Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: Boston

A small Victorian-era trade card for George W Kissinger (1855-1935), a merchant in Reading, Pennsylvania. Geo. W. Kissinger, Flour, Feed & Potatoes, No. 929 Penn St., Reading, Pa. Bufford

Littlefield & Hosmer Dealers in foreign and domestic fruits, butter, eggs, beans, &c. Oranges, lemons, bananas, and apples a specialty. Country produce sold on commission. No. 9 North Market Street, Boston. W. E. Littlefield, Chas. B. Hosmer. A book about the Leading Manufacturers and Merchants of the City of Boston (1885), p. 203, provides a history of this business, which operated under the name of Littlefield & Hosmer beginning in 1881: Littlefield & Hosmer , Dealers in Foreign and Domestic Fruits, No. 9 North Market Street. — The business conducted by this firm was established in 1866, and during the nineteen years of its career it has enjoyed a large measure of success. It was founded under the firm style of Littlefield & Enslin, and it was conducted under this title for fifteen years. On the retirement of Mr. Enslin, however, in 1881, he was succeeded by Mr. Charles R. Hosmer, and the style of the house was then changed to its present one of Littlefield & Hosmer. The firm occupy the basement floor, which is 20x40 feet in dimensions, and this is stocked with very choice selections of foreign and domestic fruits of every description. The firm makes a specialty of oranges, lemons, bananas, and apples, the former of which are shipped to them from the most celebrated producing districts of Jamaica, Central America, Florida, etc., and in these classes of fruits they conduct a good trade. They sell on commission all kinds of fruit, and prompt sales and liberal advances are made if required. All foreign fruits and vegetables are procured direct from the ship at their ultimate points of destination. The house enjoys a large city and suburban trade. The individual members of the firm are Mr. W. E. Littlefield and Mr. Charles B. Hosmer, both of whom were born in Maine, the former in 1837 and the latter in 1840.

A concert broadside, circa 1880s. The Famous Swedish Male Quartet in their picturesque national costumes. To-Night The only opportunity to hear these celebrated singers, in their beautiful songs, assisted by Miss Carrie E. Hale, the finest of all lady readers in the country. Miss Vida J. Forrest, accompanist. The opportunity of hearing such a combination of artists is seldom offered. Don't miss it! Secure your seats early! Boston Job Print, Alden Street.

"Ach(k)ing. I am a [king] to see you. Ak(qu)ing." A punning postcard (get it—"I am a king" = "I am aching"?) addressed on the other side to Mr. Arthur Steinberg, Marquette, Kansas, and postmarked McPherson, Kansas, August 7, 1912. Handwritten message: "Hello, Hope you got home safe and sound and did not get caught in the rain. Well I guess I can't come down for the hop. Wish I could though. Hope you have a good time at the picnic. As ever, Esther. Ans."

"E. H. Coolidge & Co., proprietors. Office, 21 Blackstone St., Boston, Mass. Wool Mattress Company, So. Framingham, Mass." A Victorian-era advertising trade card dating to the 1870s.

"Holcomb & Caskey. Wholesale lumber, white pine, North Carolina pine, hemlock & cypress lumber, white pine, cedar and cypress shingles. Office, 18 Broadway, New York. Brooks Bank Note Co., Boston." Despite Holcomb & Caskey's impressive business card, the company filed for bankruptcy in 1911 after a little more than five years in business. A notice published in Hardwood Record , a lumber industry magazine, on May 25, 1911, p. 79, announced the demise of the company: "The Holcomb & Caskey Lumber Company, 940 Broadway, has filed a petition in bankruptcy. The nominal assets are $12,559 and liabilities $40,712. The company was incorporated in December, 1905, with a capital of $50,000. Richard E. Holcomb is president and Clayton R. Caskey vice-president. Mr. Caskey has organized the Clayton R. Caskey Lumber Company, taking over the headquarters of the old concern and will in the future conduct a general wholesale business on his own account."

"Compliments of John E. Kaughran & Co., Dry Goods. 767 & 769 Broadway, cor. of Ninth St., New York." This is one of a six-part "Comic Visiting" card series printed by E. Currier & Co., Boston (probably related to the Currier of Currier & Ives but I'm not sure how). Other cards show a woman offering a cracker to a parrot (see below), a man peering through his eyeglasses at an owl, and a baby dangling a cup or something else to get a dog's attention. For the front and back of another Kaughran advertising trade card, see J. E. Kaughran, New York and John E. Kaughran, Dry Goods, New York (below).

"S. F. Brooks' Patent Combined Ottoman Cradle, Patent Toilet Mirror, and Game Box. No. 110 Milk Street, Boston." A newspaper (see below) described Sylvanus F. Brooks (1832-1884) as "an eccentric and wealthy real estate owner" at the time of his death. His business card (above) suggests, however, that he was also an inventor who held a number of patents. According to the book published for The Ninth Exhibition of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association at Faneuil and Quincy Halls in the City of Boston, September 1860 (Boston: Geo. C. Rand and Avery, 1860), p. 81, Brooks displayed some of his work in the Cabinet Furniture and Upholstery section at the exhibition. The entry in the book simply indicates, "S. F. Brooks, Boston. Ottoman Cradle, Game Box and Mirror. A very neat and tasty contrivance." This confusing comment about a single "contrivance" seems to suggest that Brooks displayed only one item at the exhibition. But what exactly is a "Ottoman Cradle, Game Box and Mirror" and how does that relate to what's listed on his business card? After sorting through the information from the business card, the brief entry in the exhibition book, and some documents describing his patents (see links below), I was finally able to determine that Brooks actually listed three inventions on his card, entered all three in the exhibition, and received patents for each of them. To make sense of it all, I've collated the info below. Before Sylvanus F. Brooks died in 1884 due to a sudden "paralytic shock of the heart," as the newspaper luridly reported it, he came up with one final combo-invention. In 1876 he patented a "Combined Sled and Truck" (see link below) that had both runners for children's use as a sled in the snow and wheels for adult use as a horse-drawn truck for hauling heavy loads. Combined Cushion Settee and Cradle . U.S. Patent no. 27,964, dated April 24, 1860. . Listed as a "Patent Combined Ottoman [and] Cradle" on the business card and "Ottoman [and] Cradle" in the exhibition book. "The object of this invention is to combine a settee or cushioned stool and child's cradle in one and the same article of furniture in such a manner that the cradle may be transformed to an ornamental settee or vice versa, as may be desired without any additional attachment, or troublesome manipulations." Combined Looking-Glass and Drawer . U.S. Patent no. 27,965, dated April 24, 1860. Listed as "Patent Toilet [and] Mirror" on the card and "Mirror" in the book. "The object of this invention is to combine in a suitable manner with a hanging mirror, or looking glass, a draw[er] for holding toilet articles, such as pomades, perfumery, combs, brushes and such like articles that are generally used in conjunction with a mirror." Game-Box . U.S. Patent no. 28,733, dated June 19, 1860. Listed as "Game Box" on the card and in the book. "This invention is a novel constructed box for the purpose of holding game boards of a variety of descriptions, and protecting their faces [i.e., the surfaces of the boards] from injury in playing at the games, by a glass plate placed in the frame of the box." Combined Sled and Truck . U.S. Patent no. 185,014, dated December 5, 1876. "The object of my invention is to provide an improved combination sled and truck of simple construction, that may be readily used for either purpose, being adapted with equal facility for carrying large loads by horse-power, and in smaller scale for the use of children." ________ "Death of Sylvanus F. Brooks, " Cambridge Chronicle (Cambridge, Mass.), Saturday, October 18, 1884, p. 2: "Mr. Sylvanus F. Brooks, an eccentric and wealthy real estate owner in the lower Port, died suddenly of heart disease, on Monday last [October 13], at about 10.30 o'clock. He was seated in front of the bakeshop of Mr. J. C. Ludemann, when first taken ill, and fainted from the effects of a paralytic shock of the heart....Deceased was born in Boston in 1832, and came to live in Cambridge when but a child. He owned considerable property, and for some years past had been in the real estate business. He never married, and for the past few years lived at 359 Main street, where he had a furnished room. His brother, Mr. E. D. Brooks, [whose residence is No. 21 Lee street] is his only surviving relative."

Although I haven't uncovered any specific information regarding Thomas Edison's Uncle Sam automaton at the Columbian Exposition in 1893, I suspect that it wasn't too far removed from the inventor's unsuccessful talking doll, which appeared in 1890. For info on this, see Gaby Wood, Edison's Eve: A Magical History of the Quest for Mechanical Life (Knopf, 2002); Edison’s First, Less Scary Talking Doll Recording , a posting on The History Blog; a page dealing with the Edison Talking Doll - 1890 ; and, finally, a short segment on Edison's Talking Doll (with a demo of the doll!) that aired on Discovery's Oddities show. Uncle Sam The wonderful Edison talking automaton at World's Fair, delivering 40,000 speeches during the Exhibition, about Highest Award, Gold Medal, Hub Gore. Hub Gore Makers, Elastic for Shoes. Hub Gore A. Trade Mark. Highest Gold Medal Awarded. Elastic for Shoes, Highest Award to Hub Gore Makers. Columbian Exposition.

"Dodge, Haley & Co. Iron, steel, heavy hardware, and carriage stock. William H. Haley, Edwin L. Haley, Chas. H. Dodge, Hayward C. Dodge. 45 Oliver Street, Boston."

Even if ewe didn't do it on porpoise, please quit your lion! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!) Punning humor from a 1910 postcard with an illustration of a lion (which itself is lyin' or reclining) that substitutes for the word lyin' (as in fibbing).

For more information, see the full version of this photo:

A 1950s photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This 1956 photo shows a diner on "Brookline Avenue," as indicated by the pole-mounted street sign that's visible in the center of the photo (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the diner and the sign). The letters on top of the diner's roof spell out the words "GOOD FOOD," and the name "Federal Diner" is barely legible on a circular sign situated above the entrance at the middle of the building. Four or five men are standing around the cars near the front door of the diner, and they appear to be looking in the direction of the photographer, perhaps waiting for him while he takes the photo. Or maybe they're watching the woman wearing a dress and high heels who's walking past on the sidewalk. This eatery was the "Good Food Federal Diner," formerly located at 410 Brookline Avenue in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. For another 1950s view of this diner, see Good Food Back in the Day on Boston's Universal Hub site.

Advertisement on the back: "All leather Triangle Brand Shoes. Sturdy good looking shoes for husky boys. Dainty styles for growing girls. They last longer. Pleasant View Store, general merchandise, Nuangola Sta., Pa." This wheel chart or volvelle was an advertising giveaway intended for children, who could turn the interlocking paper wheels to display information about each American state. The arrow at the top of the wheel points to Pennsylvania ("Penn."), for instance, and corresponding text visible in the small windows on the map reveal that Pennsylvania's capital is Harrisburg, its principal city is Philadelphia, it gained statehood in 1787, and other tidbits of information. See below for a variety of other wheel charts on various topics.

For a similar postcard, see And May You Get the Glad Hand Everywhere .

For a similar postcard, see I Hope You Get the Glad Hand Always .

"Hot Air Post Card. Address, any old place. Holding hands a specialty. Wholesale and retail dealer in love, kisses, and up-to-date hugs. I have no agents, I attend to this work personally. Give me a trial. Sole proprietor of lover's row. Special attention to other people's friends. Address: any old place. Holding hands a specialty." Printed on the back of the postcard: "Copyright 1907, by E. W. Wilson, post card publisher, 278 B Tremont St., Boston, Mass."

"The Celebrated Livermore Stylographic Pen is a pencil which writes ink, never needs sharpening, and never wears out. Adopted by over 200,000 knights of the quill, in this country and abroad. Every pen warranted, and sold on trial. The Livermore Pen combines all the latest improvements." For the front, see The Livermore Pen, Stylographic Pen Co., Boston, Mass.