Vintage Photos Theme Park Contributions

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of bucket and spade/shovel and pail (beach) . This is a snapshot of a mother and her two children -- a girl and boy -- sitting on an unidentified beach. The little girl is holding a cup that she may be using to pour sand into the metal pail in front of her. The boy has a small shovel that he is using to dig sand to put into a plastic pitcher. The only clues to the location of the beach are the flags in front of the building in the background. I wasn't able to determine what the flag on the left might be, but the one on the right is the U.S. flag. I could see that the flag in the middle featured some sort of animal on a light background with a dark stripe along the bottom. After a bit of searching, I was able to identify it as the Bear Flag , which is the official California flag. See also a cropped version of the photo.

A mother and her children playing in the sand at an unidentified beach in California. For more information, see the full version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cuddle up a little closer (people embracing) . A man and a woman hold each other close as they pose for a photo in front of a painted backdrop that depicts a railroad observation car . See a cropped version for a close-up of the couple. This is an unused real photo postcard with no name, address, or message on the other side. The DOPS stamp box printed on the verso suggests that the card may date to between 1925 and 1942.

A real photo postcard of a man and woman on an "observation car." See also the full version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of holding a doll . Notation on photo: "C. C. Kuhn. Photo.#716." A photo of two girls -- one standing and one seated -- posed on a piece of carpet among some shrubbery and potted plants. C. C. Kuhn ( Carl C. Kuhn , 1888-1948) was a well-known photographer who lived in Cashtown, Adams County, Pennsylvania, at the time he took this photo. This is an unused real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box design (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. For a closer view of the girls and the doll, see a cropped version of the photo. For a close-up of the doll and Kuhn's name on the photo, see an even smaller detail .

A real photo postcard of two girls and a doll taken by photographer C. C. Kuhn. For more information, see the full version of the photo.

This detail from a real photo postcard by photographer C. C. Kuhn shows a doll and the way Kuhn added his name and a number to the photo. For more information, see the full version of the photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of flying . Photographer Cal Calvert (1875-1930) created an elaborate mockup of an airplane for customers at his studio in Portland, Oregon. In this example of a real photo postcard by Calvert, a man, two women, and three children are pretending to fly over the city of Portland. Mount Hood is visible in the background. The style of Cyko stamp box on the other side dates the card to sometime between 1904 and the 1920s. Banner on the front of the airplane: "The Rose City." Sign on the rudder at the back of the plane: "Seeing Portland." Printed on the other side of the postcard: "Cal Calvert, 10 Minute Postcard Man. City Park Gallery at the Washington St. Entrance, Portland, Oregon. Mazeograph Process." Handwritten note on the other side: "We had this taken for the children's sake. They are in the Catholic School now. Everything was settled May 2nd." For more examples of Calvert's photography, see Cal Calvert and His Airplane .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of people holding balloons . "Disneyland, 1967" is written on the other side of this snapshot. A woman and a man pose for a photo while a man behind them holds balloons shaped like Mickey Mouse's head. A sign on the building in the background identifies it as the "Bank of America," which operated a branch on Main Street, U.S.A. , in the Disneyland theme park, Anaheim, California, from 1955 to 1992.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of weddings . This is an undated color photo of a bride and groom cutting into their three-tiered wedding cake. The bride is smiling as she poses for the camera, but the groom seems stoic and isn't paying any attention to the photographer. A framed print of grapes and other fruit hangs on the cinder-block wall in the background, and curtains with a colorful pattern are visible directly behind the bride. Crepe-paper streamers provide overhead decoration.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of birdbaths or other lawn ornaments . This is a real photo postcard with a handwritten date of "April 19, 1953" on the other side. When I purchased this photo, I noticed that the landscaping included a pink flamingo lawn ornament, concrete planters, a small trellis, a bench, rustic wooden chairs, and various trees and plants. The sign over the door of the small building identifies it as the "Office," and I thought that perhaps it was the office for a small motel or cabin court. But then I took a closer look at another sign on the right-hand side of the building, and I was surprised to discover that it says, "Burials $10.00 Up." The sign also lists specific hours of operation, which I couldn't decipher, and ends with "Other Times by Appointment." Could this be a cemetery? I don't see any gravestones, and the yard art -- especially the plastic pink flamingo -- isn't typical for decoration in a graveyard. See cropped views of the yard on the left-hand side and the building on the right .

A view of the yard with a pink flamingo lawn ornament, bench, rustic wooden chairs, concrete planters, trees, and plants. See also a cropped view of the building and the full real photo postcard .

The "Office" building with a sign advertising "Burials $10.00 Up." See also a cropped view of the yard and the full real photo postcard .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of eyes closed . Photobooth Girl -- see Photobooth Girl in Forty Poses -- posed with a friend whose eyes were closed. The previous photo in the photobooth strip showed her friend with eyes only partially closed.

Photobooth Girl -- see Photobooth Girl in Forty Poses -- posed with a friend whose eyes were half closed. The next photo in the photobooth strip showed her friend with eyes completely closed.

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.

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

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tricycles . An undated snapshot of three kids riding their tricycles on a bright sunny day.