Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: belts

Standing on a Steamer

11 Jan 2021 2 1 295
A waiting photo (sort of) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park with three men posing and waiting for the photographer to snap the picture. It's also a men on machines photo for the VPTP monthly free-for-all topic (submit as many vintage photos on any topic as you'd like). The photo shows a couple of guys posing on top of a steam engine while a fellow down below—with his sleeves rolled up and a shovel in his hands—does the dirty work. It looks the steam engine is in working order—there's a belt around the flywheel on the other side—but the boiler obviously isn't hot enough to prevent the guys from positioning themselves above it. For another photo of men on a machine, see Steamrolling over the Waves .

Soldier with Gun and Flag

11 Nov 2014 3 1 1173
A real photo postcard.

I'm a Firm Believer in Self-Protection

24 Nov 2014 4 2 789
"Thanksgiving Day. I'm a firm believer in self-protection."

Good Corn Makes Good Hogs

One-Man Music Machine

05 May 2014 6 1760
A machinery photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Although this real photo postcard shows what looks like a complicated Rube Goldberg contraption , it actually appears to be some sort of elaborate one-man music machine. The postcard dealer who sold this to me described the scene simply as a "pipe organ player at keyboard," but upon closer inspection I was able to identify a number of other musical instruments--a guitar, string bass, and bell, for instance--among the pulleys, belts, tubes, and pipes (mouse over the image to see my tentative identifications of some of the instruments). Although this unique machine seems to be related to the fairground organ , orchestrion , or some other type of mechanical musical instrument , I haven't been able to uncover any specific information about it or the man playing it. Has anyone else ever seen anything like it? Update: See The Mighty Nelsonian (One-Man Music Machine Mystery Solved) .

North Dakota Threshing Crew with Steam Engine

15 Jul 2014 4 1 1766
The dealer from whom I bought this real photo postcard identified it as a North Dakota scene, and I'm guessing that it shows a threshing crew. I'm not sure what kind of steam engine they're using to power the threshing machine (which is presumably connected to the other end of the belt that extends beyond the left-hand side of the photo).