Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: 1904

Here's a wireless telegram That I will send to you I'm in love with you—I am I love you 'deed I do Be my valentine. R. F. Outcault Cartoonist Richard F. Outcault (1863-1928) featured Buster Brown and his dog Tige—both of them winking and smiling—in this valentine from 1904.

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A cyanotype real photo postcard for the Vintage Photos Theme Park theme of pick a particular format (daguerreotype, cabinet card, CDV, real photo postcard, cyanotype, slide, Polaroid, or what have you?) . Handwritten message: "It's been a long time since we saw this, and we will never see it again. I'm sorry it has been destroyed. I haven't forgotten the promised pictures of St. L. You shall have them some day. Yours, J.W." Addressed on the other side to Miss Virginia Stone, Pulaski, Va., and postmarked at Tazewell, Va., on Jan. 24, 1907 (the year is illegible on this card but I have another St. Louis cyanotype from J.W. that was postmarked on Aug. 25, 1907). J.W. and Miss Virginia Stone were two of the more than 19 million people who visited the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904. The Ferris Wheel that's visible in this blue-tinted cyanotype photo was originally constructed in 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair . The wheel was disassembled in Chicago, transported to St. Louis, and rebuilt in time for the fair in 1904 (mouse over the image above for an enlarged view of the Ferris Wheel ). After the St. Louis World's Fair ended, the Ferris Wheel met its fate on May 11, 1906, when it was dynamited and sold for scrap. "It's been a long time since we saw this," said J.W. in his note to Virginia in 1907, "and we will never see it again. I'm sorry it has been destroyed." The Missouri Historical Society's World's Fair Ferris Wheel album on Flickr contains photos showing the installation and demolition of the wheel.

Over 19 million people visited the St. Louis World's Fair (officially known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition), which was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1904. For one of the attractions at the fair, the Chicago House Wrecking Company bought the world's first Ferris Wheel , originally constructed in 1893 for the Chicago World's Fair , disassembled the wheel in Chicago, and then rebuilt it in St. Louis. After the St. Louis fair closed on December 1, 1904, the Chicago House Wrecking Company purchased many of the fair's buildings, which the company then dismantled and resold in parts and pieces (the Ferris Wheel, however, met a different fate--it was dynamited and scrapped in 1906). As this small advertisement demonstrates, all sorts of fixtures were available for sale. If you needed a toilet (or, I suppose, if you just wanted a unique souvenir from the fair), you could buy a "high-grade front washout closet" like the one above for $9.00. Or for a better bargain at only $8.00, you could turn the ad over and select a " hopper closet " (see image below) that was safe even in unheated bathrooms. Bargain Water Closets from World's Fair No. W.F. 100. 2,000 of these high grade Front Washout Closets. They are in first class condition. Outfit consists of porcelain front washout closet bowl, with a top supply closet tank all complete with best flushing devices; strong seat to fasten to wall. N.P. flush pipe and elbow coupling, floor screws, chain and pull, brackets, etc. Special price while they last, $9.00. Chicago House Wrecking Co., 35th and Iron Sts., Chicago. (Over).

For information regarding the Chicago House Wrecking Company and the world's fair toilets that the company sold, see Bargain Water Closets from the St. Louis World's Fair (1904): Front Washout Closets . Bargain Water Closets from the World's Fair No. W.F. 108. 500 of these Hopper Closets. Just the thing for bathrooms that are not heated--as they won't burst. Outfit consists of porcelain hopper bowl, top supply tank complete with best flushing devices, strong seat to fasten to the wall. N.P. flush pipe and elbow coupling, floor screws, chain and pull, brackets, etc. Special price while they last, $8.00. Chicago House Wrecking Co., 35th and Iron Sts., Chicago. (Over).

Carlisle, 12/1, 1904 My dear little Carrie: Honestly now aren't you also on the pig? When you kill yours, save me a nice piece of ham, and I'll be up and take dinner with you. You may also keep a few young chickens handy. (If you're "on the pig's back," it apparently means that you're lucky or well off.)

"Fastnacht Sociable, by the Altar Society, Grace Ev. Luth. Church, Lect. Room, N. Queen and James, for new church improvem't fund. Admission, refreshment, and entertainment, 10 cts. Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1904. Admit one. P.A.P." -------- Although this 1904 ticket for a "Fastnacht Sociable" in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, doesn't specify what refreshments were served during this church fundraiser, its shape and the event's name suggest that "fastnachts"--a type of fried doughnut--were on the menu ( fastnachts , however, aren't necessarily round in shape and may not have a hole in the middle). As Wikipedia explains, " Fastnacht Day , is an annual Pennsylvania Dutch celebration that falls on Shrove Tuesday , the day before Ash Wednesday....Traditionally, fastnachts are made to use up the lard, sugar, butter, eggs and other rich foods in a house before the austere diet of Lent begins." Fastnacht Day--which fell on Tuesday, March 4, in 2014--continues to be observed in central Pennsylvania, and a number of Catholic and Protestant churches in the area each make as many as 100,000 fasnachts to sell. Some fastnacht makers use special recipes, such as one which produces an uncoated yeast-raised potato doughnut that's square in shape with no hole, while others--including many grocery and convenience stores--simply repackage their regular sugared or glazed doughnuts and label them as fastnachts. See Sue Gleiter's article, " What Is a Fastnacht? Apparently More Than Just a Fried Doughnut ," PennLive.com, March 3, 2014, for additional information on making, selling, and eating fasnachts. -------- For a ticket to another church-sponsored "fastnacht social," see Annual Fastnacht Social, St. Andrew's Reformed Sunday School, Reading, Pa., Feb. 21, 1950 .