Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: traveling salesmen

This vinegar valentine is a postcard that was addressed to H. W. Booser, 13th Street, Harrisburg, Pa. The card was postmarked first in Lewisberry, Pa., and then a second time in Harrisburg, Pa., on Feb. 14, 1908. Although the postcard was sent anonymously with no message or signature, it's possible that the recipient recognized the sender by the postmark or through the handwriting of the address. As it turns out, Harry W. Booser lived at 121 N. 13th Street in Harrisburg, and he worked as a salesman, so the vinegary humor of the card was apparently directed at him. The Salesman His motto is still do or die And he nags you until you must buy. His line is complete And his nerve hard to beat But sometimes he goes on the fly. Signs, etc., in illustration: Office. This is our busy day. Samples. This way out. 85% discount to jobbers. Expense account.

A humorous "advance card" for the A. S. Kreider Shoe Manufacturing Company in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Salesmen from the company sent postcards like this in advance of their trips to let store owners know when they planned to visit. The salesman depicted here is wearing his motoring clothes—goggles, cap, and coat—as he steers his shoe-shaped automobile through the dusty streets. His "A. S. K. Shoe Co." case of sample shoes is safely stowed on the running board. The Kreider Shoe Manufacturing Company is no longer in business. Its former factory buildings in Middletown (below) and Elizabethtown , Pennsylvania, now contain apartments. For other salesmen postcards, see my album of Advance Cards . If He Gets No Puncture Our Mr. ________ will be at your store on or about ________. The Kreider Shoe Mfg, Co., Elizabethtown, Pa. Boys', youths', and little gents' McKay sewed and Goodyear welts. A. S. K. Shoe Co.

A business card by Pluck Print with an illustration of anthropomorphic pigs by the Philadelphia engraving firm of Crosscup and West. C. L. Hartz Dealer in all kinds of first-class smoked meats, such as ham, dried beef, bologna, breakfast bacon, &c Cheese: New York state, full cream, imported Swiss, sapsago, kimmel, and Limburger. 223 East Frederick St., Lancaster, Pa. At Northern and Central Markets. Avenue C, stalls 37 and 39, Northern Market. Pluck Print. Buyers Office. Crosscup & West, Phila.

An amusing "advance card" that a traveling salesman could send to let customers know when to expect his visit. For other early twentieth-century advance cards, see I'll Be There Soon to Tell You How to Jinger Up Your Trade , Zing! Coming Round Your Way , and I Am Pushing on the Lines .

"Wishing You a Happy New Year, J. P. Baker, Trav. Ag't, Harrisburg, Pa. Buckeye. 1895. 1896. Buckeye. J. H. Trezise, 1125-27 N. Third St., H'b'g." This is a unique photographic New Year greeting that depicts Father Time--carrying an old-fashioned scythe and designated as "1895"--worriedly running away from an overdressed gent who's uttering the word "Buckeye" as he tips his hat and rides atop a newfangled "1896" mechanical reaping machine pulled by a bevy of Cupid-like putti . The inset to the right of this imaginative scene is a photo of "J. P. Baker," who's identified as a traveling agent (salesman) from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dressed in a hat, cravat, vest, and suit coat, Baker appears to be the model for the gussied-up guy riding the reaper. Although I haven't uncovered any specific information regarding J. P. Baker, I suspect that he may have worked for Aultman, Miller & Co., manufacturer of Buckeye Harvesting Machinery, which had an office at 625 Walnut Street in Harrisburg, according to Boyd's Directory of Harrisburg and Steelton for 1895. The company sold a variety of agricultural equipment for mowing, reaping, threshing, and other tasks (to see a fascinating early silent film clip of a Buckeye machine in operation in Australia, take a look at Wheat Harvesting with Reaper and Binder -1899 ). J. P. Baker evidently used this photograph to wish a happy New Year to his friends and business associates and to promote himself and his Buckeye machines to customers.