Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: marriages

After closely inspecting this photo (see the full and cropped versions) for quite some time, I was surprised to finally realize that there's someone--or part of someone, to be precise--missing from it. Take another glance at the bride's mother, who was caught with her eyes closed. A man's shoulders are visible directly behind her. The man's head, however, has been imperfectly altered so that it partially blends in with the folds of the curtain behind him. Who was this mysterious wedding guest, and who wanted him out of the picture? We'll never know, but I find it amazing how well hidden--to my eyes, at least--he turned out to be. It's remarkable that this simple method of concealment was so successful in hiding this man's presence in the photo.

As I mentioned (see the full version of this photo), I bought this picture at an antique mall and noticed something strange about it after I got it home. I purchased the photo because I liked the furnishings in the room--take a look at the chandelier, curtains, and flowers in the background, for instance. And there's a flowery border running along the top of the wall just below the ceiling. I also found the wedding party interesting. The wide-eyed groom seems to be stunned, but the bride, who's holding a large bouquet of flowers, looks calm and serene. The groom's father (at far right) is sporting a moustache and so is the bride's father (on the left). The photographer happened to catch the bride's mother (standing to the left of the bride) with her eyes closed. I examined all these details and looked at the photo for quite a while before I spotted something downright strange. Did you find it yet? If not, check out another enlargement from this image.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of putting on the ritz—dressed up for a special occasion . I picked up this wedding photo at a local antique mall a year or two ago. It wasn't in great shape, but it was a larger photo mounted on cardboard, and I liked the interesting room furnishings, the period clothing, and the amusing facial expressions. When I got home and examined the photo more closely, however, I noticed something strange about it. Were you able to spot it? If not, take a look at a cropped version of the photo.

A weddings photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is a Kodachrome slide processed by Kodak in Jan 1959, so I'm guessing that the wedding actually took place in 1958 Notice how no one seems particularly excited as the bride and groom pose for photos while cutting their cake. Perhaps they would have been more impressed had they turned around and taken a look at the elaborate design of that wallpaper. P.S. I didn't realize how many wedding-related pics I had already used for various themes in the VPTP until I started searching for this week's photo. Check out two of my six previous matrimonial postings:

Handwritten note on this CDV photo back : "Mr. & Mrs. Tom Thumb." Backmark: "Published by the New York Photographic Co., No. 453 Broadway, New York." For the photo on the front of this CDV, see Mr. and Mrs. Tom Thumb in Their Wedding Attire :

A weddings photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten caption (barely visible at the bottom of the photo above): "Mr. & Mrs. T. Thumb." Handwritten note on the back of the photo (see below): "Mr. & Mrs. Tom Thumb." Printed on the back of the photo: "Published by the New York Photographic Co., No. 453 Broadway, New York." Other versions of this photo are captioned "Mr. & Mrs. 'General Tom Thumb' in Their Wedding Costumes" (see, for instance, Photo_History's copy, Tom Thumb's Wedding by Brady , on Flickr). As Wikipedia explains, " General Tom Thumb was the stage name of Charles Sherwood Stratton" (1838-1883), a little person who became famous as a performer for circus promoter P. T. Barnum. His marriage to Lavinia Warren (1841-1919), a little person who was a former school teacher, took place on February 10, 1863, and received extensive publicity. Stratton died in 1883, and Lavinia married another little person, Count Primo Magri (1849-1920), in 1885 (see the photo of Count and Countess Magri below). Despite her marriage to Magri, Lavinia continued to make appearances as Mrs. General Tom Thumb (see below for a 1912 theater advertisement and an undated green ticket ). Lavinia died in 1919 and was buried next to her first husband. Magri passed away the following year. After all the publicity generated by Lavinia and Stratton's marriage in 1863, people began referring to the playful mock marriages in which children assume the roles of bride and groom as "Tom Thumb weddings." These events are still held today by churches and other groups for fundraising and entertainment purposes (see below for a photo of a children's mock wedding held in the 1920s ).

This is the season the maidens dream Things of future unforeseen. Dream sweet dreams, oh! ladies fair; But of the future have a care! A postcard addressed on the other side to my grandmother, "Miss Annie Sturtz, Fairhope Boswell, Pa." (I'm not exactly certain where my grandmother lived at the time and why Fairhope was crossed out and Boswell written in). There are two postmarks--one from Somerset, Pa., and another from Fairhope, Pa.--both dated Oct. 29, 1908. The handwritten message on the back of the card is "Annie taking warning. B." My grandmother evidently didn't heed the warning from the unnamed "B." and married my grandfather a year later.

"O, is my true love tall and grand? O, is my sweetheart bonny?" Mirrors , cakes , apple peels , and chestnuts (see below) have all figured in the Halloween fortune-telling games depicted on early twentieth-century postcards. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when I found this postcard by Ellen H. Clapsaddle , which suggests that young women could use cabbages (or kales ) to foretell what kind of husband–tall and grand? bonny?–they might marry. In a discussion about Pumpkins and Postcards and Portents–Oh My! , Mikaela Taylor of Middlebury College explains how picking a cabbage from the garden could predict a woman's romantic future: "If the selected cabbage or kale was difficult to unearth, it denoted difficulty in a relationship. Kale with clumps of dirt stuck to the roots signified a rich husband, and the size, shape, and taste of the kale foretold the physical attributes and personality of a future spouse." Ellen Clapsaddle illustrated a number of other prognosticating postcards like this one. For another example, see Halloween Chestnuts—Uncertainly, Hope, Despair, Happy Ever After .

"Lecture, Fulton Hall, Thursday even'g, March 13, 1878. Rev. Dr. G. F. Krotel. Subject: 'Whom to Marry.' Express Print." Gottlob Frederick Krotel (1826-1907) was the pastor of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1853 to 1862. As this ticket indicates, he returned to Lancaster on March 13, 1873, to deliver a lecture titled "Whom to Marry" at Fulton Hall , which is known today as the Fulton Opera House or Fulton Theatre. The Reading Times (Reading, Pa.) for Saturday, March 15, 1873, p. 4, noted that the lecture took place--"Rev. Dr. Krotel told the people of Lancaster 'Whom to Marry' on Thursday evening"--but didn't reveal any of his marriage advice.

I sense that the bride and groom may have had some second thoughts as they posed for this photo. See also the full version of this photo. From the Dente Studio, Newport, Pa.

Be sure to take a look at the cropped version of this photo to see the charming expressions of the bride, groom, and other cute members of the bridal party. From the Dente Studio, Newport, Pa.

Lecture To-night Rev. Thos. Coke Carter, D.D., will deliver his humorous lecture on Matrimonial Mistakes in the Oberlin U.B. Church, Thursday evening, October 4, 1900, at 7.45 o'clock. Dr. Carter is a lecturer of national reputation, and this is one of his most charming lectures. The press of the country speak in the highest terms of the lecture and lecturer. If you wish to drive away the blues, hear this lecture and have a good laugh. Admission, 15c. Two tickets, 25c. Advocate and Verdict Print, Steelton, Pa. -------- It's difficult to get a sense of what Rev. Thos. Coke Carter spoke about in his "Matrimonial Mistakes" lecture based upon this printed announcement, but the following account--published over six years later after Carter had become a bishop in his church--provides some details: Entertaining Lecture: Was "Matrimonial Mistakes" Delivered at the Court-house Monday Evening The lecture in the Court-house, Monday evening, by Bishop T. C. Carter, of Chattanooga, on Matrimonial Mistakes was a treat to all who heard it. From beginning to close the lecture was one of sound logic, interspersed with humor and adorned with sentiment. The many mistakes, their origins and fearful consequences were vividly pictured but the crowning feature, the full weight of the discourse, was directed to a higher and broader conception of matrimonial relations, the wisdom displayed in choice, and the blessings that reign over the homes of the fortunate in wedlock. If this lecture could be delivered throughout the country, it would prove a great blessing and would doubtless save many an erring one from a fatal step, disperse misery, and install happiness in many homes. The lecturer was introduced by Gov. J. R. Hindman in his usual happy manner, after listening to inspiring music made by the Columbia Band. In closing Bishop Carter dwelt on the tender memories of early life and paid a just tribute to home--one that impressed his many hearers with its many blessings, after which the Band played "Home Sweet Home." Adair County News (Columbia, Adair County, Kentucky), Wed., April 3, 1907, p. 1 , col. 1. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress.

A 1970s photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. In the original scan of this photo, the Pennsylvania license plate on the back of the truck looks like it has a "74" or "75" sticker in one corner, so I'm reasonably sure that it dates to the 1970s.

A Famer's Love Letter My darling sweet ________, do you ________ all for me? My heart ________ for you and my love is soft as a ________. I am for you as strong as an ________. You are a ________ with your ________ hair and ________ nose. You are the ________ of my eye, so if we ________ then ________ be married for I know we will make a happy ________. For a postcard version , see below:

"This is Leap Year, I want to propose; give me a chance before the year goes. 1912."

"You're not safe in 1908—unless you have your (marriage) license. Leap Year. Dog wagon. Ma. Pa. 1063."

"Leap Year 1908. Be my chauffeur on the auto of life. D. P. Crane, '08." Leap Year postcards (above and below) from a 1908 series by illustrator Donn P. Crane .

"Unlucky days for getting married. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday."