Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: Maine

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of out in the yard or garden . Handwritten note on the other side of this snapshot: "The Lemonade Stand, .88 profit - Maine '49." Out in the yard with a couple of kids operating a profitable lemonade stand.

(I'm finally caught up on the Vintage Photos Theme Park postings I missed while Ipernity was offline.) A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of by the lake . "Birds Eye View, Loon Lake and Freedom , N.H. 9." This area was the setting for the intriguing story of the mysterious House on Loon Lake , profiled in an episode of This American Life radio show (take a look at the assortment of ephemera found at the house , which includes an acquaintance card similar to the ones in my album ). This is a real photo postcard addressed on the other side to Mrs. Bruce Mather, Benton, Penna., and postmarked in Kezar Falls, Maine, on August 24, 1934. Handwritten message: "Howdy Darl, Here is where we are getting all our swimming exercise. We climbed Mt. Chocorua yesterday, We made it to return on Thursday from the White Mountains. On Monday morning we leave for Boston. Will be seeing you soon. Rhoda." Printed on the other side: "Photograph Post Card from Studio of Eastern Illustrating Co., Belfast, ME."

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

Yet another Halloween photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard with a Halloween portrait of kids (including twins?), a cat, and a jack-o'-lantern all posing on the front porch (see also a cropped version of the photo). The family sent this as a Christmas greeting (notice the decorative holly leaves and berries added at the bottom) to Miss Geneva B. Haley, Cornish, Maine. The card was postmarked in Brunswick, Maine, on December 17, 1943. Handwritten message on the other side: "Yours was a lovely card. Peter read it to the other children. It's their favorite Christmas carol. Greetings from all, Cecil & Marion." I don't recall ever seeing any other Halloween-themed Christmas cards.

Postmarked Boston, Mass., Sept. 12, 1911, on the back and addressed to Miss Edith Bates, 27 Bradbury St., Allston, Mass., with a handwritten message: "Are [Our] Little Dear!" A curious postcard featuring an oversized dog. The name Tige may relate to the dog in cartoonist Richard F. Outcault 's popular Buster Brown comic strip, which first appeared in 1902. For examples of Outcault's drawings of Tige, see Buster Brown and His Dog Tige and Buster Brown Joker (below).

"Russian Army Harness Oil Blacking. For harnesses, carriage tops &c. Apply with sponge or cloth and rub thoroughly after application. Manufactured by J. M. Nash, Gray, Me." I wonder whether J. M. Nash was hoping that the apparent popularity of Prussian Army Harness Oil Blacking would help him sell his similarly named Russian Army Harness Oil Blacking (I suppose you could say that it was an imaginary advertising war fought between the Royal Prussian Army and the Imperial Russian Army ). I haven't uncovered much information regarding Nash's Russian Army variety, but nineteenth-century advertisements, like the following newspaper ad from the Meriden Daily Republican (Meridan, Conn.), Oct. 9, 1883, p. 4, touted the Prussian Army brand: "Prussian Army Harness Oil Blacking keeps the harness from freezing and cracking. Softens without injuring. Oils without gumming. Blackens without cracking. Guaranteed pure and free from all acids. P.A.O. Co., 258 Washington St., Boston, Mass." The typeface used here for "Oil Blacking" also appears in another handbill. See the lines for "Dry Goods" and "Brennan Store, 36 State St." on Heavy Failure Dry Goods (below).

"1. Set arrow to city nearest starting point. 2. Read mileage in window of destination. 3. Principal highways are shown in red."

A cyanotypes photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "You can use this to keep the mice and rats away. Yes, I will keep the dog in and put out the key. A.S." Addressed to: Miss Maud W. Parker, North Lubec, Maine. Postmarked: South Lubec, ME, Oct. 18, 1906, and North Lubec, ME, Oct. 18, 1906. The joke about a photographic portrait being so bad or ugly that it scares away rodents, insects, and burglars was evidently a common one in the early twentieth century. Another version, for instance, appeared in a 1911 letter sent to American musician and composer William D. Dawson: "My Dear Mr. Armstrong: I duly received, welcome, and possessed myself of your portrait and am glad to have it. At the same time I am ashamed to recall that I have so long neglected to acknowledge it or to send the reciprocal photo to you. I have autographed one this evening and it will be shipped by freight tomorrow. It is warranted to scare away rats and burglars" (see W. T. Norton, William Dawson Armstrong, American Composer , New York: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1916, p 87). For another 1906 real photo postcard with a "scare away the rats" joke, see Guaranteed to Rid Any Cellar of Rats, Roaches, or Other Creatures (below).

An undated red-border Kodachrome slide (probably 1950s). The Humpty Dumpty Potato Chip Company was originally a U.S. company (now it's called Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods and is based in Canada), and I believe that this photo of a Humpty Dumpty Potato Chips factory was taken somewhere in Maine in the 1950s.