Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: 1895

A business card for Slaymaker, Barry and Company (later Slaymaker Lock Company ). Printed by D. B. Landis of Pluck Print, probably sometime in the 1890s. Slaymaker, Barry & Co. Manufacturers of Shelf Hardware Self Locking Scandinavian Pad-Locks Lancaster, Pa. John J. Kane

The business card for James D. Brinser, who was the superintendent of the Crescent Electric Company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The card was printed by D. B, Landis, Pluck Print, Lancaster, Pa. I relied on listings and ads in various publications for the approximate date of 1895. The Annual Report of the Factory Inspector for Pennsylvania in the year 1894, for instance, gives the location of the Crescent Electric Company as 117 East Chestnut in Lancaster, as printed on the card. In 1896, however, Brinser assigned an Electric-Motor Fan patent to the Marietta Manufacturing Company in Marietta, Pa., which suggests that fans were no longer manufactured in Lancaster by that time. By 1898, the ads for Crescent Electric Fans indicated that the Marietta Manufacturing Company made them. The Crescent Electric Co. Manufacturers of Electric Motors and Fans 111 to 117 East Chestnut Street, Lancaster, Pa. Electrical and general machine repairing. Armature and magnet winding a specialty. New and second-hand motors in stock. Prompt attention. Obliging service. Reasonable prices. James Brinser, superintendent. Telephone.

"Cornwall Railroad. 1895. Good during current year. Unless otherwise ordered. Pass: Howard Boyd, secy. & treas., Phila., Newtown, & New York R.R. Wm. C. Freeman, president. No. 193. Hosford & Sons, N.Y." Printed on the back: "This pass is not transferable, and the person accepting and using it thereby assumes all risk of accident and damage to person or baggage."

"Wishing You a Happy New Year, J. P. Baker, Trav. Ag't, Harrisburg, Pa. Buckeye. 1895. 1896. Buckeye. J. H. Trezise, 1125-27 N. Third St., H'b'g." This is a unique photographic New Year greeting that depicts Father Time--carrying an old-fashioned scythe and designated as "1895"--worriedly running away from an overdressed gent who's uttering the word "Buckeye" as he tips his hat and rides atop a newfangled "1896" mechanical reaping machine pulled by a bevy of Cupid-like putti . The inset to the right of this imaginative scene is a photo of "J. P. Baker," who's identified as a traveling agent (salesman) from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dressed in a hat, cravat, vest, and suit coat, Baker appears to be the model for the gussied-up guy riding the reaper. Although I haven't uncovered any specific information regarding J. P. Baker, I suspect that he may have worked for Aultman, Miller & Co., manufacturer of Buckeye Harvesting Machinery, which had an office at 625 Walnut Street in Harrisburg, according to Boyd's Directory of Harrisburg and Steelton for 1895. The company sold a variety of agricultural equipment for mowing, reaping, threshing, and other tasks (to see a fascinating early silent film clip of a Buckeye machine in operation in Australia, take a look at Wheat Harvesting with Reaper and Binder -1899 ). J. P. Baker evidently used this photograph to wish a happy New Year to his friends and business associates and to promote himself and his Buckeye machines to customers.

Judging by a partial Google translation (see below) and information gleaned from some other tickets I purchased at the same time, this Lithuanian-language ticket provided admittance to a benefit dance (ball) held on October 31, 1895, probably somewhere in Pennsylvania and presumably in celebration of All Saints' Day or Halloween. The ornate border, unique typefaces, and illustration of the dancing couple make for an interesting design. -------- Lithuanian text: "Balus, balus! Draug. „Jaunikaicziu Sz. Kazimierio” iszkele dideli balu ant sales buwusios p. Nawicko, o tai diena 31 Spalo, 1895m. Prasides ant 4 adinos po piet ir tesis per wisa nakti. Muzike pirmos klasos. Tikietas - 25c." Partial translation from Google Translate and other sources: "Ball, ball! [Draug. „Jaunikaicziu Sz. Kazimierio” iszkele] great ball [ant sales buwusios p. Nawicko,] which is on 31 October 1895. Starts at 4 o'clock in the afternoon and continues through [wisa?] night. First-class music. Tickets - 25c."

"Basket. Yourself and friend are cordially invited to attend an evening sociable, complimentary to Mr. Clayton W. Souders, on Saturday evening, October 12, '95. Meet at his home, near Maytown, at 7 o'clock. Committee: Mary K. Felker, Lizzie H. Farmer. Should the weather be unfavorable the sociable will be held the following Wednesday evening."