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

Telephones and Stoves

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 03:05:34 +0000

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

This is a real photo postcard used as an advertisement by the Keely Stove Company of Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The card dates to 1920, and it shows a woman with a candlestick telephone. She's getting married and wants a Keely Columbian Stove just like her mother has, so she's telephoning Herr & Co. in Lancaster, Pa., to order one. In other versions of the ad that I spotted online, the same woman is phoning J. A. Best & Co. in Allentown, Pa., and Bennett & Billington in Canajoharie, N.Y.

I have another copy of this postcard that was addressed to Miss Fannie Groff, Kirkwood, Lanc. Co., Pa., R.R.#1, and mailed in New Providence, Pa., on Nov. 3, 1920. The handwritten message on that copy doesn't refer to the advertisement itself but the writer does mention "phoning" and "call[ing] . . . on the phone":

"Tue. eve. [Nov. 2]. Dear Fannie, I received your letter this morning. I guess you think I am a great one for not phoning to you, but I was so busy today. And Jacob came up to vote [Warren G. Harding won the U.S. presidential election held that day], and because it rained he is staying up so I was not at Margie's to stay all night. Fannie, I won't be down this week, but I will come next Fri. eve. as far as I know now, if it suits you. We are invited to a kitchen shower on Sat. eve. Write to let me know if it will suit. And I will write later or call you up on the phone. R.E.M."

History of this Genuine Photo

The mother of this young lady has a Columbian Stove manufactured by The Keely Stove Co., Columbia, Pa. She is about to get married and telephones to Herr & Co., 7 E. King St., Lancaster, Pa., for she wants one just like Mother's.

515. Schaefer Ross Co., Inc., Rochester, N.Y.

Mennonite Couple Arm in Arm on a Farm (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 02:42:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Mennonite couple standing arm in arm. For more information, see the full version of this photo.

Mennonite Couple Arm in Arm on a Farm

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 02:42:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of arm in arm.

A Mennonite couple -- notice the woman's plain dress -- stand arm in arm in front of a picket fence as they pose for this photo, which I purchased in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Two farm buildings are partially visible in the background. On the right-hand side is a barn with a ramp leading to its second level, which is a typical feature of barns in Lancaster County. The building on the left-hand side may be a tobacco barn, which is also commonly found on farms in the area.

See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of the couple.

One-Minute Churn, L. H. Chambers, Cumberland, Maryland

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 04:30:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of pick your own (post a photo depicting your favorite theme from the past year).

As my favorite of the year, I'm choosing the theme of pick a particular format (daguerreotype, cabinet card, CDV, real photo postcard, cyanotype, slide, Polaroid, or what have you?). And among those formats, I'm selecting real photo postcard, as I did previously in March (see Foursome Flying over Long Beach, California, 1914).

I took a quick look at my postings to the Vintage Photos Theme Park during 2023, and I discovered to my surprise that the majority of my weekly contributions -- more than thirty! -- were real photo postcards.

This photo postcard, captioned "One Minute Churn, L. H. Chambers, Cumberland, Md.," shows Lorenzo Hazell Chambers (1877-1958) standing next to a mechanical butter churn. He has a wide grin on his face, and he's resting his left hand on top of the churn.

Perhaps Chambers intended to use this card as an advertisement for selling churns (the One-Minute Churn Company solicited sales agents -- see the company's ad below), even though the photo quality is poor and the image seems quite cloudy.

This real photo postcard is unused, without any address, message, stamp, or postmark. The Kruxo stamp box design on the other side suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1908 to 1910. Also printed on the verso: "The C. C. Bickert Post Card Co., Hagerstown, Md."

The following advertisement for the patented One-Minute Churn appeared in Hardware magazine, April 10, 1905, p. 11.

Butter in One Minute

The only perfect milk and cream aerator churn in the world, making the best granular butter from sour or sweet cream in a minute -- which we guarantee -- is the One Minute Churn. Protected by 57 patents.

Its construction is perfect in every detail. All parts interchangeable and carried in stock. Easy to run, holding 1 quart to 13 gallons.

For farm and family use.

Our Catalogue tells all. Mention Hardware.

Agents wanted. Cable address: "Minute" or "Murphite" New York.

I. M. Murphy, president.

The One Minute Churn Co., Inc., 9 Old Slip, New York, U.S.A.

Snacking in the Sixties

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 03:52:07 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of lines/stripes.

Five boys are sitting at a patio table in the back yard as they drink Food Fair root beer and orange soda and snack on Wheat Thins, twin pops, and Fruit Flavored Slices. Three of the boys are wearing striped shirts, and the two oldest boys look similar enough to be brothers or maybe even twins.

The Kodak Paper stamp box on the other side of this real photo postcard was first used around 1950. The design of the Wheat Thins box on the table suggests a date sometime in the sixties based on the Nabisco Wheat Thins - 1960s image posted on Flickr by Brandon (Waffle Whiffler).

Update: After another Alan commented on Flickr that he was getting a sixties vibe from this photo, I did some additional checking and found a clearer example of the side of the box (see Nabisco Wheat Thins - 1960s). I revised the title and description to reflect that these kids were probably snacking in the sixties rather than the seventies.

The Girl Was Smiling But Her Doll Was Not

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 23 Dec 2022 23:45:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of toys or gifts.

A Christmas photo of a girl, who is smiling and seems happy, and her doll, who is rigid and tense -- and seems a little scary!

Before you cautiously back up and quietly exit the house, take note of the metallic Christmas tree, the granny square afghan on the chair, and the girl's striped shirt and Santa pin.

For another potentially scary situation, see The Doll Waited Patiently for Them to Come Home.

Who Was That Masked Man?

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 17:14:08 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tricks or treats! (any kind of Halloween photo, including costumes, masks, jack-o'-lanterns, decorations, ghosts, skeletons, haunted houses, or anything spooky, scary, or frightening; no limit—post as many Halloween photos as you'd like!).

A photo of three young men goofing around in the backyard. I'm not sure if that's a Halloween mask or whether the fellow in the middle is wearing it voluntarily, but the two other guys appear to be having fun. There seems to be a lot of activity going on around them, with a woman partially visible on the right, a dog on the left, and a man walking in the background.

The Bess Way to Climb a Tree

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 04:57:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

This picture has the same appearace and size as a real photo postcard but it doesn't have a postcard backing. The women are identified on the other side as "Bess Stubinger" and "Bess Lester."

For another photo of people posing in a tree, see Hatchet Job.

Luther and Dick

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 16 May 2022 03:37:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of from the photobooth.

Written on the back of the photo: "Luther & Dick."

For more photobooth photos, see Photobooth Girl in Forty Poses and other photos in my Vintage Photobooth album.

Halloween Heads—Girl with Jack-O'-Lanterns, 1972

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 03:34:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tricks and treats for Halloween.

A cute and amusing Halloween snapshot that's a little out of focus. Although the photo was developed in "Feb. 73" (as indicated on the left-hand border), the girl evidently posed with her jack-o'-lanterns during the previous October.

For a similar picture, see I Love My Jack-O'-Lantern!

Funny Easter Bunnies at Halloween, 1961

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 15:21:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of something funny.

A couple of funny Easter bunnies -- actually dressed up for Halloween -- pose in front of a fireplace as they hold their carrots.

Printed on the back: "This is a Kodacolor print made by Kodak. November 1961 R." The November photo developing date was the first clue that these are Halloween costumes (but I'm counting them as Easter bunnies, too!). There's also a scarecrow standing on top of a pumpkin (on the right in front of the fireplace) that's obviously an autumn decoration, and it looks like there may be pumpkin and ghost figurines on the mantel.

See also Quizzical Kids in Easter Costumes and more photos in my Funny Bunnies album.

Doubly Cute, 1949

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 03:16:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A blurry but charming photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A double exposure featuring a cute kid with a big smile sitting in the foreground along with a ghostly mom and the kid's blurry doppelgänger lurking in the background. The photo is dated 1949 in the lower right-hand corner.

For more charming blurriness, see Misty Shores of Memory and Fuzzy Dog.

Smiling Mother with Wide-Eyed Baby (Full Version)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 May 2020 03:05:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

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

Smiling Mother with Wide-Eyed Baby

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 May 2020 03:05:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A mothers and babies photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A fashionably dressed mother with a gentle smile poses for a picture as she holds her baby, who's staring in wide-eyed astonishment at something off camera.

This is an undated real photo postcard from Paris, France (based on a partial address—Ave. de Neuilly—stamped on the other side).

See also the full version of this photo.

Knitting on the Beach

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 06 Apr 2020 02:03:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a stitch in time (doing needlework, knitting, or weaving).

An undated snapshot of a woman knitting as she sits on a sandy beach.

For more knitting photos, see People Knitting: A Century of Photographs, a book by Barbara Levine (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016). An article about the book, 100 Years of People Knitting, by Claire Voon, appeared on Hyperallergic.

Halloween Pumpkinheads at the Gate

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 06 Oct 2019 16:57:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Halloween postcard addressed to Master Samuel Hauenstein, Lincoln, Pa., and postmarked on Oct. 31, 1912. There's nothing written on the back other than the address.

Printed on the other side: "Raphael Tuck & Sons' 'Hallowe'en' Series of Post Cards No. 174."

Mugging for the Camera at Café Bauer, Garmisch

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 25 Nov 2018 09:03:00 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of smiling faces of yesteryear (photos of smiling people, based on the Flickr group of the same name).

"Memento of the world-famous Bavarian evenings at the Café Bauer, Garmisch."

Stamped on the back of this real photo postcard: "Foto Franz, 81 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Kainzenbadstr. 26, Tel. 3202. Erinnerung an die weltbekannten Bayerischen Abende im Café Bauer, Garmisch."

Smile, Darn You, Smile!

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

Alan Mays has posted:

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."

Girl Reading the North American Newspaper (Detail)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 02:32:02 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A detail showing a close-up of the North American newspaper from a real photo postcard. For more information, see the original photo.

Girl Reading the North American Newspaper

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 02:32:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A photo of readers (people reading books or magazines) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. (Or people reading newspapers? Hopefully my fellow VPTPers will indulge my topic drift from magazines to newspapers.)

A real photo postcard of a young girl holding an issue of the North American newspaper (mouse over the image for a close-up view of the paper—I haven't been able to determine a date or decipher any of the headlines, unfortunately).

The girl has a smirk on her face and a pair of pince-nez glasses on her nose as she looks down at her newspaper. I'm not sure what might be in the case that's on the floor next to her chair.