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

Reider Family Picking Blackberries, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1913

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 02:12:02 +0000

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fruit.

Caption (vertically along the left-hand side): "Reider Family Picking Black-Berries, Lanc. Co."

A real photo postcard of Edward H. Reider (1875-1942) and his family. It's addressed on the other side to Mr. David Spangler, Lebanon, Leb. Co., Penn., Rout. 2, and postmarked in Elizabethtown, Pa., on September 10, 1913.

Message: "Elizabethtown, Pa., Sept. 1, 1913. Friend, We are all well as you see on the face of this card. Hoping youence [i.e., you-uns or youns] are all the same. Truly yours, E. H. Reider."

Geo. W. Kissinger, Flour, Feed, and Potatoes, Reading, Pennsylvania

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 03:18:02 +0000

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A small Victorian-era trade card for George W Kissinger (1855-1935), a merchant in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Geo. W. Kissinger,

Flour, Feed & Potatoes,
No. 929 Penn St., Reading, Pa.

Bufford

Ethel's Oil Painting, 1967

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 18:44:34 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An artists or art photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

This Kodachrome slide is dated February 1967. The woman, whose first name is Ethel, apparently painted this still life along with a number of other oil paintings that are pictured in additional slides I purchased together in one tray a couple of years ago.

For another example, see this clown painting from a Kodachrome slide dated December 1968.

Flower Paintings with Lamp and Stereo

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 03:48:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of lamps, chandeliers, candlesticks, and other types of lighting.

This is a color slide, circa 1959, that shows two flower paintings hanging on a wall. Below them is a Motorola "Stereophonic High Fidelity" console. Based on the online documentation for a similar model, the top of the stereo lifts up on the right for access to a record player inside. The six knobs on the left are labeled Function, Compensator, Loudness, Treble, Bass, and Balance. On top of the left side of the stereo are a decorative porcelain table lamp and a framed photo.

This is another slide from the collection of the Pipe-Smoking Man's family. I only recently realized that two other photos from the collection show different parts of this same room. A photo taken to the left of this one also captures part of the stereo console (see Flowering Plants and Groovy Curtains). The door, wall thermostat, and chair in this photo are visible in a photo taken to the right of this one (see Still Life with Television). The flower paintings may be the work of "Ethel", a relative of the Pipe-Smoking Man (see Ethel's Oil Painting, 1967).

Still Life with Television

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 00:35:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

An slide, circa 1959, from Pipe-Smoking Man's family.

The Eighty-Eight-Cent Lemonade Stand, Maine, 1949

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 03:58:02 +0000

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A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of out in the yard or garden.

Handwritten note on the other side of this snapshot: "The Lemonade Stand, .88 profit - Maine '49."

Out in the yard with a couple of kids operating a profitable lemonade stand.

Grandma and Grandpa Take the Cake

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 01 Nov 2020 19:46:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of grandma and grandpa (grandparent(s) featured in a family photo).

A grandmother and grandfather hold a two-tiered cake as they pose for a photo with their grandson. All three of them are wearing flowers in their coat and jacket lapels.

The presence of the cake and flowers makes me wonder if the grandparents are celebrating a special wedding anniversary. Given how the cake is tilted, I just hope that it didn't slide off onto the grandson's head!

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?).

Wedding Guest Mystery (Detail)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 02:19:06 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

After closely inspecting this photo (see the full and cropped versions) for quite some time, I was surprised to finally realize that there's someone--or part of someone, to be precise--missing from it.

Take another glance at the bride's mother, who was caught with her eyes closed. A man's shoulders are visible directly behind her. The man's head, however, has been imperfectly altered so that it partially blends in with the folds of the curtain behind him.

Who was this mysterious wedding guest, and who wanted him out of the picture? We'll never know, but I find it amazing how well hidden--to my eyes, at least--he turned out to be. It's remarkable that this simple method of concealment was so successful in hiding this man's presence in the photo.

Wedding Guest Mystery (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 02:19:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

As I mentioned (see the full version of this photo), I bought this picture at an antique mall and noticed something strange about it after I got it home.

I purchased the photo because I liked the furnishings in the room--take a look at the chandelier, curtains, and flowers in the background, for instance. And there's a flowery border running along the top of the wall just below the ceiling.

I also found the wedding party interesting. The wide-eyed groom seems to be stunned, but the bride, who's holding a large bouquet of flowers, looks calm and serene. The groom's father (at far right) is sporting a moustache and so is the bride's father (on the left). The photographer happened to catch the bride's mother (standing to the left of the bride) with her eyes closed.

I examined all these details and looked at the photo for quite a while before I spotted something downright strange. Did you find it yet? If not, check out another enlargement from this image.

Wedding Guest Mystery

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 02:19:10 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of putting on the ritz—dressed up for a special occasion.

I picked up this wedding photo at a local antique mall a year or two ago. It wasn't in great shape, but it was a larger photo mounted on cardboard, and I liked the interesting room furnishings, the period clothing, and the amusing facial expressions.

When I got home and examined the photo more closely, however, I noticed something strange about it. Were you able to spot it? If not, take a look at a cropped version of the photo.

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

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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.

Indiana Iron Works Store Scrip, Indiana, Pa., January 1, 1856

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 17 Nov 2019 04:53:04 +0000

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Nineteenth-century scrip issued by the company store at the Indiana Iron Works (also know as Baker Furnace), which was located near Cramer in East Wheatfield Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

For more information, see G. Robert Ganis, "Iron-Mining Store Scrip in Pennsylvania," Pennsylvania Geology vol. 19, no. 3 (June 1988): 2-5.

The Store at Indiana Iron Works

Will pay to bearer ten cents on demand in dry goods & groceries.

Ind. Iron Works. Jan. 1st, 1856.

Ten cents. 10. 10.

Quirky Costumed Couple

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 01:15:10 +0000

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A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of costumes and uniforms—Halloween, theatrical, and other kinds of costumes, or uniforms from medical, military, and other settings (submit a photo on this topic each week in addition to—or instead of—a photo for the weekly topic).

Is it a ghostly apparition or just some out-of-focus Halloweeners? Sometimes it's hard to tell.

A red-border "Kodachrome Transparency," circa 1955.

Smile, Darn You, Smile!

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 09 Aug 2019 03:58:02 +0000

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A postcard addressed on the other side to Miss Hildur Linton [her later married name was Hildur T. Otto], 1014 7th St., S.E., City, and postmarked on Oct. 13, 1908, in Minneapolis, Minn.

The enigmatic handwritten message on the back is: "Puzzle. Can you find the sender? Yes - no."

Cutting the Cake in '58

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 May 2019 00:06:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A weddings photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

This is a Kodachrome slide processed by Kodak in Jan 1959, so I'm guessing that the wedding actually took place in 1958

Notice how no one seems particularly excited as the bride and groom pose for photos while cutting their cake. Perhaps they would have been more impressed had they turned around and taken a look at the elaborate design of that wallpaper.

P.S. I didn't realize how many wedding-related pics I had already used for various themes in the VPTP until I started searching for this week's photo. Check out two of my six previous matrimonial postings:

Elbl and Pietsch Cabinet Card Backmark

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 22:01:00 +0000

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Elbl és Pietsch, udvari fényképész, Fő utcza 18, Budapest.

Approximate translation: Elbl and Pietsch, royal photographer, 18 Main Street, Budapest.

Can anyone figure out the handwritten words at the bottom? Perhaps they're the names of the three women who appear on the front of this cabinet card:

Mother and Daughters, Budapest, Hungary

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 22:01:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo from Budapest for the Vintage Photos Theme Park in memory of our dear friend, Nori (see Sad News).

A mother and her two daughters posed for this cabinet card photo in the Budapest studio of Elbl and Pietsch sometime after 1897 (see below for the back of this photo). Note the girls' unique hairstyles and their fashionable dresses with enormous leg-of-mutton or gigot sleeves.

The painted backdrop is somewhat indistinct but what looks like the bottom of an elaborate staircase appears on the left. The chairs are made of bamboo (or perhaps faux bamboo) and are decorated with tassels.

As one girl sits in a chair holding a book, the other girl stands with one hand resting in a comforting gesture on her mother's shoulder. Her other hand is holding some flowers alongside the arm of her mother's chair.

So let's remember dear Nori and cherish the treasured images she has shared with us here on Ipernity and over on Flickr. Perhaps you'll want to compare this photo with the dozen other photos and backmarks from the same studio that Nori collected in her Elbl & Pietsch album on Flickr.

Easter Greetings

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 04:41:39 +0000

Alan Mays has posted: