Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: bites

"At last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Prov. 23-32." The verses that proceed this one in the Book of Proverbs place this quoted Bible verse in context and make it clear that this colorful Victorian-era card was intended as a temperance message: "Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." (Proverbs 23:29-32.) At the same time, the handwritten notation on the back of the card (see below) reveals that it also served as an attendance reward for a student who only missed a few days of instruction during the 1893-1894 school year. Handwritten on the back of this card: Katie Whitmyer, Mar. 22, 1894. School Opened - 120 Days Attended - 115½ Days Missed - 4½ L. S. Sahm, teacher

Postmarked: Miami, Fla., July 29, 1939. A real photo postcard of a father and son striking an amusing pose with an alligator (a stuffed gator or a statue of one, that is!). For an earlier example of father-son alligator antics, see Father and Son with Alligators :