward Ridley & Sons, 1880

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 16:45:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

This is the front of a Victorian-era trade card advertising a New York store (for the other side, see Christmas Greeting, Edward Ridley & Sons Department Store, New York City, 1880).

I'm not sure why this wide-eyed little girl is taking all those toys with her out into the snow. She's dressed for the winter weather, however, and is even holding her hands—and her doll—in a muff to keep them warm.

A Merry Christmas—Let Every Heart in Christmas Customs Bear Its Part

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 16:49:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A small Victorian-era Christmas card featuring a fairy and flowers.

The verse on the card appears in J. S. Ogilvie, compiler, The Album Writer's Friend: Comprising More Than Three Hundred Choice Selections of Poetry and Prose, Suitable for Writing in Autograph Albums, Valentines, Birthday, Christmas, and New Year Cards (1881), p. 60.

A Merry Christmas

Christmas comes, let every heart
In Christmas customs bear its part:
The old be young, the sad be gay
And smiles chase every care away.

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb in Their Wedding Attire (Back)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:29:26 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Handwritten note on this CDV photo back : "Mr. & Mrs. Tom Thumb." Backmark: "Published by the New York Photographic Co., No. 453 Broadway, New York."

For the photo on the front of this CDV, see Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb in Their Wedding Attire:

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb in Their Wedding Attire

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:29:28 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A weddings photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Handwritten caption (barely visible at the bottom of the photo above): "Mr. & Mrs. T. Thumb." Handwritten note on the back of the photo (see below): "Mr. & Mrs. Tom Thumb." Printed on the back of the photo: "Published by the New York Photographic Co., No. 453 Broadway, New York."

Other versions of this photo are captioned "Mr. & Mrs. 'General Tom Thumb' in Their Wedding Costumes" (see, for instance, Photo_History's copy, Tom Thumb's Wedding by Brady, on Flickr).

As Wikipedia explains, "General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton" (1838-1883), a little person who became famous as a performer for circus promoter P. T. Barnum. His marriage to Lavinia Warren (1841-1919), a little person who was a former school teacher, took place on February 10, 1863, and received extensive publicity.

Stratton died in 1883, and Lavinia married another little person, Count Primo Magri (1849-1920), in 1885 (see the photo of Count and Countess Magri below). Despite her marriage to Magri, Lavinia continued to make appearances as Mrs. General Tom Thumb (see below for a 1912 theater advertisement and an undated green ticket). Lavinia died in 1919 and was buried next to her first husband. Magri passed away the following year.

After all the publicity generated by Lavinia and Stratton's marriage in 1863, people began referring to the playful mock marriages in which children assume the roles of bride and groom as "Tom Thumb weddings." These events are still held today by churches and other groups for fundraising and entertainment purposes (see below for a photo of a children's mock wedding held in the 1920s).

Saint Patrick's Day Greetings with a Heart and a Hand

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 03:46:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"A heart and a hand, / All thy own to the last. Th. Moore."

Postmarked in Ellicottville, N.Y., March 16, 1909.

The couplet on this postcard is from a poem, "Come, Rest in This Bosom," by the Irish poet Thomas Moore.

Hearty Partiers (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 04:58:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The woman on the left is holding a ratchet noisemaker. A BPO[E] (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) flag is draped over the shoulder of the woman in the middle. The woman on the right is holding a mask.

Take a look at the full version of this real photo postcard to see the entire group of partygoers.

Hearty Partiers

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 04:58:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the secret lives of grown-ups (adults letting loose and having fun or possibly behaving badly with other adults; all in good taste, of course).

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Novelty Studio, 1118 First Ave., Seattle."

These three couples are ready for a party. The woman on the left, who's a little out of focus for some reason, is holding a ratchet noisemaker. The man in the back on the left is holding a BPO[E] (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) flag that's draped over the shoulder of the woman in the middle. The woman on the right is holding a mask (mouse over the image for a better look at the noisemaker, flag, and mask). The man on the right has some sort of flag tucked under his right arm, and all of them except that man are wearing party or regular hats.

Were they attending a New Year's party at an Elks Lodge?

Woolen Suitings, Dress Fabrics, Housekeeping Goods! Spangler and Rich, Marietta, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 05:39:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For the front of this advertising trade card, see Spangler and Rich, Dry Goods and Groceries, Marietta, Pa.

Woolen Suitings, Dress Fabrics, Housekeeping Goods!

Choice styles. Satisfactory prices.

An early visit is respectfully solicited from yourself and friends.

Spangler & Rich.

Spangler and Rich, Dry Goods and Groceries, Marietta, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 05:39:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Spangler & Rich, dry goods, groceries, Marietta, Pa. Marietta Times Print."

A nineteenth-century advertising trade card for Spangler & Rich's store in Marietta, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. For the other side of this card, see Woolen Suitings, Dress Fabrics, Housekeeping Goods! Spangler and Rich, Marietta, Pa.

For another card from the store, see Spangler and Rich, Dealers in Dry Goods, Marietta, Pennsylvania.

You Might Get What I Gave This Stamp!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 09 Oct 2018 04:59:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Consider yourself quite lucky,
That you're far away in camp:
If you were here in State College, Pa.,
You might get what I gave this stamp!

Looks like that stamp is getting a licking, though I suppose she could be giving it a kiss.

Think

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 04:29:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A cigar box label.

Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Shoemaker, Dakota, Illinois

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 02 Jul 2018 05:07:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A postcard-sized example of ornamental penmanship featuring a flourished bird. The piece is unsigned and may date to as early as the 1880s or 1890s.

"Compliments of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Shoemaker, Dakota, Ill."

Joseph Shellenberger Shoemaker (1854-1936) was a well-known bishop in the Mennonite Church. He and his wife, Elizabeth Sechrist Brubaker (1856-1931), were married in 1877, and they were members of the Freeport Mennonite Church in Freeport, Illinois.

For additional examples of bird flourishes and other ornamental penmanship, see my Writing, Lettering, Flourishing album and the Clinton Clark Scrapbook, which was uploaded to the Internet Archive by IAMPETH (International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting).

Easy-Lite Gold Sparklers Box

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 04:30:07 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Sparkler box with unique typefaces for Fourth of July merriment.

Class of 1912, Clearfield, Pennsylvania

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 19 Jun 2018 04:59:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A real photo postcard with "McDowell Studio, Clearfield, Pa." embossed in the lower right-hand corner. "The Brown Family" is the only thing written on the other side.

Nineteen graduating seniors—seventeen young woman and two young men—posed for this photo in 1912. Given the location of the photo studio, these may be Clearfield High School graduates, but I haven't been able to confirm that (one site—Old C.H.S. Yearbooks - The "Bison Project"—reproduces yearbooks from the school but the earliest one currently available is the1915 edition).

Heads of the Class of 1915, New Castle High School, New Castle, Pa. (Detail)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 03:01:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Agnes Conrad circled her high school portrait (in the lower right-hand corner), which was part of a montage of 98 photos that formed the letters "NCHS" on a real photo postcard in 1915. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.