Alan Mays' photos

Eight guys lined up in a row to pose for this early twentieth-century photo. See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of amusement parks . This is a 1960s snapshot of the Gliding Swans ride at the Dutch Wonderland amusement park, which opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1963. Austen Dennison in his book, Dutch Wonderland (Arcadia Publishing, 2015), p. 21, provides some details about the swan-shaped vehicle: "A unique tram-like ride with a swan design was introduced in 1965. Beneath the swan overlay, the ride's framework consisted of a farm tractor with two trailers that carried passengers throughout the park. The Gliding Swans, as they were referred to in a 1966 pamphlet, operated for only three seasons before being removed due to increased foot traffic." For another photo from the park, see Amish Folks at Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, Pa.

A cabinet card photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of CDVs and cabinet cards . "Fritz, 418 N. 6th St., Reading, Pa. Extra Fine Finish." Printed on the other side: "Additional Copies of This Cabinet can be had at any time at Reduced Rates."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of tattered & torn (or otherwise damaged) . "For[idian] Ho[tel]. Floridian fishing dock, Miami Beach. Caught on yacht Skip Jack, Capt. E. P. Le May." A tattered, torn, creased, and taped photo of two fishermen posing with a sailfish on the dock of the Floridian Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of odd backdrops or backgrounds . A souvenir real photo postcard from " Happy Hollow " (McLeod's Amusement Park), which was located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Some of the signs and labels visible in the photo are: "Gambling room down stares. No drinks served." "Wild cat mine for sail chepe." "Don't ask for no darn fool dude drinks." "Old Crow, 2 bits a drink." "Wite mule, 2 bits per drink, good stuff." "Ky. booze XXX." "Pabst Blue Ribbon on drought." "Shiref's offis." "Tanglefoot strate, 2 bits." "Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer of quality." "On a slow train through Arkansas."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of food . The remnants of a meal were still on the table when the photographer snapped this picture. The calendar on the wall displays the month of July 1914, and it must have been a hot summer day judging by the sweat glistening on some of the faces. The dealer's notation on the back of this real photo postcard identifies the locale as Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of working in an office . A snapshot of a man sitting at a desk in an office. The photo is dated December 24, 1947, on the other side, and the clock on the windowsill behind him shows that it's ten minutes before 1:00 p.m. The larger of the two advertising calendars on the wall came from J. R. Kauffman of Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, who sold "A Full Line of Equipment for Every Farmer," including Allis-Chalmers tractors. The man appears to be holding paperwork or perhaps a book. Could it be an invoice or some sort of business report? Nope, as a second photo reveals, the man is opening Christmas presents, and that's evidently a gift box that he's holding in this photo.

A snapshot of a man in an office. The photo is dated December 24, 1947, and the man has evidently just unwrapped a Christmas present and is examining a necktie that he received as a gift. Another photo of the same man shows him holding a gift box.

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.

Written on the back of this snapshot: "Easter Sunday, Apr. 18-54."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of fences, walls, or other boundary markers . "Butantan (Serpentario), S. Paulo." A real photo postcard of the serpentarium (serpentário) at the Butantan Institute (Instituto Butantan) in São Paulo, Brazil. The mound-like concrete structures house the snakes, and the wall that encloses the area keeps visitors safe while they observe them. The Butantan Institute is a major research center with an extensive collection of venomous snakes that are used in the manufacture of antivenom.

"'Blasting stumps' on the Isted Farm. Whipple Photo." A dramatic real photo postcard showing the detonation of dynamite or some other explosive in an apparent attempt to clear tree stumps from a field. Evidently, though, the blast didn't look impressive enough, so the photographer drew on the negative to add large pieces of fake debris flying high into the air. It also appears that the photographer crossed out an earlier caption and wrote the words "blasting stumps" over it. I haven't been able to determine the location of "Isted Farm" or the identity of the "Whipple Photo" photographer.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of sign(s) of spring . This is an early twentieth-century real photo postcard with a handwritten caption on the other side that says, "Papa Drilling." As Wikipedia explains, " Drilling or seeding are the terms used for the mechanized sowing of an agricultural crop." The man in the photo is using a horse-drawn seed drill for spring planting. I bought this photo together with some others that came from Milton , Pennsylvania, so it's likely that this picture was taken somewhere in the same area.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cowboys and/or cowgirls . In this photo dated "Jan. 70," a young boy is wearing a cowboy hat and holster as he rides "Marvel the Mustang," a Marx toy advertised as "The Real Galloping Horse" (see Marvel the Galloping Mustang on the Virtual Marx Museum for more information). Notice the TV set with rabbit-ears antenna on the left, the decorated Christmas tree behind the boy, and the boxes stacked on the chair on the right. The boxes include one for a Tonka toy car carrier and another for a "Reflection 3 Pc. Chip 'n' Dip Set." For a cowgirl with her toy horse, see Riding Toward the Sun: Dale Evans and Buttermilk .

A photo of dolls for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the other side of this small snapshot (circa 1950, possibly from Columbia County, Pa.): "Charlie Coates (left). Ed Sharretts (right). Madge dressed Charlie & I dressed Ed. Ed got [a] prize for being the cutest." Not to be confused with Guys and Dolls .

A scepter photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park theme of canes, batons, spears, etc. This regal real photo postcard bears a dealer's notation on the other side that says, "St. Augustine, 1920s." The design of the Azo stamp box (with four corner squares) on the verso suggests a possible date ranging from the early 1920s through the 1940s. I haven't been able to determine where this king and queen may have been holding court. There are some people sitting on the porch of the building in the background, so perhaps this is a tourist site in St. Augustine, Florida, or elsewhere.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of at the wedding (but not the bride or groom) . Handwritten note on the back of the photo: "They're decorating the car." In this snapshot from 1949, a young man and woman are decorating a bride and groom's getaway car. The woman (her white dress is visible beyond the man) may be "Verla," who's seen in another photo running down the steps of the church in the background. The words "watch" and "out" are written to the left and right of the license plate on the back of the car.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of college memories (your own or someone else's) . This is a real photo postcard of a female student sitting at a desk and pretending to read a book as she poses for a photo. On the back of the card is an Azo stamp box design (with squares in the corners) that indicates a time frame ranging from 1924 to 1949. A small "Sargent" pennant on the wall above the desk (see a cropped version of the photo for a better view of the pennant) suggests that the woman was a student at Sargent College, which is known today as the Boston University College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College . An enlargement of the bookshelf on the desk revealed the following titles: Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology , 9th ed., College Zoology , by Heg[ner], and Organic Chemistry . I was able to identify the first book as the ninth edition of Textbook of Anatomy and Physiology , by Diana Clifford Kimber, Carolyn Elizabeth Gray, and Caroline E Stackpole, which was published by Macmillan in 1934. The second book, College Zoology , was authored by Robert W. Hegner and was also published by Macmillan, with a third edition in 1932 and a fourth in 1936. Although I didn't attempt to track down details about Organic Chemistry , the presence of the other two books confirms that this photo dates to 1934 or later.