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

Horses, Cows, and Plows (Detail 3)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 20:50:18 +0000

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Horses, Cows, and Plows (Detail 2)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 20:50:20 +0000

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Horses, Cows, and Plows in Front of a Barn, Quarryville, Pa. (Detail on Left)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 20:50:22 +0000

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Horses, Cows, and Plows

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 20:50:24 +0000

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An on the farm photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A photo showing a remarkable assortment of people, animals, and equipment on display in front of a large Pennsylvania barn. The dealer's tag on this cardboard-mounted photo identified the location as a farm near Quarryville, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Mouse over the image above to see close-ups of the men, women, horses, cows, carriages, and plows visible in the foreground.

Halloween Mischief—What the Boys Did to the Cow

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 20 Oct 2019 21:03:04 +0000

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"What the boys did to the cow."

A comic Halloween postcard published by Julius Bien & Co. in 1908.

This postcard was addressed on the other side to Miss Lille Collins, 122 Dickerson Street, Newark, N.J., and postmarked in Smyrna, Delaware, on October 30, 1911. Message: "Love to all, E.R.C."

For a another card from the same publisher, see What the Pig Thought of the Ghost on Halloween.

A. H. Herr, Mill Creek Dairy, Lancaster, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 21:18:12 +0000

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A late nineteenth- or early twentieth-century business card printed by David Bachman Landis, who operated Pluck Art Printery, which was later known as Landis Art Print.

I haven't uncovered any reference to a "Mill Creek Dairy," but it's possible that "A. H. Herr" was Aaron H. Herr (1880-1940), a farmer who lived in Manor Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

A. H. Herr, Mill Creek Dairy.

Pure milk and cream.

Lancaster P.O., Pa.

Cattles and Apples! Sale at the Greenawalt House, Elizabethtown, Pa., Dec. 19, 1885

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 04:59:46 +0000

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A sale bill for an auction that took place on December 19, 1885, at the Greenawalt House, which was a hotel located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. I like the exclamatory combination of "Cattle and Apples!"

Cattles and Apples!

Keller & Alwine's Sale. Saturday, Dec. 19, 1885,

The undersigned will sell at the Greenawalt House, in the borough of Elizabethtown, a lot of choice cattle, consisting of 10 fresh cows and springers, 10 head dry cows, 7 fine stock bulls, and a few fat cattle.

Also a lot of choice apples and a number of sleighs, buggies, etc. 60 days' credit will be given. Sale to commence at 12 o'clock M.

Keller & Alwine. H. Waidman, auc.

Chronicle Print, Elizabethtown, Pa.

Fancy Cow and Calf (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 15:08:02 +0000

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For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

Fancy Cow and Calf

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 15:08:04 +0000

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Mama cow and baby calf seem to be giving the photographer a sideways glance as the farmer and his family hold them in place to pose for the camera. See a cropped version for a close-up of the disgruntled bovines.

The decorative mask--with its stylized flowers and curled-up edges--gives the appearance of a fancy photo frame. For a similar real photo postcard, see Man's Portrait in Elaborate Border.

Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor Cow, Patriotic and Industrial Parade, Newburg, Pa., July 3, 1909 (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 17:00:02 +0000

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For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor Cow, Patriotic and Industrial Parade, Newburg, Pa., July 3, 1909

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 17:00:04 +0000

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An ice cream photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

"#1248. A. Hoch's Cow in Patriotic & Industrial Parade, July 3, 1909, Newburg, Pa. Laughlin Photo. Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor."

Photographer and postcard publisher Clyde A. Laughlin originally published a series of real photo postcards showing scenes from the Patriotic and Industrial Parade in Newburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1909, not long after it took place. This photo shows a boy riding a cow to advertise "Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor" (mouse over the image for a closer look).

The details in this photo are sharp, but I purchased the card knowing that it does not date to 1909. Unlike other early Laughlin photos, this one is reproduced in black and white rather than sepia, and the Kodak postcard backing was obviously manufactured much more recently than 1909.

Fortunately, I have a copy of the book, Clyde A. Laughlin, "Postcard King of the Cumberland Valley": Biography of the Artist and Photographer and Checklist of His Postcards, written and published by Clyde's grandson, Walter Lewis Cressler, Jr., in 2000. The author explains on page 30 that his grandfather reprinted the photographic cards from the Newburg parade in 1961 when the town celebrated its centennial. So it's likely that this version of the Hoch's Cow photo is one of the cards from 1961.

For another ice cream photo, see Eating Ice Cream at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania, and check out my Ice Cream album for additional photos and items of ephemera.

Till the Cows Go Home

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 21:25:45 +0000

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An undated red-border Kodachrome slide, circa 1950s.

A Farmer and His Cows

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 14:39:32 +0000

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Stamped on the back of this real photo postcard: "H. W. Haffley, photographer, Aaronsburg, Pa."

The Holstein cow in the middle of the photo pauses to glance over at the photographer as the farmer hides behind two other cows on the right.

Carol the Two-Headed Calf, Indian Steps Museum, Airville, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 20:55:42 +0000

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I thought poor Carol was a bit creepy when I photographed her during a visit to the Indian Steps Museum in Airville, York County, Pa., but I thought she'd fit in well with whatever other creatures happen to show up in the Vintage Indoor Oddities group.

Carol is the oddest thing at the Indian Steps Museum, which otherwise contains interesting displays of Native American artifacts and local history items. The sign below the calf says, "Please do not touch Carol the calf. She is very old and fragile."

Where Does Milk Come From?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 12 Aug 2015 16:07:10 +0000

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Now you know!

A question posed and answered at the York County Heritage Trust's amazing Agricultural and Industrial Museum in York, Pennsylvania.

The Turkey Hill Experience, Columbia, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:09:40 +0000

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A giant Turkey Hill ice cream container and cow stand guard at the entrance to the Turkey Hill Experience, an attraction in Columbia, Pa., where you can find out how ice cream is made.

The Weary Farmer (Up to Date), by Frank W. Swallow

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 03 Feb 2015 21:37:32 +0000

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"The Weary Farmer (Up to Date), designed & pub. by Frank W. Swallow, Exeter, N.H."

I'm not sure why Frank W. Swallow of Exeter, New Hampshire, published this early twentieth-century postcard, which ridicules the "Weary Farmer," his family, and the hired help for living a life of luxury. One clue might be the well-off real estate dealer, who's standing in front of his office, where the sign says, "No deserted farms left. Fair farms, $5,000.00 to $50,000.00."

Was there an economic downturn at some point that caused families to abandon their farms? Did Swallow feel that some farmers and real estate agents were profiting from the misfortune of others?

I haven't solved this mystery yet, but in the meantime here's the cast of characters portrayed on the card:

The Farmer is fanning himself while lying on a hammock and sipping sweet cider from a straw.

The Hired Man is sitting beneath a tree as he smokes a cigarette and reads a dime novel (Diamond Dick) with his unused shovel and hoe by his side.

The Son is out on the golf course.

The Real Estate Dealer is wearing expensive clothing, including a diamond ring. An automobile is parked in front of his real estate office, where there's a sign that says, "No deserted farms left. Fair farms, $5,000.00 to $50,000.00."

The Hired Girl is sitting in a rocking chair as she dries the dishes.

The Wife and Daughter are dressed in fine clothes as they sip their tea.

The Cow, however, is toiling away on a treadmill, supplying the power and the raw material--milk--for the butter and cheese machines, which apparently provide enough income to allow everyone else besides the cow to live a life of leisure.

A Happy New Year

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 31 Dec 2014 01:15:54 +0000

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"A Happy New Year. Haddocks. Come to your milk now."

A Victorian-era New Year calling or greeting card with a hand-drawn sketch.

"Come to your milk" seems to have had a specific meaning in the nineteenth century beyond pulling on a calf's tail to try to get it to drink out of a milk bucket. Besides a few hits on the phrase in Google Books, however, I haven't uncovered any source that reveals what that meaning might have been.

Pansy the Roller-Skating Cow

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 19:55:45 +0000

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"'Pansy' the Roller-Skating Cow, featuring Rose, Betty, and Harry Rapp (A Rapp & Rapp Production)."

Pansy the Roller-Skating Cow performed for fairs, carnivals, and circuses throughout the United States during the 1940s and 1950s. Other than some newspaper ads and brief mentions in Billboard magazine that turned up in Google searches, I haven't been able to locate any information regarding Pansy or the Rapps.

Milking the Euclid Beach Cow

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 16:25:10 +0000

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Judging from the Euclid Beach pennant visible on the right-hand side, this real photo postcard of a girl milking a fake cow while two fake bulldogs stand guard was probably a souvenir from Euclid Beach Park, which was an amusement park located along Lake Erie in Cleveland, Ohio.