Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: bells

Words on the bell-shaped decorations in the middle: "Harvest Home." Text on the wall at left and right: "O give thanks unto the Lord. Praise the great giver. God giveth the increase." Text at top: "Siehe Ich bin bei Euch alle Tage bis an der Welt Ende" [translation: "Behold I am with you all days, even to the end of the world," a Bible verse, Matthew 28:20]. A photo of a church Harvest Home display, location and date unknown. For more examples, see my Harvest Home album.

Pass issued in 1935 by The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company (TMER&L. Co.), which operated streetcar lines in Milwaukee until the 1950s. "The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company. Within the single fare areas of Milwaukee and Racine only. Good from 5:00 a.m. Sunday until 5:00 a.m. the following Sunday. Not good on Wisconsin Motor Bus Lines. Pass must be shown on demand. 32273. July 4, 1776. 27. June 30 to July 6, 1935 incl. $1 weekly pass S. B. Way, president."

The humor of this postcard may not be evident to us today, but when it was published in the early twentieth century the poem that it refers to— Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight —was well known. It tells the story of a brave woman who prevents a bell from ringing in order to stop the planned execution of her lover (Wikipedia provides a synopsis and reprints the entire poem in case you're interested in the details). So—as the original recipient of a postcard like this would have realized—it's ludicrous to compare a woman's heroic efforts to spare her lover's life with a boy's attempt to stop the ax from turning his pet turkey into Thanksgiving dinner. To top things off, the kid's wide-eyed expression and wild gesticulations (as if he's reciting a dramatic poem!) makes the situation seem even more absurd.

"A Happy New Year. Haddocks. Come to your milk now." A Victorian-era New Year calling or greeting card with a hand-drawn sketch. "Come to your milk" seems to have had a specific meaning in the nineteenth century beyond pulling on a calf's tail to try to get it to drink out of a milk bucket. Besides a few hits on the phrase in Google Books, however, I haven't uncovered any source that reveals what that meaning might have been.

"A Merry Christmas. The world is mine, this night I think / Said jolly St. Nick with a knowing wink. / For the children all say that where're I stop / I leave pretty presents fresh from the shop."

"Howard C. Frey, East Prospect, Pa., refurbisher of Conestoga wagons, dealer in antique wagons, harness, whips, hame bells, tar pots, jacks, etc." For more information regarding the Conestoga wagon, see Conestoga Coffee, Lancaster, Pa.

Printed on back: "S. B. 258."

"Heed youth's call--vote as you think but vote! November 6, 1956. Use your freedom to vote. Boys Scouts of America. Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge." The printed text on the other side of this doorknob hanger includes the title "The American Way of Life," a list of "political and economic rights which protect the dignity and freedom of the individual," and another reminder to "Keep your freedom—vote!" According to "Boy Scouts to Leave Vote Pleas at 35,000,000 Homes," an article in the Gettysburg Times (Gettysburg, Pa.), Oct. 25, 1956, p. 1, Scouts planned to distribute 35 million Liberty Bell hangers prior to the presidential election on November 6: "The nation's 4,175,134 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Explorers, and adult leaders will climax their nationwide Get-Out-the-Vote campaign beginning Saturday, November 3. On that day and on Monday, November 5, they will call on a total of 35,000,000 homes and leave on front doorknobs a Liberty Bell hanger urging citizens to vote. "They have been conducting a nonpartisan campaign, without reference to any candidate or party. It has been sponsored jointly with Freedom Foundations, Inc., of Valley Forge." After all the votes were tallied on November 6, it turned out that incumbent Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower had won re-election and defeated his Democratic opponent Adlai Stevenson.

A machinery photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Although this real photo postcard shows what looks like a complicated Rube Goldberg contraption , it actually appears to be some sort of elaborate one-man music machine. The postcard dealer who sold this to me described the scene simply as a "pipe organ player at keyboard," but upon closer inspection I was able to identify a number of other musical instruments--a guitar, string bass, and bell, for instance--among the pulleys, belts, tubes, and pipes (mouse over the image to see my tentative identifications of some of the instruments). Although this unique machine seems to be related to the fairground organ , orchestrion , or some other type of mechanical musical instrument , I haven't been able to uncover any specific information about it or the man playing it. Has anyone else ever seen anything like it? Update: See The Mighty Nelsonian (One-Man Music Machine Mystery Solved) .

"Any favors, $1.00, 50c, 25c, or even dimes, will be thankfully appreciated by yours truly, The Messenger Boy." Walter Spahr, identified as "Messenger No. 1" on two similar greeting cards, presumably used the cards to solicit tips from customers. The card publisher--"Balch Bros. & West Co., Utica, N.Y."--is apparently still in business as Balch Bros. Flags and More, a supplier of flags and flag accessories now based in Syracuse, N.Y.

A one-of-a-kind handpainted Christmas postcard made from some sort of art board. Postmarked in Chantilly, Virginia, Dec. 16, 1955. Sent to Lancaster, Pa., with a return address in York, Pa. I believe that the artist who painted this postcard (it's not a print) was H. Robert Hildebrand, who was known for his paintings of dogs and other animals. See the following blog postings: York County Native H. Robert Hildebrand Was a Prolific Pet Portraitist and More Cute Dogs with Famous Owners Painted by York Native H. R. Hildebrand . For another postcard painting by the same artist, see Noel, Bob Hildrebrand, 1956 .

See also the back of this handbill: Blowbell Clapper Horns, the Greatest Fun and Noise Makers (below). "If you can sell harmonicas you can surely sell Clapper Horns (Trade mark). A horn, a bell, a rattler, 3 in 1 for the price of one. U.S. Patents, Feb. 25, '08, March 31, '08. Other patents pending. Trade supplied by Albert M. Deichler, 20-22 Chestnut St., Lancaster, Pa."

See also the front of this handbill: If You Can Sell Harmonicas You Can Surely Sell Clapper Horns (below). "Blowbell Clapper Horns (Trade Mark), the greatest fun & noise makers procurable, are made with patent clapper, patent corrugated bell and knocker. Best quality tin and handsomely colored."

Bells for the ABC Group (4/13/2017). A real photo postcard showing the "Bells of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, Ont. Thony's Photo Post Card" (the description at the bottom of the photo is difficult to make out). According to St. Paul's Presbyterian Church 's Web site, "The Bells of St. Paul’s were installed at a cost of $4,000 and were used first on Sunday, November 11, 1906. Eleven bells [nine of which are fully visible here] make up the chimes, the largest one weighing 2100 pounds (955 k) and the smallest one 300 pounds (136 k). The total weight is 9873 pounds (4488 k). The bells are played every Sunday morning calling worshippers to church and on other special occasions." The bells were manufactured by the now-closed Meneely & Co. ("the Old Meneely Bell Foundry ") of Watervliet (formerly West Troy), New York. Some sort of label or tag is affixed to each of the bells in the photo. If you're interested in knowing more about the bells and their installation in the church, check out the following two documents available in the Internet Archive: Programme of the Inauguration of the Chimes Placed in the Tower of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, Ont., 1906 and Souvenir Relating to the Installation of Chimes in St. Paul's Steeple, Hamilton, Ontario, November, 1906 .