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

Who Was That Masked Man?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 03:52:02 +0000

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of Halloween (costumes, masks, jack-o'-lanterns, decorations, ghosts, gravestones, or anything else spooky or scary; no limit—post as many Halloween photos as you'd like).

A photo of a man (or possibly a woman) wearing a grotesque mask, overalls, suit jacket, gloves, neckerchief, and straw hat. He's carrying a cane in one hand and a package wrapped in newspapers in the other.

Could this be a Halloween costume? If so, is he dressed as a farmer? Or do the cane and package suggest a stick-type bindle characteristic of a hobo?

This is an unused real photo postcard with an AGFA-ANSCO stamp box on the other side, which indicates that it may date to the 1930s or 1940s.

A couple of other details point to a specific locale. First, under magnification, the heading on part of the bundled up newspapers says, "New Era," so it's possible that it was the Lancaster New Era, a paper published in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Secondly, a pouch of "Good Bite" chewing tobacco with a fish logo is sticking out of the breast pocket on the man's suit jacket. The Good Bite brand of chewing tobacco originated in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

For some other disconcerting masks, see Costume Creepiness.

A Signal from Mars? (Lassoing a Toy Horse)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 00:20:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The rope of a lasso surrounds a tiny toy horse.

For more information, see another detail from the same photo along with the original version.

A Signal from Mars? (Woman with Sheet Music)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 00:20:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A woman poses for a photo and pretends to sing as she holds the sheet music for A Signal from Mars: March and Two Step.

For more information, see another detail from the same photo along with the original version.

A Signal from Mars?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 00:20:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of over the shoulder (something or somebody).

Everyone in this puzzling photo is holding something. The man on the left is holding a cane over his shoulder, and the second man has a rope wrapped around his left hand. Both men are watching the woman in the middle, who's holding sheet music and singing. The woman on the right, who's seated in a chair, is holding a lute and is playing it to accompany the woman who's singing. The woman standing beside the singer and both of the men are all holding rolled-up papers of some sort.

A closer look at the photo reveals some curious details. First, the sheet music that the woman is holding is entitled A Signal from Mars: March and Two Step, which was published in 1901 (hear a piano version on YouTube). Since the piece is an instrumental "march and two step" without any lyrics, why is the woman pretending to use it as she's singing?

Secondly, the rope that the second man is holding extends down to the floor where it's coiled around a small horse pull toy. Why did the man lasso a tiny toy horse?

I don't have any answers for the questions that this photo poses. Although the painted backdrop and patterned floor covering suggest that this picture was taken in a photo studio, I wonder if this might be a scene from a theatrical production. There was a popular comedic play with a similar title—A Message from Mars—that toured the United States between 1903 and 1905. As far as I can determine, however, A Message from Mars was not a musical, and there was no connection to the sheet music for A Signal from Mars.

Acquaintance Card Confidential

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 18 May 2020 02:29:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An acquaintance card dating to the late nineteenth or early twentieth century.

If you look closely, you'll see that the printer mistakenly used a "u" instead of an "n" to spell "and." I had to read through the text a couple of times before I even noticed the error.

Confidential

Miss: If you desire to form my acquaintance, please state time and place on blank space.

Man with Alligators and Coconut Tree, Miami, Florida, 1922

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 02:38:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A distinguished gent in a souvenir real photo postcard from "Miami, Fla., 1922," as it says on the tree stump. Looks like the poor fellow is fending off alligators with his cane as he poses in front of a scenic backdrop of ocean, sky, and coconut tree, all of which received appropriate tinting after the photo was developed.

For an untinted photo from the same studio, see Man and Dog with Alligators on the Beach (note that the tree stump is hidden behind the dog).

Two Santa Clauses in Naples, Italy, January 1, 1962

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 15:32:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Second of two in a series of two or more photos that tell a story (number them, if appropriate) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "Naples, January 1, 1962."

Janet, Kit, and George Buck pose with two Santa Clauses in Naples, Italy, on New Year's Day in 1962. These two Santas, with their masks, slightly different clothing, and one holding a cane, seem to me to be rather mismatched and maybe even a bit creepy, but Kit is smiling broadly and looks happy.

Janet and Kit previously had their picture taken with a giant Santa in Athens, Greece, on or before December 30, 1961.

Based on the note that Janet wrote on the back of that first photo, the family was continuing to travel and expected to arrive in Germany by January 6, 1962. These two photos provide a glimpse into what must have been a busy and fun-filled European trip.

The Lemon

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 06:01:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A lemony postcard from 1906 that was connected to the "23 skidoo" fad that was popular at the time (notice the "23" on the hat or whatever it is that's on top of the lemon's head).

To find out what lemons meant in the early twentieth century and how they were connected to 23 skidoo, see Skidoo 23 Is Now 37.

For more postcards, see my 23 Skidoo and Lemons Too album.

The Lemon

Oh, something that's yellow and egg-shape, not round!
You buy by the dozen, in crates they are found;
Oh, something that's handed out freely each day,
"For yours" this portrait now comes to say.

Advice to the Lovelorn–Give Him Plenty of Encouragement

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 10 May 2017 16:16:48 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Advice to the Lovelorn. If he is bashful, I would advise you to give him plenty of encouragement. Put your arms around me–so! Oo-oo, I don't like ter! August Hutaf. P.C.K. 1908."

One in a series of humorous "Advice to the Lovelorn" postcards by illustrator August Hutaf (1874-1942). For more of his work, see Advice to Vacationists–Take the Children with You (below) and my other Hutaf postcards.

The Saucy Little Bird on Nellie's Hat

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 30 Mar 2016 18:35:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"'100 and 23 for yours,' said the saucy little bird on Nellie's hat. Love's Young Dream."

The illustration on this postcard is based on a song, "The Bird on Nellie's Hat," that was popular when the card appeared in 1908, and the title of the book that Nellie is reading–Love's Young Dream–is a phrase that comes from the lyrics to the song.

The bird's snide utterance–"100 and 23 for yours"–to the guy who's lurking behind Nellie is a reference to the "23 skidoo" fad that started around 1906 or 1907. Telling someone "23 skidoo" or "23 for you" was a shorthand way of saying "scram," "beat it," or "get lost" (I'm not sure whether the addition of "100 and" to the more typical "23 for yours" phrase had any extra meaning). For more "23 skidoo" postcards, see my Skidoos and Lemons album.

Check out the sheet music for The Bird on Nellie's Hat (1906), which is part of the Lester S. Levy Collection of Sheet Music at Johns Hopkins University, or go to YouTube to see the lyrics and hear an Edison wax cylinder recording of Ada Jones singing "The Bird On Nellie's Hat" (1913).

The Kodak Maiden and the Silly Chap

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 17:36:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

See the Kodak maiden,
See the silly chap;
He has lots of money
So she has "a snap!"

Published by A. S. Meeker, New York, in 1908, this comic postcard was part of an "'Embossed Comics' Series." Postmarked Lincoln, Nebraska, May 7, 1909, on the back.

Oh You Candy Kid

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 19:56:27 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

It's Leap Year! Sh-ss-h! Here Comes One!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 26 Feb 2016 16:24:56 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"It's Leap Year. Sh-ss-h! Here comes one!. Dwig."

Postmarked Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 23, 1912, and addressed to Miss Lettice Mitchel, Beaver Springs, Pa. Unsigned message: "Guess?"

A Leap Year postcard by "Dwig," otherwise known as the American cartoonist named Clare Victor Dwiggins (1874-1958).

May I. C. U. Home? Yes! / No!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 21:33:34 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"May I see you home?"

May I See You Home?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 21:33:32 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"W. L. Alexander. May I see you home? Or will I have to set on the fence and watch you meander by?"

Amish Men at a Farm Sale

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 20:48:21 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

This real photo postcard shows Amish and non-Amish men on a farm (notice the silos on the left). Although there's no identifying information on the card, it's likely that this photo was taken sometime in the 1940s or 1950s at an auction or sale in Big Valley (also known as Kishacoquillas Valley), which is located in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania.

Remember It's April Fool!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 30 Mar 2015 17:35:32 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Ye Gilded Boob

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 15:46:37 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Ye Gilded Boob. / You think that you are: just it, / With your monocle [kid gloves] and ten-dollar hat."

A vinegar valentine that pokes fun at pretentious fools. The reference to a "ten-dollar hat" may come from the saying, "He wears a ten-dollar hat on a five-cent head," suggesting that an expensive hat can't make up for a lack of intelligence.

For a similar valentine, see Oh! You Lobster.

Mr. Peanut Bookmark: Greetings from the World's Fair, 1939

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 21:43:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Planters Nut and Chocolate Company

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 21:43:49 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Shepard Stern, representing Planters Nut and Chocolate Company, Suffolk, Va., Atlanta, Ga., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Planters Peanuts, 5¢."

"Reminder! Order Planters Peanuts. Thank you."