Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: trick photos

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of double or triple exposure . A well-dressed fellow poses -- twice! -- at a bench in the back yard for this double-exposure photo. This is a real photo postcard with a divided back and a type of Azo stamp box (with four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side that suggests a possible date that may be as early as 1907 to 1918.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of odd, unusual, or quirky . Trick photos with double exposures usually involve typical scenes with props like wheelbarrows (see A Man Simultaneously Pushing and Riding a Wheelbarrow ) or playing cards ( Aunt Maggie's Trick Shot ). The setting for this one, however, is rather unusual. A huge pile of firewood dominates the scene. On the left, two boys stand at the bottom of the woodpile. Partially visible behind them is a farm wagon and beyond the wagon are some trees. Both boys are looking toward the photographer. One of them is pointing toward the top of the pile and wielding a piece of wood as if he intends to use it as a weapon. The other boy is about to start climbing up the pile. On the right, standing at the top of the woodpile are the same two boys. They're both drawing bows as if they're about to shoot arrows, but neither of them has an arrow. So, it appears that the storyline is that the boys are about to climb the woodpile to stop themselves from shooting arrows as they stand on top of the pile. Or at least that's all I can make of it.

Printed on the back of this unused real photo postcard: "Atlantic City Souvenir. Myers-Cope Co., 1635 & 1521 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J." On the other side of the card is an Azo stamp box (squares in each of the four corners) that suggests a date sometime in the 1920s, 1930s, or 1940s. The little girl in this mirror photo (or "photo-multigraph") is posing with her right hand against one of the mirrors, which makes it look like she's holding hands with her other multiple selves. The real girl, of course, is facing away from the camera, and the remaining four images are mirror reflections. For another photo with a similar subject, see Mirror Photograph of Girl with Bow, Pittsburgh, Pa. For more examples, see my album of Mirror Photos .

A double-exposure trick photo of a woman pushing herself on a wheelbarrow. The double exposure did produce an amusing photo, but the photographer had to add white outlining at the bottom to make the wheelbarrow stand out from the dark streak that runs vertically through the center of the photo. This is a real photo postcard postmarked in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on October 1, 1908, and addressed to Miss Flossie Minch , Waldo, Wisconsin. The sender of the postcard, who's the woman pushing and riding the wheelbarrow, was a schoolteacher. She identified herself only by her initials—N.B.—on the other side of the card. (It's possible, I suppose, that a schoolteacher might use N.B. as the abbreviation for the Latin phrase nota bene , but my guess is that these are the initials of her name.) The message that N.B. wrote on the front of the card (to the left of the photo) has been erased, but enough of it remains that I was able to decipher it. Her written caption for the photo was: "On my way to school in my own private automobile. Ha. Ha." Here's my transcription of N.B.'s message on the other side of the card: Hello Floss, How are you spending these cold days? I enjoy teaching ever so much. Have 21 pupils. Regards to Miss Thomas, Miss Patterson, Miss Stratton. N.B. Sheb., Wis., c/o Mr. J. Kuemmet , R.#4. Love to all the girls. For some other double-exposure trick photos with wheelbarrows and wagons, see: -- A Man Simultaneously Pushing and Riding a Wheelbarrow -- A Man Pushing Himself on a Wheelbarrow -- A Woman Pulling Herself on a Wagon -- Girls Pulling Themselves on a Wagon

An enlarged view of the board, game pieces, and dice cups in a trick photo of two young men playing against themselves in a game of Parcheesi. The photo is well composed with only a translucent part of the Parcheesi board underneath the hand on the right and a slightly darker streak running vertically through the middle of the photo to give away the double exposure. I'm not certain what might have caused the dark shape on the side of the building directly above the board. For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard. .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of playing cards and board games . Two young men pretend to play Parcheesi against themselves as they pose (two times!) for this double exposure photograph. Take a look at a cropped version of the photo showing a close-up view of the Parcheesi board on the top of the table. This is an unused real photo postcard with the words "Post Card" and "The address to be written on this side" printed on its undivided back, which suggests that it may date to sometime during the first decade of the twentieth century.

The full photo as mounted on a cardboard backing. For more information, see the cropped version .

I chose photographic tricks and amusements for the free-for-all (post as many photos on as many different themes as you'd like) during the fifth week of Wild Card Month—Pick Your Own Theme! in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. On the left-hand side of this photo, we see a woman taking a bite out of an apple offered to her by a man—shades of Adam and Eve! On the right, we see the same couple, and they've noticed the other version of themselves—the woman is pointing in their direction and the man is looking over at them. According to the typed label attached to the back, this is a photo of "Mr. & Mrs. Emerson Clover, Central Park, Whittier, California, March 31, 1921." I haven't uncovered any information regarding how Emerson J. Clover (1854-1926) and his wife, Alice K. Clover (1864-1947) created this trick photo, but the double exposure is well done. Central Park in Whittier, California, still exists. Part of a circular fountain or other structure in the park is visible beyond the tree. See also the full version of the photo, which is mounted on cardboard.

A small double-exposure photo that was intended to make this fellow look like he had two heads.

A Spanish real photo postcard showing a mirror photo of a little girl standing on a chair. It's dated 1919 on the other side. For more like this, see my Mirror Photos album.

A triple-exposure photo for the theme of photographic tricks and amusements during the free-for-all week of Wild Card Month in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Printed on the other side: "If it's a photo we make it. Empire Photo. Co. 815 Westchester Ave., Bronx." A triple-exposure trick photo of "Fred W. Hopping" (or possibly "Happing"), whose name is written on the back of a second photo that I purchased along with this one. While this photo shows three Freds--as he checks his wallet, faces the camera, and crosses his arms--the other is a mirror photo (or multigraph) showing five Freds seated around a table . Both of the images are real photo postcards with identical AZO stamp boxes that suggest a date as early as 1904-1918. For more fivesomes, see my album of Mirror Photos . For another triple exposure, see Man Playing Checkers with Himselves .

A multigraph or mirror photo for the theme of photographic tricks and amusements during the free-for-all week of Wild Card Month in the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Initials at lower right-hand corner: "F.W.H." Handwritten name on the other side of this real photo postcard: "Fred W. Hopping" (or possibly "Happing"). Printed on the other side: "Broadway Photo Shop, 1593, B'way, N.Y." The AZO stamp box on the back suggests a date possibly as early as 1904-1918. The same stamp box style also appears on the back of another real photo postcard of Fred W. Hopping that shows him in a triple exposure . For additional examples of photos featuring five fellows or females, see my album of Mirror Photos .

An unused real photo postcard. There's no handwritten message on the other side, and there's no indication of a photo studio. For more trick photos like this, see my Mirror Photos album.

Printed on the back: "The Dittrich Studio, 1107 Boardwalk, Atlantic City." For more like this, see my Mirror Photos album.

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park that has us seeing double (a photo with 2 things/people that are the same or that look the same) . A real photo postcard that uses a double exposure to show two girls who are inexplicably pulling the same wagon that they're riding in. This trick photo is so well done that I haven't been able to detect the dividing line between the two exposures. Compare this photo with these others in which the trick is more obvious:

For additional information about the "multigraph" image on this real photo postcard, see the cropped version :

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Marlborough Photo Shop, 1355 Broadway, New York. Order ________. Negatives preserved for future orders. Cabinet photographs or life size portraits can be made from this plate." Handwritten message on the back (no address, stamp, or postmark): "Dear Sister, I forgot to enclose this when I wrote so will send it now. It don't look much like me but the idea is quite good. Edna." For information on the history and technique of this type of mirror photograph, or multigraph, see the report on Irwin Reichstein's presentation about The Multigraph , or read Reichstein's article, A Multigraph from Montreal (in PDF format), which appeared in Photographic Canadiana , vol. 33, no. 1 (May-June 2007), pp. 12-17. You may also want to take a look at Heinz-Werner Lawo's impressive compilation of mirror photos on his Uneinsamkeiten / Unsolitudes: Fivefold-Portraits - Photo-Multigraphs - Multiple Photos blog. See also the full version of this real photo postcard:

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "White Way Photo Studio, 1341 Broadway, New York City." For additional examples of this type of trick photo, which uses mirrors to create its illusion and is sometimes called a multigraph , see my Mirror Photos album.