Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: sailors

A nineteenth-century New Year calling card with a fanciful illustration. In the sky, a man is holding the reins connected to a pair of large birds who are pulling the airship that he and a female passenger are riding in. The initials "A.H.N.Y." on the airship's balloon stand for "A Happy New Year." Down below, a sailor on a ship is waving his hat as he hangs on to a mast next to a large banner that also displays a greeting for "A Happy New Year."

A men on machines photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly free-for-all topic (submit as many vintage photos on any topic as you'd like). This is a snapshot of three sailors goofing around on top of an old steamroller. A handwritten note on the other side of the photo identifies the "ship" and its crew: "Good old ship 'Rollupnutherone.' Hanson, pilot. Robinson, observer. Umholtz, helmsman." For another photo of men on a machine, see Standing on a Steamer .

In this Halloween postcard dated 1908, a couple of black cats are looking up at a girl and boy who are leaning over a winking jack-o'-lantern. Handwritten message on the other side of the postcard, which was postmarked in Nelson, N.Y., on October 30. 1912: "10/30/12. Dear Nephew, Have you gathered many nuts this fall? Best wishes for a Happy Halloween. With love from Aunt Cora."

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.

A Halloween postcard dated 1908.

Hallowe'en Pranks Halloween is sure to be Tonight your love you shall see. Another early "Hallowe'en Pranks" postcard published by the Stecher Lithographic Company used the same illustration but had a different rhyme: "This pumpkin face with merry gleam, / Will light your way on Hallowe'en."

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of hospitals . Handwritten message on the back of this real photo postcard: "Most of the sailors in the picture are from Texas. Do they look it? Dotty from Carrall, 1919, San Diego, Calif." Written on the front of the photo: "Yours truly," with an arrow pointing to the grinning sailor seated in the middle of the front row. Ten sailors, who I assume were patients in this hospital ward, and four nurses posed for this photo, which was taken during the Spanish flu pandemic that lasted from February 1918 to April 1920. To prevent the spread of flu, most of the sailors and nurses are wearing masks over their faces or have them draped around their necks. Three of the sailors are sitting in front of sewing machines, and I suspect that they used them to sew masks. A century later, sewing and wearing masks once again became a familiar sight, unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A messy (pics of mud covered children, birthday cake on the face, etc.) photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this real photo postcard: "Sailors scrubbing their clothes. Nothing like home. Ha ha." Sailors on board the USS Wyoming (as indicated by the life preserver on the railing) get low down and messy as they bend over buckets of salt water in order to wash their dirty clothes.

A sailor suits photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Whiteley Studio, 2345 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, N.J." This little fellow doesn't look too happy at having his picture taken, even though his sailor suit fits in well with the ocean backdrop chosen for this seaside souvenir photo.

A German boy with a "Rheinland" cap and knapsack is ready for his first day of school. He's holding a Schultüte (school cone) that has the words "zum ersten Schulgang" ("for the first day of school") printed on it.

"J. C. Stodart, Margate." In this CDV, a boy looks somewhat uncomfortable as he perches on a studio version of the top of a sailing ship's mast. I'm not sure why a mast mockup like this was used as a studio prop, but perhaps it was popular in a seaside resort town like Margate , Kent. In any case, similar depictions of boys on masts appeared on advertising trade cards, postcards, and other media in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

A real photo postcard for the Taylor-Tot Stroller Vintage Memories group. A street photographer evidently snapped this photo of a sailor and his family as they walked past a W. T. Grant Co. store in some unidentified town. The sailor and his wife seem surprised--and perhaps even annoyed--by the photographer, but their daughter seems to be excitedly holding on to a toy as she enjoys the ride in her Taylor-Tot stroller.

Children are often featured in early twentieth-century Fourth of July postcards. This one (above) shows children participating in a parade, but many others depict kids shooting cannons, setting off fireworks, and performing other dangerous activities (see examples below)

A real photo postcard.

A vintage photo with uniforms for the ABC Group (5/2/2017). A real photo postcard showing four U.S. Navy sailors posing in front of the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Looks like it was a windy day--the wide "tar flap" collars on the uniforms of two of the men are pushed up around the backs of their necks.