Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: mechanical

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) .

In this detail from a 1925 photo of the Lewis Walker Company Office , a young man is working diligently at his desk as he ignores the photographer who's taking his picture. The man is surrounded by the tools of his job. A clock and a holder with several rubber stamps are among the items I could identify on the desk. There's a pencil sharpener mounted on the windowsill, and a candlestick telephone is visible on another desk that's situated behind the man. See also the full version of this photo and a close-up of the equipment in the center of the room .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of furniture (one piece or a roomful; extra credit if your photo includes something instead of—or in addition to—a chair or a table, which we featured in previous themes) . Penciled notation on this photo: "Lewis Walker Co., 2/25." I haven't been able to locate any definitive information about the Lewis Walker Company, but I believe that it was located somewhere in Pennsylvania, possibly in Pittsburgh. The photo shows an office full of furniture and equipment. A solitary man sits at a desk , and additional desks, tables, chairs, and bookcases fill up the rest of the room. Interesting items in the middle of the room include a Dalton Adding Machine on its own stand, a Comptometer case on a desk, and a calendar hanging on the wall. See also close-ups of the man seated at the desk and the equipment in the center of the photo .

A number of interesting details are visible in this detail from the center section of this 1925 photo of the Lewis Walker Company Office . First, a Dalton Adding Machine is positioned on its own stand in the foreground. The machine was capable of printing calculations onto the paper from the roll that's positioned on top. Secondly, a case for a Comptometer —"the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator"—is lying on the desk located behind and to the left of the Dalton machine. The label on the outside of the Comptometer box says, "Comptometer (Pronounced like thermometer). Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co., Chicago, U.S.A. Adds. Divides. Multiplies. Subtracts." Finally, an advertising calendar hanging on the wall at the back of the room confirms that the photo was taken in February 1925 and suggests that the location may be Pittsburgh or somewhere else in western Pennsylvania. The advertisement on the calendar says, "Brown & Zortman Machinery Company, machinists supply company, machine shop equipment and supplies, Pittsburgh, Pa. February 1925." See also the full version of this photo and a close-up of the man seated at the desk .