Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: tools

A waiting photo (sort of) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park with three men posing and waiting for the photographer to snap the picture. It's also a men on machines photo for the VPTP monthly free-for-all topic (submit as many vintage photos on any topic as you'd like). The photo shows a couple of guys posing on top of a steam engine while a fellow down below—with his sleeves rolled up and a shovel in his hands—does the dirty work. It looks the steam engine is in working order—there's a belt around the flywheel on the other side—but the boiler obviously isn't hot enough to prevent the guys from positioning themselves above it. For another photo of men on a machine, see Steamrolling over the Waves .

What is it that's "Better Than Haying," as the caption says? For an explanation, see the cropped version of this real photo postcard.

A fishing photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park topic of knitting, fishing, and kissing (photos of people who are knitting, fishing, or kissing; post examples of all three if you have them.) . "Better Than Haying" is the caption of this real photo postcard by Vermont photographer Edwin T. Houston, who published it in 1906 (take a look at the full version to see Houston's inscription at the bottom of the photo). Just about any activity would be better than "haying," or making hay by hand, which is a laborious chore that usually has to be done on a hot summer day. The farmer in the photo, with his dog by his side, is taking a break from haying by casting his fishing line into the water. The farmer has literally turned his back on his haymaking tools, which are visible on the left-hand side of the photo. We can see the teeth of a rake , the blade of a scythe , and the handle of a third tool, which must be a hay fork with its tines stuck in the ground. So the humorous moral of the story told by this carefully constructed scene is, of course: Fishing is better than haying!

"I am simply killing time!!"

"Hartman Gish - 3 yrs. old." A real photo postcard postmarked Richland, Pa., July 26, 1907. Addressed to: Miss Charlotte Gable, Schaefferstown, Leb. Co., Pa. Handwritten message on back: "Thanks for the beads. Hartman likes them so much. He even slept with them. Pardon me for not writing sooner. Don't Hartman look natural. Clara is coming on Sat. Lovingly, Christie."

Men pose in their work areas at the Standard Pattern Works in York, Pennsylvania, sometime early in the twentieth century. As Wikipedia explains, "In casting, a pattern is a replica of the object to be cast, used to prepare the cavity into which molten material will be poured during the casting process.... The making of patterns, called patternmaking..., is a skilled trade that is related to the trades of tool and die making and moldmaking, but also often incorporates elements of fine woodworking."

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

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

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park showing how there's one in every crowd (a group of people posing with one silly/goofy person who throws the whole photo off, i.e.: sticking out tongue, bunny ears behind the head, etc.) . Oh, how nice! The carpenters and other workmen in this real photo postcard are posing with saws, hammers, and other tools to demonstrate how hard they've been working on the renovation of this house! But wait a second! One guy is lying down on the job!

"Edward A. Hollis, Hardware. Contractors', upholsterers', builders'. No. 1904 Market Street, Philadelphia, March 31, 1890. Sold to E. W. Lapp. 1 Fleetwood scroll saw 3, 12.90." Rubberstamped: "Paid, Edward A. Hollis, per EAH, 5/2/91." Hammer head: "D. Maydole, cast steel."

"25 Firemans Cards, 20 cts." A card pasted in an "Agent's Sample Book" that was issued by an unidentified calling card company. For an example of another card that was in the "Agent's Sample Book," see Comic Imp Card: I Am ________, Who the Devil Are You? For other firemen's calling cards, see below for C. H. Moscrip, H. G. Phelps Hose Company No. 1, Sidney, N.Y. , Eugene O. Chase, Second Leading Hoseman, Danielsonville, Conn. , and Fireman Calling Card .

A trick or treat photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of the photo: "Halloween, 1955." A little cowboy--wearing a Howdy Doody kerchief around his neck and Howdy Doody boots--poses in front of the fireplace alongside his brother, whose costume features a devilish image on the front.

A tools photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard showing a group of men working on railroad track maintenance (workers like these were sometimes called " gandy dancers "). The man on the left is using a track jack to adjust the height of a rail. The man next to him is posing with another tool, probably a sledge hammer. The boy in the middle is carrying a bucket. The fellow on the right is sitting on some sort of long bar—maybe a claw bar for pulling spikes—that appears to be wedged under one of the cross ties.

"Fun with Dry Batteries. Price 10¢. For the Amateur Electrician. " Title page: Fun with Dry Batteries: A Handbook of Things to Make and Things to Do with Dry Batteries . Published by the manufacturers of Eveready Long Life Batteries. From an ad for the book in Popular Mechanics , Dec. 1933, advertising section, p. 6A: "Electricity. Get this 96-page book. Boys--and grown-ups, too--will find 'Fun with Dry Batteries' a most instructive and entertaining little book. Make electro-magnets, bells, buzzers, signals, lights, secret locks, electro-plating outfits, telegraph instruments, and numerous amusing electric toys. Has simple, illustrated description of principles of electricity--and of dry batteries in particular."

Pipe-Smoking Man (aka Yellow Socks Guy) relaxes in front of a warm and cozy fireplace. Tasteful art-- The Half Way House, Thatcham (1848), a copy of a painting by William Shayer Sr. (1787-1879)--hangs above the mantle, an issue of Seventeen is peeking out of the magazine rack, and the same floral-print curtains that were visible in The Silence in the Room Was Deafening show up here, too. See also Pipe-Smoking Television Man . (Thanks to goenetix for identifying the painting!) For related slides, select the thumbnail images below.

"The Modern Cycle Co., general repairing, brazing, vulcanizing. Wm. Deubel, proprietor. 1317 Montgomery St., rear. Allied Printing Trades Council, Union Label, St. Louis, 32. The Modern Way. The Old Way." The Modern Cycle Company was a bicycle repair shop that may have been located in St. Louis, Missouri (that's where this business card was printed), but I haven't been able to uncover any additional information about the company or its proprietor, William Deubel. In the illustration on the back of the card, the "modern way" and the "old way" both portray men who are working on bicycles, and the main difference between the two of them seems to be that the modern man is using a longer tire lever (or similar tool) on his bike. I'm not sure whether this was intended to show that the Modern Cycle Company used better tools, repaired bikes more efficiently, or something else.

"I Print to Please. Pluck Art Printery, D. B. Landis, 257 N. Queen St., Lancaster, Pa, ________ 189__. Received of ________. ________Dollars. $____. ________." For a close-up of the left-hand portion of this receipt, see I Print to Please, D. B. Landis, Pluck Art Printery, Lancaster, Pa., 1890s (thumbnail image below).