Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: initials

"Chas. O. Ursprung, wholesale horse collar manufacturer, No. 408 North Market St., Lancaster, Pa. CU. Special trademark." Charles O. Ursprung (1867-1935) moved his horse collar manufactory to 408 North Market Street in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, sometime in the early 1900s (city directories from the late 1890s give his business locations as either 21 or 32 West Chestnut Street in Lancaster). For a similar business card from the same job printer ( Pluck Print ), see William C. Myers, Practical Artesian Well Contractor, Salunga, Pa.

"Ithaca Journal Extra. D.B.S. Manufactured by D. B. Stewart & Co. Ithaca Journal."

Handwritten note on the back of this cabinet photo: "Sister Annie's. Martin - Samuel Heffner (twins)." Photo studio: "J. D. Strunk, 730 Penn St., Reading, Pa."

A defaced or altered photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. I was surprised when I spotted this painted-over cabinet card photo at an antique mall last year. I had never seen anything quite like it, and I thought that it ruined the photo. On the other hand, I was intrigued by the way some unknown artist had re-imagined what was probably an otherwise unremarkable portrait, painting a modern lucha libre skull mask (and a small bat) onto a nineteenth-century photo and thereby transforming it into a work of Halloween art. I didn't necessarily want to encourage anyone to deface old photos, and I debated whether to even purchase it. The cabinet card was the only painted photo in the antique dealer's booth, however, and the eyes looked so haunting and pleading that I ended up buying it. Since then, I've come across Now and Then: The Cabinet Card Paintings of Alex Gross (Berkeley, Calif.: Gingko Press, 2012), a book described by its publisher as "the complete compendium of acclaimed artist Alex Gross's mixed media paintings layered on top of antique 19th century cabinet card photographs from portrait studios all around the country" (for before-and-after examples of the cabinet photos and finished paintings in the book, see the February 8, 2013, posting on Larry Fire's Fire Wire Pop Culture Blog ). This cabinet card painting isn't as elaborate as those by Alex Gross, and I still have mixed feelings about these kinds of mixed media, but it's still fascinating to see how the somewhat contradictory juxtaposition of modern artwork and vintage media can create something new and surprising. Note to administrators of photo groups: If you feel that the altered aspect of this photo isn't suitable for your group, I won't be offended at all if you remove it. Otherwise, I hope it sparks some discussion regarding the appropriateness of using old photographs in this manner.

"Fidelity, M. H. Smaltz & Son. Invariable quality. Selected long filler. Imported Sumatra wrapper. S & S." A cigar box label for M. H. Smaltz & Son, a cigar manufacturer located in Womelsdorf, Pa., until 1960.

A cabinet card photo featuring a decorative mask that forms a tennis-themed border, with two crossed tennis rackets and three tennis balls at the bottom, netting along the bottom and sides, and leaves and vines at the top. This appears to be the same mask (although flipped horizontally) used in Photo_History's Woman with Tennis Racket Decorative Mask - Cabinet Card .

For this photo, see the full cabinet card (above), a cropped version , and a close-up of the inset photo . Photographer: Beals, 23 Douglas Ave., Elgin, Ills.

For this photo, see the full cabinet card , a cropped version (above), and a close-up of the inset photo . Photographer: Beals, 23 Douglas Ave., Elgin, Ills.

"J. A. Pfeifer & Co., photographic artists, 262, 264, & 266 S. High Street, Columbus, Ohio. Pfeifer, Smith, Mulligan Bros."

For this photo, see the full cabinet card , a cropped version , and a close-up of the inset photo (above). Photographer: Beals, 23 Douglas Ave., Elgin, Ills.

I thought at first that the doll was sitting on some sort of wheelbarrow, but as lisabee73 points out (see comments below) it's more likely that this is actually a dog cart or baby carriage. Printed on the back of this CDV: "A. Jandorf & Co., Berlin, C. Spittelmarkt 16/17, S.W. Bellealliancestr. 1/2, N.O. Grosse Frankfurterstr. 113. Platten werden zur Nachbestellung aufbewahrt."

"John D. Lemer, 1218 North 3rd St., Harrisburg, Pa." For the Vintage Photos Theme Park, a hand in the photo with the person cut off .* For more of the same, track down a copy of Linda Fregni Nagler and Gioni Massimiliano's book, The Hidden Mother (London: MACK, 2013), which is a compilation of over 1,000 vintage photos of mothers attempting to remain hidden as they comfort children who are being photographed. *I try to sort through my collection in order to post a brand new photo for each week's theme, but I came up short this week and had to use one that I had previously posted elsewhere on Ipernity.

One of five John S. Kriebel calling cards--two photographic cards ( John S. Kriebel and J. S. K. ) and three chromolithographed cards ( John S. Kriebel , John S. Kriebel, Only Thee , and John S. Kriebel, A Token of Love ). See also John S. Kriebel, Only Thee (Detail) , which shows the embellishments on the uppercase letters of the name, including a fish at the bottom of the S and a bird on the K. The typeface is MacKellar, Smiths & Jordan's Spencerian Script with ornamented capitals.