Alan Mays' photos

This is a handbill advertising a vaudeville show that took place at Woodford Farm, a venue in Ogdensburg, New York, from Thursday, July 9, through Saturday, July 11, 1903. The Ogdensburg Journal newspaper, in its issue for Friday, July 10, 1903, p. 4, didn't mention the Williard's Fun Makers or Burt Flower, but it had this to say about Prof. Hamnet's act (it spelled his name with an extra "t"); "Good Show at Woodford. Prof. Hamnett's Trained Animals and Birds Pleased Audience. Prof. Hamnett's trained animal show opened an engagement at Woodford Farm last night, giving a first-rate performance that pleased the 300 or more persons who assembled in the canvas pavilion. Prof. Hamnett's exhibitions are given by finely trained dogs, goats, geese and birds and the show is at all times bright and entertaining. It will be repeated tonight and Saturday night with a special matinee tomorrow afternoon for ladies and children." Almost as interesting as Prof. Hamnet (his full name was Florus Hamnet Frost) are the various typefaces used for this handbill. The typeface for "Woodford Farm" and "Don't Miss It" with its uniquely shaped "O" is particularly distinctive. Something New. Vaudeville Show at Woodford Farm Commencing, Thursday Ev'g, July 9, Three Nights, Saturday Matinee. Prof. Hamnet's Educated Dogs, Goats, Geese & Birds The Williard's Fun Makers Burt Flower in New Songs & Dances Don't Miss It. Doors Open 7 P.M., Performance at 8:15. Admission, 10c.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of odd, unusual, or quirky . Trick photos with double exposures usually involve typical scenes with props like wheelbarrows (see A Man Simultaneously Pushing and Riding a Wheelbarrow ) or playing cards ( Aunt Maggie's Trick Shot ). The setting for this one, however, is rather unusual. A huge pile of firewood dominates the scene. On the left, two boys stand at the bottom of the woodpile. Partially visible behind them is a farm wagon and beyond the wagon are some trees. Both boys are looking toward the photographer. One of them is pointing toward the top of the pile and wielding a piece of wood as if he intends to use it as a weapon. The other boy is about to start climbing up the pile. On the right, standing at the top of the woodpile are the same two boys. They're both drawing bows as if they're about to shoot arrows, but neither of them has an arrow. So, it appears that the storyline is that the boys are about to climb the woodpile to stop themselves from shooting arrows as they stand on top of the pile. Or at least that's all I can make of it.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of leave-taking photos (at the door, next to the car, or near the front gate as visitors are getting ready to depart) . A young man and woman pause at the front gate as a photographer snaps a photo. Are they getting ready to leave to go somewhere together, or have they just returned? Both of them appear to be dressed up, and the man is holding an umbrella while the woman has a rolled-up piece of paper in her hands. Two buildings stand across the road, and a hill with trees is visible beyond them. In the foreground, a young boy is grinning and looking up at the photographer. This is an unused real photo postcard with only a name, "Doroles," written on the back. The Velox stamp box (with diamonds in the corners and "Place Stamp Here" in the middle) on the other side indicates that it may date to as early as 1907 to 1917.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of mirror, mirror on the wall . A woman wearing a large hat peers into a mirror as she poses for a picture. The reflection of her face in the mirror is obscured by both the shadow of her hat and the silvering of the photo. This is a real photo postcard, but there's no address, message, postmark, or stamp box on the verso that would help identify a location or determine a possible date. Judging by the remnants of black paper stuck to the other side, this photo was originally pasted in a scrapbook.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of holding hands . A photo of eleven women -- six standing, one seated on a chair, two kneeling, and two holding hands as they sit on the floor -- taken in front of a window in the parlor. Notice the distinctive wallpaper and the pump organ on the left. There's a partial list of the women's names written on the other side (see below), but there aren't any clues about the location or reason for their get-together. This is a real photo postcard, and the type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the back suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. Written on the other side: Top row left to right 1 Ethel May 2 Maud Ressler 3 Mered Diets 4 [no name] 5 [no name] 6 Gertrude Harrington Setting down 1 Fern Rinker 2 [no name] 3 Mrs. Cora Pommert 4 Wave Pace [possibly Wave Bernadine Pace Sanderson ] 5 Irene Rinker

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of clocks . This is an early twentieth-century photo of the Floral Clock in Detroit's Water Works Park. According to Floral Clock at Water Works Park , an article by Dan Austin on the HistoricDetroit.org site, the "clock ran on cup-shaped paddlewheels that moved as water flowed. The clock itself was made up of more than 7,000 plants that were held in place by chicken wire." For additional views of this remarkable timepiece, see Floral Clock at Water Works Park - Old photos and Postcards of Floral Clock at Water Works Park . This is an unused real photo postcard, and the type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of booze and music . "Hamburg-St. Pauli. Zillertal bleibt Zillertal." ("Zillertal remains the Zillertal.") Partially visible on the wall in the background: "Schaug das'd in Schwung kimmst!" (According to one source, this translates as "I see you come to life" in the Bavarian dialect). This is a souvenir real photo postcard from the Zillertal, a Bavarian-style beer hall that was located in the notorious Reeperbahn area in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg , Germany. The man wearing a suit and holding a baton is a tourist pretending to be the conductor of the house band, whose lederhosen-clad members are surrounding him. Other souvenir photos typically show the band with groups of tourists holding mugs of beer. See the Zillertal, Hamburg section of the Reardon Smith Ships site for photos of the exterior and interior of the Zillertal along with two more souvenir pictures.

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!) . As far as I've been able to determine, the boy in this photo is wearing a Fred Flintstone costume -- a Ben Cooper TV Hero Costume -- that dates to 1966. He's posing behind three jack-o'-lanterns. Note the flame at the top of the middle one and the used matchsticks on the floor.

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.

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!) . Handwritten caption in green ink, lower right-hand corner: "Jack - Hallow-Eve - 1933." A real photo postcard showing "Jack" -- usually a man's name -- dressed as a woman for Halloween in 1933. The photo was previously pasted in an album and has remnants of paper and glue on the other side. The photographic paper used for the postcard backing has an Azo stamp box (squares in all four corners, in use from 1924 to 1949).

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of infant adoration (babies with those who love them) . This is an unused real photo postcard with a nicely lit portrait of a doting mother and her young child. The Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side indicates that the photo may date to sometime between 1904 and 1918.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of sitting on the sofa . I like the colors and patterns in this undated photo of a couple and their dog posing for a picture in their living room. Note especially the bright red sofa (with white antimacassars ), the busy design printed on the curtains, and the woman's striped blouse and distinctive eyeglasses. For another unique sitting-on-the-sofa photo, see Easter Bunnies and Baskets .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of horses, carriages, or wagons . The handwritten message on the other side of this real photo postcard says, "This is our horses Robert & Maud in front of Fulton Miller's house." There's no stamp or postmark, but the card is addressed to "Mr. Glen[n] Lyle , RFD, Brookville, [Pennsylvania], c/o Herbert Lyle." The Velox stamp box (with diamonds in the corners and "Place Stamp Here" in the middle) indicates that it may date to as early as 1907-1917.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of a high school prom photo (yours or someone else's) or any photo of a dressed-up couple , Handwritten note on the other side of the photo: "May 17th, 1969. Prom." A prom photo taken over fifty years ago. Anyone know the meaning of the symbols on the mat-like wall decorations? For another prom photo, see Prom Night .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of photo with decorative border or frame . Printed on the other side of this real photo postcard: "White House Photo Parlor, W. H. Burnham, Prop., 25 Clinton Ave., Cortland, N.Y." A portrait of a young girl with glasses. Her dress has a lacy collar, she has a bow in her hair, and she's wearing a necklace and a lapel watch with chain. The type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) printed on the other side suggests a date that may be as early as 1904 to 1918. Compare the oval border of this photo with the one used for Man's Portrait in Elaborate Border .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of (modest) bathtub shots . Mom is smiling but Junior looks a little worried as dad snaps a photo at bath time. For a basin instead of a bathinette, see Baby in a Basin, Photographed by Galen Piper, Bainbridge, Pa.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of outdoors at night . Handwritten note on the back of this snapshot: "3 oclock in the morning." Five women and three men pose for a photo at three o'clock in the morning. A handmade "welcome" sign on the door includes a drawing of two skull and crossbones.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of broken or dilapidated . A note on the other side of this photo says that the covered bridge was "near where I was raised, had to cross it to get to town," but there's no indication where the bridge or town was located. The blotchy and discolored photo makes the dilapidated bridge seem that much more rickety and run-down. The "1857" (I think that's a "5" written backwards) may be the year the bridge was constructed. What appears to be an advertising sign (for "Shapiros"?) is visible on the left inside wall at the entrance to the bridge. This is a real photo postcard with an undivided back and a style of stamp box -- containing a sailboat illustration and the words "Place 1-Cent Stamp Here" -- that suggests a date that could be as early as 1905 to 1908.