Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: bears

Caption: "A native of Penn.'s Grand Canyon makes a call. 301." A real photo postcard by photographer Nelson Adelbert Caulkins (1874-1965). Seems a bit scary to me, but the woman doesn't appear to be too concerned that there's a bear on top of her car.

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 teddy bears photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A real photo postcard of a gathering of women along with their dolls, teddy bears (including a Steiff, I'm told), and maybe one or two stuffed lions or dogs. No date, location, or other information, unfortunately. For close-up views, see cropped versions showing the front row and the two back rows

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

A photo of a dock or a pier for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is a 1957 snapshot of the Steel Pier , an amusement pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Billed as "The Show Place of the Nation," the pier hosted a variety of shows and acts, including a diving horse and a bicycle-riding bear. When I purchased this photo, however, I didn't realize that it showed a bear and a woman riding bikes on the high platform visible on the left-hand side (mouse over the image to see an enlargement ). After I spotted the bear, I still couldn't imagine that you could train an animal like that to climb a ladder and ride a bicycle. But a YouTube clip of the Bicycle-Riding Bear that's part of The Nieroslavski Family at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, N.J. --filmed during summer 1960--provides a glimpse of how the bear performed its act. Attitudes toward animal acts have changed over the past fifty years, however, and making a bear ride a bicycle seems inhumane and dangerous by today's standards. As far as I've been able to determine, there are no longer any bicycling bears or diving horses in Atlantic City.

A woman and man pose with unique hats and a teddy bear in a photobooth shot. People in old photographs like this are looking to you for your help in keeping Ipernity going. If you enjoy viewing vintage photos like the ones I post or if you like to peruse the new photos shared by all the talented photographers on the site, I hope you will join me in helping to save Ipernity. I've already donated to the crowdfunding effort initiated by the Ipernity Members Association to keep Ipernity from shutting down, and I hope you will consider a donation, too. Here's a link to the donation page: www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/ipernity-members-association-a-non-profit-entity For more information, please see the Ipernity Members Association's Crowdfunding Press Release at: ipernityma.wixsite.com/ipernityma/crowdfunding Sincerely, Alan Mays

A photo in colour for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. A boy and his toys--a pedal car and teddy bear--in a hand-colored Christmas photo, circa 1930s, from the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, area. Also worth noting: the small wicker chair that teddy's sitting on, the decorations on the Christmas tree, and the nativity scene below the tree. This is the same little fellow driving this same car out in the yard in the Sonny, Bunny, and Dummy photo:

Oh, how awkward! Looks like Elmer's making a spectacle of himself again! He's perched on top of a bear pull toy, leaning over a container of flowers, and holding a stuffed bunny rabbit and a bear. Lord knows what he has draped over his head. Please, Elmer, leave the kids' toys alone and just grow up! (Awkwardly posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park for the week of August 19-25, 2013.)