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

Peculiar Peek-a-Boo, July 3, 1908

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 20:04:41 +0000

What appears to be an odd game of hide-and-seek in a spooky forest is captioned "Peek-a-Boo, July 3, 1908," on the front of this real photo postcard. The image's irregular edges add to the strangeness of the scene.

The imprint on the back—"W. W. Deatrick, Kutztown, Pa."—identifies this as a photo by William Wilberforce Deatrick (1853-1925), who was a longtime faculty member at what is now Kutztown University.

Additional examples of Deatrick's photos are available for viewing in the Kutztown University Postcard Collection. See also "W. W. Deatrick Left His Mark at Kutztown," an article by George M. Meiser that appeared in the Reading Eagle, April 6, 1983.

Halloween Greetings—What's Meant for Thee, Thee'll Have

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

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A Halloween postcard addressed on the other side to "Miss Bertha Duncan, Cresson, Penna.," and postmarked in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on October 24, 1912.

Handwritten message: "This card is a little soon for Halloween but I will send it anyhow. Aquilla."

Printed on the back: "Printed in Saxony 0624."

In a candlelit room at midnight on Halloween, a young woman gazes into a mirror through the steam from a cauldron so she can catch a glimpse of her future husband.

For other Halloween postcards with a mirror-gazing theme, see:

-- Halloween Greeting—I Gaze in the Mirror My Future There to See
-- Halloween Greetings—Look Out for Ghosts
-- Wishing You a Lucky Halloween

A Pair of Parcheesi-Playing Posers (Detail)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 16:05:02 +0000

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An enlarged view of the board, game pieces, and dice cups in a trick photo of two young men playing against themselves in a game of Parcheesi. The photo is well composed with only a translucent part of the Parcheesi board underneath the hand on the right and a slightly darker streak running vertically through the middle of the photo to give away the double exposure. I'm not certain what might have caused the dark shape on the side of the building directly above the board.

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

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A Pair of Parcheesi-Playing Posers

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 16:05:04 +0000

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A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of playing cards and board games.

Two young men pretend to play Parcheesi against themselves as they pose (two times!) for this double exposure photograph.

Take a look at a cropped version of the photo showing a close-up view of the Parcheesi board on the top of the table.

This is an unused real photo postcard with the words "Post Card" and "The address to be written on this side" printed on its undivided back, which suggests that it may date to sometime during the first decade of the twentieth century.

Books for Returning World War I Troops on Board the USS Mercury, ca. 1918-1919

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 03:50:57 +0000

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A photo of libraries or books for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

"Transport Mercury. Red Cross. From American Library Association for all men on board. Not to be opened until return voyage."

This real photo postcard shows a photograph taken on board the USS Mercury, a United States Navy ship, as it transported troops home following the end of World War I. The sign on the left indicates that the American Library Association provided books for the troops.

I located another photograph of this same scene that was taken from a different angle. This second photo was cataloged as NH 45345 by the Navy's Naval History and Heritage Command, and its description also applies to my real photo postcard:

"Scene in troop spaces in a hold below the waterline, showing a card game in progress [why aren't they reading their books?], with banjo accompaniment [the banjo player's hands are partially visible at far right in my photo], circa 1918-1919. Note books at left, placed on board by the Red Cross and the American Library Association. Sign with the books indicates that the photo was taken as Mercury was transporting troops back to the U.S. from Europe after the World War I Armistice [November 11, 1918]."

My Wife's Gone to the Country

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 16:07:04 +0000

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An amusing postcard that draws upon the "Oh You Kid!" craze of 1909 for its humor. This card was a bit risqué for its time, suggesting that a husband might fool around with other women while his wife is away. The caption on the card comes from the song, "My Wife’s Gone to the Country! Hurrah! Hurrah!,” which was one of the "Oh You Kid!" songs published as sheet music in 1909:

My wife’s gone to the country, hurray! hurray!
She thought it best
"I need the rest"
That’s why she went away
She took the children with her, hurray! hurray!
I love my wife, but oh, you kid!
My wife’s gone away

In this age of social media, it's difficult to appreciate just how popular this--nudge, nudge, wink, wink--idea of "I love my wife, but oh, you kid!" became as it circulated in print through sheet music, postcards, and newspapers. Jody Rosen, however, documents its wide-ranging influence in a fascinating article that appeared in Slate magazine. See "How a Sexed-up Viral Hit from the Summer of '09–1909–Changed American Pop Music Forever."

For some additional postcard and sheet music examples, see my Oh You Kid! and Its Variants album.

Halloween Is the Season When Maidens Dream

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 29 Oct 2017 08:50:47 +0000

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This is the season the maidens dream
Things of future unforeseen.
Dream sweet dreams, oh! ladies fair;
But of the future have a care!

A postcard addressed on the other side to my grandmother, "Miss Annie Sturtz, ~~Fairhope~~ Boswell, Pa." (I'm not exactly certain where my grandmother lived at the time and why Fairhope was crossed out and Boswell written in). There are two postmarks--one from Somerset, Pa., and another from Fairhope, Pa.--both dated Oct. 29, 1908.

The handwritten message on the back of the card is "Annie taking warning. B." My grandmother evidently didn't heed the warning from the unnamed "B." and married my grandfather a year later.

Halloween Cabbages—Is My True Love Tall and Grand?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 04:40:08 +0000

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"O, is my true love tall and grand? O, is my sweetheart bonny?"

Mirrors, cakes, apple peels, and chestnuts (see below) have all figured in the Halloween fortune-telling games depicted on early twentieth-century postcards. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I found this postcard by Ellen H. Clapsaddle, which suggests that young women could use cabbages (or kales) to foretell what kind of husband–tall and grand? bonny?–they might marry.

In a discussion about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My!, Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains how picking a cabbage from the garden could predict a woman's romantic future: "If the selected cabbage or kale was difficult to unearth, it denoted difficulty in a relationship. Kale with clumps of dirt stuck to the roots signified a rich husband, and the size, shape, and taste of the kale foretold the physical attributes and personality of a future spouse."

Ellen Clapsaddle illustrated a number of other prognosticating postcards like this one. For another example, see Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After.

Halloween Apple Peeling to Predict the Future

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 16 Oct 2017 04:41:22 +0000

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Postmarked South Amboy, N.J., Oct. 8, 1909, and addressed to Miss E. E. Isenberg, R.F.D. No. 1, Box 17, Hollidaysburg, Pa.

Handwritten message: "South Amboy, Oct. 8th. Dear Elda, We were all to New York yesterday. Had a nice time, went to the Hippodrome, the day was fine. I looked about plume [feathers for hats; see plume hunting]--you can do better in Altoona. Do not forget to meet me at Frankstown on Monday eve at [the] five [o'clock] train. You can come in buggy. Mama."

In this Halloween postcard by illustrator Bernhardt Wall, a young woman is tossing a long apple peel over her shoulder, believing that the peel will fall to the floor in the shape of a letter that will reveal the first letter of her future husband's name (strangely, a number of peels that spell "Hallowe'en" are floating in the background). This apple peeling practice is one of a number of Halloween games and rituals that were depicted on postcards published in the early twentieth century.

Halloween Pranks—You Shall See Your Love Tonight

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 16:18:28 +0000

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Hallowe'en Pranks
Halloween is sure to be
Tonight your love you shall see.

Another early "Hallowe'en Pranks" postcard published by the Stecher Lithographic Company used the same illustration but had a different rhyme: "This pumpkin face with merry gleam, / Will light your way on Hallowe'en."

Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 16 Sep 2016 18:40:10 +0000

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"Hallowe'en. Uncertainly. Hope. Despair. Happy ever after. Ellen H. Clapsaddle. Int. Art Pub. Co. 1909."

In a Halloween posting about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My!, Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains that the illustration on this postcard reflects a Halloween custom that involved throwing chestnuts in a fire:

"Anthropomorphized nuts, paired off with the titles 'Uncertainty,' 'Hope,' 'Despair,' and 'Happy Ever After,' represent the practice of interpreting the behavior of chestnuts in a fire. Those participating would assign two chestnuts to a couple and observe whether the chestnuts burned together, jumped apart in the flame, crackled loudly, or came together. A couple was said to live a long happy life together if their corresponding chestnuts burned brightly and quietly next to each other, or their relationship would end in disaster if they crackled contentiously and popped in different directions."

A Valentine Game of Hearts

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 01 Feb 2016 22:25:24 +0000

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A Valentine's Day postcard dated 1909 on the front and postmarked Burlington, Vt., Feb. 13, 1911, on the back.

Cupids play football with hearts, as we see here (above), but they also use them in bowling (below).

And, of course, cupids need to maintain their stock of hearts, which may require sweeping, netting, weighing, and mending, as we can see in this selection of early twentieth-century postcards (below).

Wishing You a Lucky Halloween

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 15:20:04 +0000

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Postmark on the back of this postcard: Worcester, Mass., Oct. 30, 1909.

Addressed to: Miss Ora Bickford, New Gloucester, Maine, R.F.D. no. 1.

Message: "With best wishes for a happy Hallowe'en. Love, Elva."

"A formerly widespread tradition held that young women gazing into a mirror in a darkened room (often on Halloween) could catch a glimpse of their future husband's face in the mirror--or a skull personifying Death if their fate was to die before they married." This explanation of what the women in this postcard is doing appears in Wikipedia's article on scrying, which is defined as "the practice of looking into a translucent ball or other material with the belief that things can be seen, such as spiritual visions, and less often for purposes of divination or fortune-telling."

Cupid's presence in this postcard is somewhat puzzling, but the publisher, L. R. Conwell, also included Cupid in at least one other Halloween postcard. See The Joys of Halloween Be Yours.

See below for additional examples of early twentieth-century postcards that depict mirror-gazing and other Halloween fortune-telling activities.

Leave It to Beaver Rocket to the Moon Space Game

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sat, 03 Oct 2015 21:08:44 +0000

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"Leave It to Beaver Rocket to the Moon Space Game. Thrills with Beaver on a race to the moon. As seen on A.B.C. television coast-to-coast."

The disembodied head of Beaver Cleaver floats in space somewhere between the earth and moon on the lid of this 1958 board game tie-in with the TV show Leave It to Beaver.

Halloween Games at Midnight

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 18:40:06 +0000

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Postcard addressed on the back to Earl Elliot, Douglassville, Pa., and postmarked at Douglassville, Pa., Oct. 31, 1906. The handwritten message on the front is "Greetings for the day," and the initials "L.U."--presumably those of the sender--appear in a number of places on the front, including on the wall next to the fireplace.

The clock strikes midnight on Halloween as a woman gazes into a fire and children bob for apples in a wash tub and on a string. Jack-o'-lanterns form a border around the scene, and ghostly figures hover in the message box at the bottom.

The woman in front of the fireplace may actually be playing a fortune-telling game involving three nuts, which she has named after three of her suitors. After placing the three nuts in the fire (I think the nuts are visible here on the top of the grate at the front of the fireplace), she watches to see how they burn. The following poem, which appeared in 1900 in The Jolly Hallowe'en Book, by Dorothy M. Shipman, p. 68, describes the practice.

The Test of the Nuts

I've named three nuts and placed them
Side by side on the grate,
The one which cracks is unfaithful,
The lover I know I should hate.
The one which blazes with brilliant fire,
Tells of high regard, 'tis said,
But the one which burns with a steady flame
Names the man whom I shall wed.

Apples for Bobbing

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 18:40:08 +0000

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Message on the back of this postcard: "Wish you a Merry Halloween from Isabelle."

Addressed to: Howard Knicley, Brookville, Pa., R.F.D. No. 2.

Postmarked: Punxsutawney, Pa., Oct. 27, 1909.

Printed on the back: "Raphael Tuck & Sons' 'Hallowe'en' Post Cards, Series No. 160."

In the scene on the front of this Raphael Tuck & Sons postcard, anthropomorphic apples jump into a wooden wash tub filled with water to initiate bobbing for apples on Halloween.

Here are some other colorful Tuck Halloween postcards:

Mirror Photo of Woman Playing Cards, White Way Photo Studio, New York, N.Y.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 06 Oct 2015 15:07:58 +0000

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Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "White Way Photo Studio, 1341 Broadway, New York City."

For additional examples of this type of trick photo, which uses mirrors to create its illusion and is sometimes called a multigraph, see my Mirror Photos album.

Whirl-O Halloween Fortune and Stunt Game

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 15:31:57 +0000

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Don't forget to make time for stunts during your Halloween party! This handy dandy Whirl-O spinner makes it easy. Who wouldn't want to "Whistle 'Yankee Doodle' with a saucepan on your noodle" or "Throw ten feet, never fail, three potatoes in a pail"? You'll find out who can "Squirm and wiggle, then laugh and giggle" or who's more likely to "Keep a straight face for a while, let nobody make you smile."

Of course, you'll have to prepare ahead of time. In addition to a saucepan, potatoes, and a pail, you'll need some string, a broom, a blindfold, an apple, some balloons, needle and thread, and a bunch of other stuff.

Check out the full list of stunts below. You may want to practice each one before the party so that you can demonstrate for your guests.

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Whirl-O Halloween Fortune and Stunt Game

Take a string and where you stand, tie a knot with just one hand.
Ride a broom around the floor, come back where you were before.
Leap like a frog and give a croak.
Walk a strait line to the end, never slip or descend.
Turn blindfolded ten times round point to your love.
On your tip-toes nice and fine, cross the room in one strait line.
Push an apple, nothing more, with your nose across the floor.
Stand up and bow, and moo like a cow.
Squirm and wiggle, then laugh and giggle.
Try your wind and see how soon you can burst a toy balloon.
Take a needle, shove thread in it, all in less than half a minute.
Throw ten feet, never fail, three potatoes in a pail.
Swing an apple on a string, bite it on the second swing.
See if you can show this knack, tie a bow behind your back.
Whistle Yankee Doodle with a saucepan on your noodle,
Bite and chew as fast as able five marshmallows from the table.
Keep a straight face for a while, let nobody make you smile.
Stand on your toes and wiggle your nose.
Spin like a top until you have to stop.
Make a spoon linger on your little finger.

We Had a Big Old Time--Playing Cards and Drinking Wine

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 13:28:49 +0000

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A playing cards and board games photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A scary scene during a card game! The four young men pictured in this real photo postcard have obviously been playing all evening. One of them is holding a bottle of Tokay wine, and we can see that a tobacco pipe, playing cards, and various coins and bills are strewn across the table (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the table).

The guy on the left with the unruly hair is staring intently at the one on the right, who has drawn a gun and seems to be trying not to laugh. The two other fellows, however, haven't even noticed the gun. Perhaps the guy with the gun is angry because he suspects that one of his friends has been cheating, or maybe he's just upset that the print hanging on the wall behind him is starting to fall down.

Judging by the humorous poem that's written on the other side of this photo postcard (see below), it's doubtful that any gunplay ever took place. Instead, considering that we can see a bed on the right-hand side of the photo and a dresser piled with books on the other side, it seems likely that these lads are simply students in a dorm room or apartment posing for an amusing photo of a card game gone wrong.

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Handwritten poem on the other side of this real photo postcard (note: "out of chine" seems to mean "out of alignment" or "out of sync" in this context):

Perhaps we had a big old time
And maybe it was a spree
But really I don't know
What actually did happen to me.

I only know my poor intellect
Was most awful out of chine
And I longed for just one drink of---
Well it wasn't wine.

L. Messersmith,
Fairmont, Minn.

Wanamaker Ladies and Gents' Dining Rooms, Philadelphia, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Tue, 25 Aug 2015 19:53:40 +0000

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"To get a good meal, go to the Geo. W. Wanamaker Ladies and Gents' Dining Rooms, No. 529 Chestnut Street. Good meals, the best attention, reasonable prices."