Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: space

The rope of a lasso surrounds a tiny toy horse. For more information, see another detail from the same photo along with the original version .

A woman poses for a photo and pretends to sing as she holds the sheet music for A Signal from Mars: March and Two Step . For more information, see another detail from the same photo along with the original version .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of over the shoulder (something or somebody) . Everyone in this puzzling photo is holding something. The man on the left is holding a cane over his shoulder, and the second man has a rope wrapped around his left hand. Both men are watching the woman in the middle, who's holding sheet music and singing. The woman on the right, who's seated in a chair, is holding a lute and is playing it to accompany the woman who's singing. The woman standing beside the singer and both of the men are all holding rolled-up papers of some sort. A closer look at the photo reveals some curious details. First, the sheet music that the woman is holding is entitled A Signal from Mars: March and Two Step , which was published in 1901 (hear a piano version on YouTube). Since the piece is an instrumental "march and two step" without any lyrics, why is the woman pretending to use it as she's singing? Secondly, the rope that the second man is holding extends down to the floor where it's coiled around a small horse pull toy . Why did the man lasso a tiny toy horse? I don't have any answers for the questions that this photo poses. Although the painted backdrop and patterned floor covering suggest that this picture was taken in a photo studio, I wonder if this might be a scene from a theatrical production. There was a popular comedic play with a similar title— A Message from Mars —that toured the United States between 1903 and 1905. As far as I can determine, however, A Message from Mars was not a musical, and there was no connection to the sheet music for A Signal from Mars .

"Astro Bow. Get in orbit. Go-go-go. 39¢. Buser Century, Inc." A black velvet hair bow shaped like a space capsule ! "Get in Orbit" and "Go Go Go" with "Astro Bow" is what the printed card is telling us. What Space Age gal could resist something like this?

Den Krampus soll der Sputnik holen, Weil er die Kinder hat bestohlen! I'm not sure of the exact translation of the rhyming lines on this Austrian postcard (dated 1961 on the back), but I believe the general idea is that Krampus is making his getaway on Sputnik (which evidently can refer to a rocket as well as a satellite ) because he has just taken the children's pretzels and other treats, ones that St. Nicholas gave to them.

Front cover of Space Ship To The Moon , a 1952 Rand McNally Elf Book, authored by Edwin Clark Reichert with illustrations by Arthur K Bilder.

Or at least it was live back on July 20 and 21, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first astronauts to walk on the moon. The TV screen on the left (above) is an enlargement from a photo ( Don't Give Your Television the Boot --see below) that initially attracted my attention because of the distinctive boot-shaped vase that was on top of it. I couldn't determine what was on the screen, however, and didn't give it a second thought. Thankfully, though, when I posted the original photo, Angelica Paez noticed the date printed on the photo (August 1969, reflecting when the photo was developed) and suggested that those might be astronauts walking across the screen. After searching on YouTube, I located a video, CBS News Coverage of Apollo 11 - Moon Walk 06 , which shows the scene on the right (above) at 6 minutes and 57 seconds. Although the image on the left is faint, the white areas where sunlight is striking the lunar lander, flag, and astronaut seem to match up nicely with the corresponding parts of the image on the right. I'd like to thank Angelica for spotting this!

Because it just doesn't look right sitting there on top of it. -------- Thanks to Angelica's sharp eye (see her comment below), I've confirmed that the image on the television shows the first moonwalk in July 1969. For more info, see Live Coverage of the Moonwalk! (below).

Cover of the booklet Men from the Moon in America: Did They Come in a Russian Satellite? , by the evangelist Walter V. Grant, first published sometime in the 1950s. For another out-of-this-world booklet from the 1950s, see We Met the Space People: The Story of the Mitchell Sisters :

"You're out of this world, my valentine." A space-themed Valentine's Day "lollipop card" manufactured by the E. Rosen candy company. The card has perforations--barely visible here--that originally folded out to hold the stick of a lollipop.

"In Washington, D.C., see National Historical Wax Museum. America's finest air-conditioned wax museum. 26th Street at E. N.W., near Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. 9 am to 9 pm, including Sundays. Commander Alan B. Shepard." Cover of a 1960s brochure for the National Historical Wax Museum.

For more information, see the cropped version of this slide:

I received this slide as a Christmas present in 2015, but the Star Wars Death Star Space Station that they're putting together here in front of the Christmas tree dates to 1978! Take a look at the full slide to see the entire Christmas-day scene:

"Venture into Space. New Amoco map of space mysteries--in full color. What it's like to travel in the vast unknown. A message to America from Dr. James R. Killian, the President's chief science advisor. Compliments of American Oil Company." Cover illustration of the Amoco Map of Space Mysteries , published in 1958.

"Be sure to get back for Rally Day. 'The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.' Psalm 19:1." Rally Day is a special celebration held by some Protestant churches in September or October to promote family attendance at church services and children's participation in Sunday school. This postcard, which was used to remind church members (and astronauts, too, I guess) to attend Rally Day activities, likely dates to the 1960s when the Space Race was taking place. For some earlier aeronautical Rally Day reminders, see Rally Day Airship and Visit Our Sunday-School Air Port :

"Transfer Picture Book. Made in Japan." Cover of a small booklet containing a few pages of decals or stamps. The creature on the cover is Mogera , a robot with laser beam eyes that first appeared in Earth Defense Force , a 1957 Japanese science fiction film that was released two years later in the United States as The Mysterians (yes, that's where the music group Question Mark and the Mysterians got its name). The Mysterian Space Station, a ringed planet, a Sputnik -like satellite, and a couple of rockets are visible in the sky above Mogera (did his laser beams miss that rocket or are they going right through it?).

"Leave It to Beaver Rocket to the Moon Space Game. Thrills with Beaver on a race to the moon. As seen on A.B.C. television coast-to-coast." The disembodied head of Beaver Cleaver floats in space somewhere between the earth and moon on the lid of this 1958 board game tie-in with the TV show Leave It to Beaver .

Kids, It's Here! The New Mystery Atomic-Jet Flying Saucer. Watch it sail way up in the air--you can make it fly higher than a tall building. It will do five airplane stunts, too. Get several of them--and have flying saucer contests! Even dads go crazy over it. Be the first in your neighborhood and amaze your friends. Atomic-Jet Flying Saucers and extra flying wheels on sale at ________.