Alan Mays' photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of piercing, unusual, or distinctive eyes (a photo featuring someone or something -- a person, animal, or face-like object -- with expressive eyes) . An early twentieth-century photo of two men, one sitting on a bench and one standing, with a bush or tree behind them. The fellow on the bench looks alert, with a piercing stare, while the one who's standing seems drowsy with half-closed eyes. See a cropped version of the photo for a close-up view of the two men. This is an unused real photo postcard with no address, message, date, or stamp box. Printed on the other side: " J. A. Campbell , 373 Court St., Binghamton, N.Y."

The man on the left is looking at the camera with a piercing stare, while the one on the right seems drowsy with half-closed eyes. See also the full version of this real photo postcard.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of view from a hill or mountain . This is a real photo postcard with a view of the town of Springwater , New York. It's addressed on the other side to Miss Louisa Moyer , Kylertown, Clearfield Co., Pa. The card received two postmarks, one in Springwater, N.Y., on August 30, 1907, and a second one in Kylertown, Pa., on the following day, August 31, 1907. Message on the verso: "Dear Cousin, will send you a picture to the town of Springwater. It was taken when the leaves were on, so it don't show the town so very much but [you] can get some idea to the town. Kate." Caption and notes on the front of the card (spelling and punctuation updated): Springwater, N.Y. The arrow shows where Springwater Depot is. The little times mark [multiplication sign, or x] in the picture is where I worked.

A ticket for a dance that took place at Kresky's Hotel in Mehoopany , Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, on Christmas Day in 1868. A Christmas Ball Will Be Given at Kresky's Hotel, in Mehoopany, Friday, December 25th 1868. Managers: W. M. Gaylord, W. M. Jennings, F. Maynard, Ira Aumick. Music:---Vaughn's String Band. Bill, $3.00

John B. Gough (1817-1886) was a "United States temperance orator," meaning that he lectured about the evils of alcohol. For a brief discussion of his career, see John B. Gough (1817-1886): The Temperance Orator as Revivalist . I haven't been able to determine the location of the Seamen's Friend Society where Gough delivered this lecture. The group may have been the Boston Seaman's Friend Society , the American Seaman's Friend Society in New York, the Woman's Seamen's Friend Society of Connecticut, or another organization with a similar name. For another nineteenth-century ticket, see Grand Temperance Lecture Ticket . Gough's Lecture. Seamen's Friend Society. May 4, 1865. Parquette. Seat H No. 18 Thursday, May 4. Retain this portion of the ticket, as it secures your seat.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the long and winding road (road photos, winding or otherwise) . Caption: "The Juniata Near Amity Hall. 9." This is a real photo postcard with a scenic view of the Juniata River in Perry County , Pennsylvania. The road in the photo is now US 22/US 322 ( U.S. Route 22 concurrent with U.S. Route 322 ). The location is near Amity Hall , which refers to a landmark inn that closed in the 1980s, suffered a fire in 2009, and has since been torn down. The tire cover on the back of the automobile parked along the road says, "See Bob" and "Auto Supplies." The license plate on the car is 69M52, and I believe it's a Pennsylvania plate. Unfortunately, I was unable to make out the year, which appeared on license plates at the time the photo was taken. On the other side of the card is an Azo stamp box (squares in each of the four corners), which indicates that the photo likely dates to sometime between the 1920s and the 1940s. There's no message, address, stamp, or postmark on this card, but other copies that I spotted online had postmarks dating to 1935 and 1939.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the seventies (groovy pics or what have you) . A 1970 photo of a fashionable -- perhaps even groovy -- woman with an elaborate hair style, distinctive earrings, and a dress with bell sleeves . She's standing next to shelves containing a collection of plates, bowls, and other dishes. A spinning wheel, kerosene lamp, and television are visible in the background. Another photo that I purchased along with this one shows this woman seated on a couch in another part of the room with the same wallpaper. The handwritten note on the other side of that photo says, "June 1970, 35 yrs. old."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the monthly topic of family gatherings for Thanksgiving or other occasions . A family pauses for a photo before they dig in to their Thanksgiving dinner. Despite the turkey, pies, and other dishes on the table , my eye was drawn to the kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling, the elaborate design of the wallpaper in the background, and the cylinder phonograph hidden in the shadows on the sideboard. See a cropped version of the photo for a better view of these items. For another photo with a similar phonograph, see Young Man Posing with an Edison Cylinder Phonograph . This is a real photo postcard with a divided back (introduced in 1907) but no stamp box, address, or message.

Note the cylinder phonograph on the sideboard, the kerosene lamp on the right, and the wallpaper in the background, See also the full version of this photograph and a photo of a similar cylinder phonograph .

A close-up view of the turkey, pies, and other dishes set out for a family's early twentieth-century Thanksgiving dinner (or at least it looks like a Thanksgiving meal). See also the full version of this photograph.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of cut out or crossed off (a photo altered to remove someone or something) . An arm, hand, and wristwatch are all that remains of the fellow who was sitting on the couch with this young woman in 1966.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of books (books appear prominently in the photo) . A little boy smiles up at the camera as he sits on the edge of his parents' bed. One section of the headboard behind him contains a radio, and a bookshelf takes up another section. See an enlargement of the shelf for information about the books.

Some of the titles on the spines of the books in the bedside bookshelf photo are visible in this enlargement. At least fifteen of the twenty-two books are Modern Library imprints (see the list below). I was able to make out the Modern Library's running torchbearer logo on many of the books. For additional information about the imprint, see Bibliography of the Modern Library, 1925-1959 , by Gordon B. Neavill. 1-4 - unidentified 5 - Cervantes (Modern Library) 6 - [Camille?] 7 - The Divine Comedy (Modern Library) 8 - Pickwick Papers (Modern Library) 9 - unidentified (Modern Library) 10 - Dracula (Modern Library) 11- Nana (Modern Library) 12- De Maupassant (Modern Library) 13 - unidentified (Modern Library) 14 - Dead Souls (Modern Library) 15 - unidentified 16 - The Possessed (Modern Library but no logo on spine) 17 - unidentified (Modern Library) 18 - unidentified 19 - Nine Plays by Eugene O'Neill (Modern Library) 20 - Anna Karenina (Modern Library) 21 - The Complete Poems of Keats and Shelley (Modern Library) 22 - The Philosophy of Nietzsche (Modern Library)

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of our gang (kids gathered in a group portrait) . Four young fellows lounging in the grass as they pose for the camera. This is an unused real photo postcard with a type of Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) that suggests a date range from 1904 to 1918.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of haunted by Halloween (Trick or treat, give us something good to see! Halloween photos of any kind, including costumes, masks, jack-o'-lanterns, decorations, skeletons, ghosts, haunted houses, monsters, or anything spooky or scary. No limit—post as many Halloween photos as you'd like!) . The kid standing on the right flashed a V sign (or peace sign) here and in another photo where he's dressed in a Fred Flintstone costume . The jack-o'-lanterns also make an appearance in the other photo.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of haunted by Halloween (Trick or treat, give us something good to see! Halloween photos of any kind, including costumes, masks, jack-o'-lanterns, decorations, skeletons, ghosts, haunted houses, monsters, or anything spooky or scary. No limit—post as many Halloween photos as you'd like!) . A snapshot of a young girl posing with a jack-o'-lantern. For similar photos, see A Big Jack-O'-Lantern and a Little Kid and I Love My Jack-O'-Lantern!

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of color photos or slides . This is a Kodachrome slide dated August 1960 that features a covered wagon that once stood in front of Six Gun City, a Western-themed attraction located in Jefferson, New Hampshire. The theme park opened in 1957 and offered staged gunfights, cowboys on horseback, and pony rides. The park continued in operation until 2014. The Legends of America web site provides a brief history of Six-Gun City, Jefferson, New Hampshire . For a short home movie that shows the covered wagon, see 1962 Six Gun City & Santa Village - New Hampshire . For a current view of the Six Gun City site, see the Google Maps image from July 2023.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of caught unaware . A handwritten note on the other side of this photo explains the location: "On the Brooklyn Bridge looking towards N.Y. City. The World building being visible through the left hand arch." The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883, and the New York World Building was completed in 1890. It's likely that this card-mounted photograph (a 3½-by-4½-inch photo on a 4¼-by-5¼-inch card) dates to the 1890s or 1900s. The five pedestrians -- all men -- visible in the photo don't appear to be aware that their picture has been taken. See also the full version of this photograph.