Hands on Hips

No, probably not the Watusi . She has one eye closed, a hand on her hip, the other on her head, her left foot's out, and she may be shaking it all about. I think it could be the Hokey Pokey —that might be what it's all about! In any case, this was my strike a pose runner-up for this week's Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A priests/nuns photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Stamped on the back of the photo: "Folkemer Photo Service, Baltimore, Apr. 27, 1928." There's nothing except the stamp on the back of the photo and the fuzzy details in the background of the image to indicate where these priestly fellows posed for their photo. The snapshot was probably taken somewhere in the Baltimore, Maryland, area--as the stamp suggests--but their relaxed stances make me wonder if they were visiting family and friends or traveling on vacation when the photographer took this picture.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the topic of bring on the clowns or any other circus performer . "Greetings from the Biggest Couple with the Greatest Show on Earth. Fischer. A-132. Campbell's Photo Art, Dayton. Ohio." Mr. and Mrs. Fischer were billed as the "world's tallest married couple" when they appeared with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ("The Greatest Show on Earth"). Head over to The Tallest Man Web site to see postcards and other memorabilia on separate pages for Gottlieb Fischer and Elfriede Fischer .

Is that Tom (or whatever the proprietor's name actually is) standing there in the middle? And I wonder if the man at right is placing one of these postcards in the mailbox. In addition to this close-up of Uncle Tom, see below for the entire postcard and details showing the Bald Eagle Lookout tower and the Greyhound bus . Caption: "Uncle Tom's Cabin, 7 Miles West of State College, Pa., Route 322."

A photo of hands on hips for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. (For an entire group devoted to this theme, see Just Put Your Hands On Your Hips .) This novelty photo features such detailed cowboy costumes--including hats, vests, bandanas, chaps, wrist cuffs, gun belts, and revolvers--that it must have taken these fellows a good while to suit up. The signs in the background of this real photo postcard are difficult to read. Two of them are: "Leave your horse outside, also the bull." "Safety first?"

An undated real photo postcard. A woman walks down the street as Mr. Photobomb watches. Movie Shots photographers also operated in other cities, including Washington, D.C., and at the 1940 New York World's Fair. For examples of other photos taken by street and seaside photographers, see lisabee73's delightful album of Walking Pictures . For another Movie Shots photo, see Man with a Package, Movie Shots Photo, Philadelphia, Pa.

A photo of horses, carriages, or wagons for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back: "I think [this was] taken at Guthrie farm." The AZO stamp box on the other side suggests a possible date as early as 1904 to 1918. This young fellow has placed his jacket on the ground to strike a jaunty pose in front of a wagon containing a bumper load of corn.

A memorials photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Inscription on the monument: "The Lost Children of the Alleghenies were found here, May 8, 1856, by Jacob Dibert and Harrison Whysong." See also a detail showing the inscription and the full version of the real photo postcard (below). The Lost Children of the Alleghenies monument stands as a memorial to the sad story of George and Joseph Cox, ages 7 and 5, whose bodies were discovered at the site on May 8, 1856. The boys wandered away from their home in the Allegheny Mountains of northern Bedford County , Pennsylvania, on April 24. The boys' parents sought help when they were unable to locate their children, and hundreds of people eventually came to help search through the mountainous terrain during the following days. After two weeks of searching, however, the boys still had not been found, and the freezing cold weather in the higher altitudes was a cause for concern. A man named Jacob Dibert, who lived some distance away and had not participated in the search, dreamed that he was out in the woods looking for the boys. He dreamed for three nights in succession that he saw a dead deer, a little shoe, and a tree that had fallen across a stream. After crossing the stream, he found the boys' bodies. He sought the help of his brother-in-law, Harrison Whysong, who was familiar with the area where the boys had gone missing. After Jacob described what he saw in his dream, the men attempted to locate the site. They noticed a dead deer, found a boy's shoe, and spotted a tree that had fallen over a stream. They crossed over, and discovered George and Jacob's lifeless bodies. The poignant story of the boys "found by a dream" circulated widely in newspapers and books and by word of mouth. The monument was built and dedicated on May 8, 1906, fifty years after the sad event. For more information, see the Wikipedia article about the Lost Children of the Alleghenies . The boys' story was also the subject of Alison Krauss's 2007 song, "Jacob's Dream."

A photo of a cluttered or untidy or "unprofessional" background for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "'The Post Office,' Ausable Chasm, N.Y., 9/1/39." Ausable Chasm is a "sandstone gorge and tourist attraction located in the village of Keeseville, New York." Promoted as the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks , the chasm is a place where visitors can go climbing on the rock walls of the gorge, hiking along its trails, and rafting on the Ausable River, which runs through it. As seen here, the Post Office at Ausable Chasm is an area where the "rock walls are porous enough to allow tacks and other similar items to penetrate the rock like a bulletin board for the purpose of posting a note." A "Post Office" sign is partially hidden amid the shadows and messages in the center of the photo (hopefully this cluttered wall of notes qualifies as enough of a background--rather than a fore- or middle ground--for this week's VPTP theme). Unfortunately, the Post Office closed in 2004 due to the erosion and litter caused by the tacked-up notes. A logbook was placed at the site so that visitors can still leave notes for others to read. Postcard views of the Post Office are available over on Flickr (see Vintage Postcard - Post Office, Ausable Chasm, New York and A Busy Day at the "Post Office" in Famous Ausable Chasm, NY ), and a more recent photo shows the rocks without any messages (see Ausable Chasm "Post Office" ).

Stamped on the back of the photo: "Fairhill Studios, 2918 N. Sixth St., Philadelphia, Radcliff 2317." There are three or more raccoons making their home in the wire mesh enclosure behind the "Home of the American Raccoon" sign. The fellow on top is wearing some sort of ribbon or badge, and another ribbon is dangling among the branches below him. This may be a parade float, though It's hard to tell for sure. In any case, I wonder why these two guys are touting the "Home of the American Raccoon."

A soldier and his father stand at attention in the bright sunlight while his mother waits impatiently in the shadows with her hands on her hips.

A real photo postcard showing a picnic scene with a ghostly double exposure.

For more information, see The Ghost Card, or the Skeleton on the Wall (below). For the back of the card, see Whip and Fan Flirtations (below).

A novelty card with instructions for experiencing a ghostly afterimage of a "skeleton on the wall." For a vertical view of the skeleton, see a rotated version of the card (below). The other side contains a list of Whip and Fan Flirtations (below). For other cards that use the afterimage effect, see Hank Keene's Magic Picture and Lasting Impressions . The Ghost Card, or the Skeleton on the Wall Directions . Select a small black spot on a white wall, or white sheet—a spot that you can find again at once; let this spot be in a deep shadow . Then holding the card in the hand gaze intently on the eye of the skeleton, while the light falls brightly on the card. Keep the eyes on this one spot without moving or winking for two minutes; then suddenly look at the spot on the wall for two minutes. Keep the eye very steady in both cases, you will then see distinctly the same skeleton on the wall. For a parlor entertainment this is one of the grandest things ever witnessed.

The dealer's tag at the antique mall where I purchased this small photograph of a fellow dressed up like Uncle Sam said, "Antique photo, 4th [of] July parade, Concord, Mich." There's no other identifying information on the photo, unfortunately. See also On the Lam with Uncle Sam :

A photo of folded arms and/or crossed legs for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "...Base-ball Club, Boswel....weg. [or neg.?] by Wm. Hicks." This is a damaged real photo postcard of a baseball club from Boswell , Somerset County, Pennsylvania, dating to the 1900s or 1910s. Although part of the handwritten caption is missing due to the torn-off corner, the baseball club name appears to have been the Regulars, judging by the shirt worn by the man standing on the left with his hands on his hips. Other players are standing with their arms folded, and some are sitting cross-legged on the ground. William Hicks was a 24-year-old resident of Boswell when he listed his occupation as photographer on a marriage license application dated November 25, 1907 (as viewed on the Ancestry web site). His wife-to-be was Catharine E. Henry, who was 18 years old and also lived in Boswell. I haven't been able to locate any additional information about William Hicks and his photographic work, but I'm guessing that he may have been the photographer for two other real photo postcards from the same town: Nicollette at Boswell, Pa. , and Atlantic Coal Company's Mine, Boswell, Pa.