Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: signatures

"The Order of Railroad Telegraphers, issued to B. H. Harding. Good until December 31st, 1915, unless revoked. H. B. Perham, president. L. W. Quick. grand secretary and treasurer."

A membership card for the Order of Railroad Telegraphers (ORT). As Wikipedia explains, "telegraphers would be stationed in individual depots along the railroad line in order to receive train orders from a centrally located dispatcher and report back on train movements; telegraphed train orders would be written out on paper and 'handed up' to the crews of passing trains." See also a 1915 version of the ORT membership card. The Order of Railroad Telegraphers Issued to L. W. Ricker. Good until June 30th 1900 unless revoked. W. V. Powell, president. H. B. Perham, secretary and treasurer. The Order of Railroad Telegraphers, Grand Division.

See also a 1909 version of this pass. Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 1908 Pass T. D. Leader and wife, foreman carpenters, Altoona Car Shops, over the Eastern & Western Pennsylvania Divisions, during the year 1908, unless otherwise ordered when signed by G. W. Creighton. Not good on Penna. Special or Penna. Limited or Trains 43 or 44. Employee. 2217. G. W. Creighton, gen'l supt., Eastern Penna. Div. S. C. Long, gen'l supt., Western Penna. Div.

See also a 1908 version of this pass. Pennsylvania Railroad Co., 1909 Pass T. D. Leader and wife, foreman carpenters, Altoona Car Shops, over the Eastern & Western Pennsylvania Divisions, during the year 1909, unless otherwise ordered when signed by G. W. Creighton. Not good on Penna. Special or Penna. Limited or Trains 43 or 44. Employee. 593. G. W. Creighton, gen'l supt., Eastern Penna. Div. S. C. Long, gen'l supt., Western Penna. Div.

"Summit County Bank. Cuyahoga Falls, O. 1862. No. ______. 50. Pay the bearer fifty cents when like orders are presented in amounts of one or more dollars. W. A. Stanford. Lith. by A. S. Sanford, Cleveland, O." Unissued U.S. Civil War-era fifty-cent bank note.

For more information, see the full version of this check:

"The Columbia National Bank. No. 4159. Columbia, Penna., May 21, 1876. Pay to the order of C. J. Nourse, Jr. One and 80/100 dollars. $1.80. To Importers & Traders National Bank of New York. S. W. Shoch, Cashier. United States Internal Revenue, Two Cents. 2. National Bank Note Company, New York." Mouse over the image above to see an enlargement of the vignette of steamboats and sailing ships in the upper left-hand corner.

A membership card for a children's fan club celebrating cartoon character Felix the Cat . The card also served as a way to encourage kids to watch the cartoons on Satellite Six , a TV show hosted by Glendora (Glendora Vesta Folsom) on WRGB in Schenectady, New York, in the early 1960s. 13 22-3-7-1 13-17 26-13-26-19-17 17-12-2-1 11-3-8 17-3-3 10-3-19-5 17-3 26-1-6-3-26-1 17-22-13-4! 8-) Felix the Cat Fan Club This is to certify that Eloise Trainor is now enrolled in Glendora's Satellite Six Felix the Cat Fan Club and is entitled to all privileges and special information reserved for members. Glendora, Commander, WRGB Satellite Six, 4:30, Monday-Friday. No. 65271. Felix the Cat Secret Code For members only! (1) E, (2) K, (3) O, (4) S, (5) G, (6) C (7) P, (8) U, (9) F, (10) L, (11) Y, (12) A (13) I, (14) B, (15) J, (16) M, (17) T, (18) Q (19) N, (20) W, (21) Z, (22) H, (23) X, (24) V, (25) R, (26) D Messages will be given by numbers. Simply copy the numbers, then figure out the message.

"Baltimore Steam Packet Co. Bay Line, 1911. Pass Mr. John F. Auch, Frt Traf. Mgr-–Philadelphia & Reading Rwy, until December 31st unless otherwise ordered. John R. Sherwood, president & general manager. No. 1726. Not valid unless countersigned by W. W. Erdman or myself. Florida." According to Wikipedia, "The Baltimore Steam Packet Company , nicknamed the Old Bay Line, was an American steamship line from 1840 to 1962 that provided overnight steamboat service on the Chesapeake Bay , primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia." The steamer Florida , which is pictured on the pass, was a propeller-driven, steel-hulled vessel built by the Maryland Steel Company in 1907. For another illustration of the ship, see Steam Packets on the Chesapeake: A History of the Old Bay Line since 1840 (Centreville, Md.: Tidewater Publishers, 1961), by Alexander Crosby Brown, p. 82. John F. Auch was a freight traffic manager for the Philadelphia and Reading Railway , which later changed its name to the Reading Railroad and was immortalized as one of the railroads featured on the Monopoly game board. Compare this pass with an Adirondack Steamboat Company Pass, 1897 :

"To Alan, Best wishes, Lorett." When I visited the sideshow at the York Fair in York, Pa., in the mid-1980s, I purchased this card from a tattooed woman, "Lorett," who also autographed it for me. Years later, I was able to identify her as Lorett Fulkerson, and I discovered how lucky I was to meet her. As Amelia Klem Osterud explains in her book, The Tattooed Lady: A History (Speck Press, 2009), p. 2, "Tattooed ladies graced sideshow and carnival stages until 1995, when the last performing tattooed lady, Lorett Fulkerson, retired from the carnival circuit at age eighty." Lorett Fulkerson was at least seventy years old when I met her at the York Fair. Sadly, she died in 2007 at the age of ninety-two. When I posted this over on Flickr , one of Lorett's grandchildren added a comment, and another person even provided some more recent color photos of Lorett.

"New York & Brooklyn Bridge Promenade. Not good if detached. C. C. Martin, Chief Eng. and Supt. 8." The Brooklyn Bridge was originally called the "New York and Brooklyn Bridge" when it opened in 1883. Charles Cyril Martin (1831-1903) served as its chief engineer and superintendent from 1883 until 1902. Pedestrians no longer have to purchase a ticket to walk across the bridge.

"I wish to extend my warmest congratulations on the occasion of your birthday. Mrs. Nixon joins me in extending best wishes that health and happiness may always be yours. Richard Nixon." This birthday greeting from President Richard Nixon dates to his time in office (1969-1974), and his signature is, of course, a printed facsimile. As the White House's Request a Presidential Greeting page explains, U.S. citizens are still eligible to receive a similar greeting from the current president: "Birthday greetings are available for civilians celebrating their 80th (or greater) birthday and veterans celebrating their 70th (or greater) birthday. Please make your request at least 6 weeks in advance of the birthday."

"Miniature Railway for the Kiddies, Willow Grove Park. Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co. 07694625. One 6¼¢ fare. G. W. Davis, treasurer." Handwritten: "1924." From the Street Railway Review , Feb. 16, 1906, p. 66: " Willow Grove Park is owned by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co. [which later became the Philadelphia Transportation Company ]. It is situated in Montgomery county, 13 miles from the center of Philadelphia, and is the terminus of six direct car lines, making it easy of access from all points in and about the city. It covers an area of more than 100 acres containing many natural and artificial beauties."

"Member, Kolonel Keds' Space Patrol. Name ________ Address ________ City ________ State ________ Is entitled to all privileges of membership in Kolonel Keds' Space Patrol and may take part in all activities, open or secret, of the patrol. U.S. Keds." For more information, see the front of this Kolonel Keds' Space Patrol card :

"Kolonel Keds personally certifies that bearer, whose name is on back of this card, is a member of Kolonel Keds' Space Patrol. Kolonel Keds." What kid in the 1960s wouldn't want to wear Keds sneakers and be a member of Kolonel Keds' Space Patrol! See below for the back of the card . In a later, less Martian-like incarnation, the Kolonel was portrayed by an actor wearing Keds and a Bell Rocket Belt , who swooped down from the sky in TV commercials and did heroic stuff like saving a school bus from an avalanche. Head over to YouTube and see it for yourself: Keds Sneakers with Jet Pack Kolonel Keds .

"To accompany any key the student should know either the name of the key or find the number of sharps or flats in the piece he will play. Then turn the disk until the arrows point to the desired key or key signature...."

Although I originally acquired this card because I liked the border around "Patron" on the front, I discovered that the signature on the back appears to be that of Grace Livingston Hill (1865–1947), a prolific author of Christian romance fiction.

"Membership card. This is to certify that Portia J. Gross as a Goofey Movie fan has been made an annual member of the Goofey Gang, 1929. Phil Strongbred, president. Not transferable. Member's signature." Cartoonist Fred Neher (1903-2001) issued this Goofey Gang membership card for young fans of his Goofey Movies comic strip. For an example of Neher's work, see " Goofey Movies Presents Tough Turkey ", a Goofey Movies strip published on January 3, 1929, which is available as part of the Ohio State University Libraries' Cartoon Image Database (select the Toggle Full Page button there for a better view of the image).