Women in Vintage Photos

Something "mysterious" for the the Vintage Photos Theme Park . This photo was identified as a " spirit photograph " when I bought it at an antique co-op in 1994. Handwritten on the back of the photo is the following: "Camp Silver Bell, Mountain Springs Hotel, Ephrata, Pa." Camp Silver Belle was a Spiritualist group founded by Ethel Post-Parrish , a medium whose Indian spirit guide was named Silver Belle. The group held lectures and meetings at the Mountain Springs Hotel in Ephrata, Pa., and published a schedule of programs as late as 1976 (see Silver Belle Presents Lecturers, Teachers, World-Famous Psychics, 1976 ). Eventually, however, the group became inactive, and the hotel fell into disrepair. Today, the facade of the old hotel remains , but the rest of the hotel site was demolished in 2004 to make way for a Hampton Inn hotel and an Applebee's restaurant. So what is that strange haziness hovering above the audience? An ectoplasmic manifestation from another spiritual realm? Hokum conjured up by sleight of hand and camera? Or just an odd yet coincidental defect in the film or developing?

Women dressed in costumes for a Halloween party or some other occasion.

What appears to be a photo of tourists bravely enduring the tumultuous waves of the whirlpool rapids in the gorge below Niagara Falls is actually a composite photo concocted in a photographer's studio. For an illustration showing how the photographer achieved this effect, see "How to Visit Niagara Falls Without Leaving Home," part of the American Museum of Photography's Montages, Multiples, and Mischief page. The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge (formerly known as the Lower Steel Arch Bridge) is visible in the background of the photo, and a second bridge, the Niagara Cantilever Bridge , is partially visible behind it.

Women in disguise for Halloween? Or just for an amusing photo? Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Twentieth Century Studio, 263 North Eighth Street, Philadelphia, Pa."

Fuzzy out-of-focus quirkiness with penguins, masks, and party hats.

"Sunset Park. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Skating New Year." This photographic greeting card shows sisters Beatrice, Henrietta, and Victory Baumgart (I'm not sure who's who in the photo). The Baumgart sisters operated the Sunset Park Rink in Williamsport, Pa., for a number of years in the 1930s. For a related item, see Halloween Party, Sunset Park Rink, Williamsport, Pa., 1939 (1 of 4) .

Or at least that's what I thought it looked like!

A teen attitude / teenagers in love photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A photo from a college get-together sometime around 1910. The two pennants at top center are ones for "F. & M." ( Franklin and Marshall College , located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania) and "1910." The smaller pennant at top right is difficult to read (even in the original photo), but appears to be "Souvenir 1908." Franklin and Marshall College didn't admit women until 1969, so only the men would have been students. Everyone in the photo seems to be looking in a different direction. The guy and gal in the lower right-hand corner, however, seem to be looking intently at each other, and they appear to be young enough to be teenagers in love.

Unrepentant milk drinkers arrested for disudderly conduct and nearly causing a cowtastrophe.

A people on rooftops photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A souvenir "Rockefeller Center Roof Studio" photo, taken 850 feet and 70 stories above street level in New York City, probably sometime in the 1940s. The Empire State Building is the tall skyscraper visible behind the man, and 500 Fifth Avenue is the one on the left. Today, this is the south view from what is now the "Top of the Rock" observation deck on the roof of the GE Building (formerly the RCA Building and soon to be renamed the Comcast Building). Also called "30 Rock" because its address is 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the building's nickname was the inspiration for the name of Tina Fey's popular 30 Rock sitcom, which aired from 2006 to 2013.

Somewhere along the road in New York state. The girl doesn't seem too pleased at having her picture taken. Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Short's Studios, Kingston and Rondout, N.Y." The license plate on the car is "46818 NY."

The street sign says, "Market Street," the glistening sidewalk suggests that it was raining, and the people are posing in front of a store that's displaying a bed, chairs, and other furnishings in the window.

A Thanksgiving or family gatherings at the dinner table photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . I'm not sure whether this found photo shows a Thanksgiving meal, but I like how the fellow on the right is unfurling his napkin as he sizes up the turkey.

I'm not sure what to make of this scene. A man and woman are posing with three sculptural pieces in the shapes of a boy, a woman, and a man. The sign above the boy says, "Hey, mom, is that guy Rip Van Winkle?" The mom replies, according to the second sign, "Yeah, and look at his wrinkled wink." Unfortunately, the third sign is only partially visibile, and I can't determine what it says. The guy with the wrinkled wink who turned out to be Rip Van Winkle is reading a book entitled Love Stories , and the cover of the book also says, "For the love of Mike." Inscribed on part of the stump just below Rip is the name "Ben Funk." Does any of this ring a bell with anyone?