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

Paper Moon with Finnish Christmas Greeting, 1914

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 04:22:02 +0000

A young woman posing with a paper moon. The sign in front of her says, "Hauskaa Joulua Ja Onnea Vuodelle, 1914-1915."

Google translation from the Finnish: "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, 1914-1915."

This is an unmailed real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a time frame—1904 to 1918—that matches the holiday season—1914-1915—indicated on the sign in the photo.

Huntoon and Gorham 45 Label, Providence, Rhode Island

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 May 2020 04:09:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A late nineteenth-century label by Huntoon & Gorham, a cigar manufacturer. Note the Gaslight Style characteristics, with elaborate typefaces, curved text, drop shadows, and the rays of the sun shining out from behind the clouds.

Huntoon & Gorham

45

Providence, R.I.

Huntoon & Gorham

Lovey-Dovey Couple in Boat

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 03:55:58 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo of people exchanging "a look" that the photographer has captured perfectly for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Never mind that it's a fake look in a fake boat—the photographer who created this real photo postcard has captured a studio scene of a man and women looking into each other's eyes and pretending to be in love. I just hope that the swan got out of the way before it got caught in the wake of the speeding boat!

Paddling Their Own Canoe at Olcott Beach

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 12 Feb 2018 16:47:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Printed on the other side of this real photo postcard: "Boeckmann, park photographer, Olcott Beach, N.Y." Handwritten on the other side: "Ornan Rebert."

Two fellows pretend to paddle their canoe in photographer John Boeckmann's studio in Luna Park at Olcott Beach, located along the shore of Lake Ontario in Olcott, New York.

Holcomb and Caskey, Wholesale Lumber, New York, N.Y.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 16:47:24 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Holcomb & Caskey. Wholesale lumber, white pine, North Carolina pine, hemlock & cypress lumber, white pine, cedar and cypress shingles. Office, 18 Broadway, New York. Brooks Bank Note Co., Boston."

Despite Holcomb & Caskey's impressive business card, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1911 after a little more than five years in business. A notice published in Hardwood Record, a lumber industry magazine, on May 25, 1911, p. 79, announced the demise of the company:

"The Holcomb & Caskey Lumber Company, 940 Broadway, has filed a petition in bankruptcy. The nominal assets are $12,559 and liabilities $40,712. The company was incorporated in December, 1905, with a capital of $50,000. Richard E. Holcomb is president and Clayton R. Caskey vice-president. Mr. Caskey has organized the Clayton R. Caskey Lumber Company, taking over the headquarters of the old concern and will in the future conduct a general wholesale business on his own account."

May Love Light Your Halloween Lantern!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 04:30:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"May love light your Hallow-e'en lantern! H.B.G."

A Halloween postcard illustrated by H. B. Griggs (H.B.G.).

For another Griggs card, see Have a Devilishly Happy Halloween.

Petroleum Soaps, Rice and Robinson Soap Company, Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1892

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 24 Sep 2017 05:11:36 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Rice & Robinson Soap Co., Petroleum Soaps. Presented by O. S. Rice. E. S. Rice, president. R. L. Rice, v, pres't & gen'l mgr. J. C. Robinson, sec'y. E. H. Beardsley, treas. Trademark. Drake. First oil well, 1859. Titusville, Pa. G. H. Dunston, Buffalo, N.Y. Over."

The Drake Well Museum near Titusville, Pennsylvania, includes a replica of the historic Drake Oil Well, which is featured in the illustration on this card.

Hawk and Wetherbee, The Windsor Hotel, Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 22:50:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Hawk & Wetherbee, The Windsor, Fifth Avenue, New York."

Samuel Hawk and Gardner Wetherbee--in business together as "Hawk & Weaterbee"--managed the Windsor Hotel, which tragically burned to the ground on St. Patrick's Day in 1899. For more information, see The Lost Windsor Hotel -- 5th Avenue and 46th Street.

The Joys of Halloween Be Yours

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 15:20:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An owl and a bat flap their wings through the nighttime sky as Cupid stands on a cloud and contemplates whether to shoot an arrow at the full moon, where a witch has replaced the Man in the Moon.

I can't help but wonder whether L. R. Conwell, the publisher of this 1909 postcard, recycled a Valentine's Day card to compose this perplexing scene, but a search for other Cupid cards didn't uncover any similar postcards.

Conwell also featured Cupid in at least one other Halloween postcard. See Wishing You a Lucky Halloween:

Good Humor Man Mask

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 20:38:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The back of this Good Humor Man paper mask from the 1960s gives assembly instructions (push out the perforated ear flaps, attach elastic band, put it around your head) and then advises, "Hi, now you're a Good Humor Man, too. Always remember why Good Humor Ice Cream is by far the best. Good Humors are made from sweet ice cream and delicious fresh fruits.... And Good Humors are covered with a thick layer of rich Dutch chocolate." Yum!

Super Atomic Supercharged Flashlight Crackers

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 19:40:30 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Super Atomic Brand. Supercharged Flashlight Crackers. Super size, super report, super power, super flash. Made in Portuguese Macau. Lay on ground, light fuse, get away quickly."

Statue of Liberty Valentine

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 22:53:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"To one I love."

See also Brooklyn Bridge Valentine.

A Merry Christmas from Wild-Eyed Santa and His Galloping Reindeer

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 17:43:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Santa's wild eyes reveal his determination to complete his Christmas deliveries as the sun rises behind him and his reindeer gallop across the sky, their hooves kicking up some serious dust clouds (or maybe they're just regular atmospheric clouds at that height).

"Flora" used only her first name to sign this postcard on the front (at the very bottom) and on the back. The card was postmarked Batavia, N.Y., Dec. 18, 1908, and Flora addressed it to Mrs. Elmira Smith, Gainesville, N.Y., which is located about 30 miles from Batavia. She wrote a straightforward three-word message: "All are well."

My Wife's Up in an Airship

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 15:02:47 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"My Wife's Up in an Airship. Words by Arthur Longbrake. Music by Ed. Edwards. Published by Longbrake & Edwards, 50 N. 8th St., Phila., Pa. Miss Camp."

Handwritten: "Jane H. Banks. J.H.N., 7-22, 1911."

An amusing sheet music cover featuring an early airplane ("airship" referred to any type of flying machine in 1911 when this was published, but today the term is used only for dirigibles). It's disappointing, however, to discover that the lyrics of the song (see below) express the "henpecked" husband's spiteful wish that the airplane will take his wife away permanently because "It's my one chance you see / To live here happily."

For York University's copy of the sheet music, which includes a PDF version of the inside pages, see My Wife's Up in an Airship (the Web address is an alias that takes you to YorkSpace, York University's digital repository).

My Wife's Up in an Airship

Words by Arthur Longbrake. Music by Ed. Edwards.

Jonesy was a henpecked man
For him life was a joke,
His wife made him give up his dough
She always kept him broke;

One day she said I'm going up
In an airship for a ride,
Then Jones pretended to be scared
But he smiled on the side.

And when she sailed away
Some friends heard Jonesy say,

Chorus:
My wife's up in an airship
Hooray! hip, hip, hooray!
I hope she likes the trial trip
So much she'll want to stay;

For should she stay up in the air
Ye ho! my lads, ye ho!
With her up there most anywhere
I'd have some peace below.

Jonesy said I wished her luck
When she left mother earth,
But if that airship would get stuck
I'd give all I am worth;

I hope the lad who drives the ship
Will attempt a spiral glide,
Or land her in the middle of
A river three miles wide.

It's my one chance you see
To live here happily.

Chorus

Two Men and a Paper Moon, Riverview Exposition, Chicago, ca. 1910s

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 05 Sep 2014 21:56:03 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Post Card Souvenir from Riverview Exposition, Chicago. Foster & Coultry - Official Photographers."

This photo was taken at Chicago's Riverview Park, which was an amusement park that operated from 1904 to 1967 and was known as Riverview Exposition Park for a few years early in the twentieth century (one source says that it was called Riverview Exposition between 1909 and 1913).

Both of the men in the photo are holding cigars, and the man on left has some sort of dog figurine or toy attached to his lapel. The man on the right is holding something under his arm but I can't tell what it is.

Conestoga Coffee, Lancaster, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 29 Aug 2014 22:32:25 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Conestoga Coffee Blend, one pound net, Lancaster Wholesale Grocery Co., distributors, Lancaster, Penna."

Although the landscape surrounding the Conestoga wagon in this illustration from the front of a paper coffee bag depicts the rugged terrain of the American West, early settlers actually used a different type of covered wagon (often just a simple farm wagon enclosed in canvas) to travel westward.

The Conestoga wagon originated in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and its name may have come from the county's Conestoga Township or Conestoga River ("Conestoga" originally referred to a Native American group now more commonly known as the Susquehannocks). It was a sturdy vehicle capable of handling large loads over the undeveloped dirt roads in Pennsylvania and surrounding states during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Given the local origin of the Conestoga wagon, it's not surprising that the Lancaster Wholesale Grocery Company chose the name for its coffee. And it's certainly more dramatic--through not accurate--to see the wagon traveling through a mountainous Western landscape rather than slogging through the muddy roads in the eastern United States.

See also Howard C. Frey, Refurbisher of Conestoga Wagons.

Greetings with Hearty Good Wishes for Christmas and New Year

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 23:10:52 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Greeting with hearty good wishes for Christmas and New Year, Hazel Kelley."

Two Women and a Paper Moon

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 05 Aug 2019 03:45:50 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A paper moon photo for the theme of photographic tricks and amusements during the free-for-all week of Wild Card Month in the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

Restless Children under a Full Moon

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 06 May 2015 15:00:26 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Judging by her blurred appearance, the youngest child was squirming in her seat when the photo was taken, and her brother and sister don't look like they're having a good time either.

Behind the Clouds Is the Sun Still Shining

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Jan 2016 14:51:24 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

After a record-breaking 30.2 inches of snow and hours of shoveling this past weekend, I'm trying to think sunny thoughts! 8-)