Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: backs

Three funny fellows pose facing the camera in this photograph. See also another photo with the same fellows with their backs to the camera. For more information, see the original real photo postcard , which incudes both pictures.

Three funny fellows pose with their backs to the camera in this photograph. See also another photo with the same fellows facing the camera. For more information, see the original real photo postcard , which incudes both pictures.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of Rückenfigur or "back to camera" - any photo in which one or more of the subjects have their backs fully or partially facing the camera . On this real photo postcard, which combines two separate photographs, three funny fellows pose twice, first with their backs to the camera and then a second time as they face the camera. The three are sitting on a board or plank that extends between two chairs. In the first photo , all of them have bowler hats on their heads, and the guy in the middle has what looks like a picture frame hanging over his shoulder and down over his back. A stool and a wooden box with a handle are visible on the floor in front of them. The wall behind the men is partially covered by a painted backdrop, so presumably they're having their picture taken in a photo studio, though no studio name appears on the front or back of the card. In the second photo , the guys seem even goofier as they face forward with funny expressions. The man on the left has a mischievous look on his face, and he's holding a small kettle with the handle of a spoon or some other utensil sticking out of the top. The guy in the middle has opened his mouth as if he's laughing or yelling. The bowler on his head is jauntily tilted to the side, and his right hand is blurred -- was he pumping his fist or gesturing toward the basket that he's holding in his lap? And what's in the basket? The third man is grinning, probably because instead of a hat he's wearing something on his head that looks like a lampshade with ruffles. He has his arms wrapped around himself as if he's cold, and he's holding a pitcher under one arm. The undivided back (for an address only) on the other side of this real photo postcard indicates that it dates before 1907 (when both an address and a message were allowed on the verso), and the Cyko stamp box design (in use as early as 1904) printed on the back also fits this time frame.

Elbl és Pietsch, udvari fényképész, Fő utcza 18, Budapest. Approximate translation: Elbl and Pietsch, royal photographer, 18 Main Street, Budapest. Can anyone figure out the handwritten words at the bottom? Perhaps they're the names of the three women who appear on the front of this cabinet card:

A photo from Budapest for the Vintage Photos Theme Park in memory of our dear friend, Nori (see Sad News ). A mother and her two daughters posed for this cabinet card photo in the Budapest studio of Elbl and Pietsch sometime after 1897 (see below for the back of this photo). Note the girls' unique hairstyles and their fashionable dresses with enormous leg-of-mutton or gigot sleeves. The painted backdrop is somewhat indistinct but what looks like the bottom of an elaborate staircase appears on the left. The chairs are made of bamboo (or perhaps faux bamboo) and are decorated with tassels. As one girl sits in a chair holding a book, the other girl stands with one hand resting in a comforting gesture on her mother's shoulder. Her other hand is holding some flowers alongside the arm of her mother's chair. So let's remember dear Nori and cherish the treasured images she has shared with us here on Ipernity and over on Flickr . Perhaps you'll want to compare this photo with the dozen other photos and backmarks from the same studio that Nori collected in her Elbl & Pietsch album on Flickr.

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 :

For more information, see the full version of the tintype.

"Cope, artificial fly tyer and photographer, cor. Strawberry Alley & LaFayette Street, Norristown, Pa." This is the reverse of Tintype of Girl in Plaid Dress, Norristown, Pa. (see small image below).

Tinted tinype in a CDV-sized paper mount. Mouse over the top of this image to see a close-up of the tintype . Printed on the reverse (see small image below): "Cope, artificial fly tyer and photographer, cor. Strawberry Alley & LaFayette Street, Norristown, Pa."

"The London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company, 54 Cheapside and 110 & 108 Regent Street. Photographers to H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and to H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh. Sole photographers to the International Exhibition, 1862. Berlin, London, Dublin, New York. This negative is preserved for further copies. Enlargements can at any time be produced without another sitting." Reverse of a hand-tinted CDV of British stage actress Clara Rousby:

"Mrs. Rousby. Stereoscopic Co." Clara Rousby (1852?–1879), a British actress who played Joan of Arc and other roles on the London stage, in a hand-tinted CDV by the London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company (see backmark below).

A signs photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "Guess who?" is what appears on the sign on the backs of these women (or could they be men disguised in women's clothes?), and the handwritten message on the other side of this real photo postcard says, "If you know us, drop us a line." The card was postmarked Hollidaysburg, Pa., Dec., 4, 1911, and addressed to "Master Clairmont Hileman, R.F.D. No. 3, Hollidaysburg, Pa." If this is the same person identified as Clairmont W. Hileman (1903-1943) on the Find A Grave Web site, then he was eight years old in 1911.

"The Whole Dam Family on Their Vacation. Mrs. Dam, Mr. Dam, Miss Dam, Master Dam, Cissy Dam, Kity Dam, Baby Dam, The Dam Dog. Copyright, 1905, W. G. Kress." The "Whole Dam Family" postcard craze was in full swing when the Insurance Press asked about the Dams in its May 31, 1905, issue, p. 6 : "Whence the sudden prominence of this family of strong and sturdy patronym? At present writing, the streets of every city and town ring with the name of these celebrities. Venders, fakirs, and newsboys vie with one another in sounding their glories, and stationers' windows are graced with their smiling portraits. On poster and mailing card they are displayed--a handsome, happy group labeled 'The Whole Dam Family,' from Mr. I. B. Dam and Mrs. U. B. Dam through the grades of little Dams, down even to the Dam dog. An ideal family!" For other "Whole Dam Family" postcards, see The Whole Dam Family and The Last of the Whole Dam Family . Or take a look at The Whole Dam Family Postcard Craze, 1905 .

"Rehn & Sons' new & commodious ground floor galleries, 510 Arch Street, Philadelphia. Portraits, card, ivorytypes, ambrotypes, photographs, in crayon, pastel, water, and oil." The U.S. Internal Revenue stamp on this CDV backmark dates it to between August 1, 1864, and August 1, 1866. Another Rehn and Sons backmark , which is part of Richard D. Sheaff's amazing collection , has an added border and a handwritten date of March 1866.

For this cabinet card back, see the full backmark illustration (above) and a detail showing the street scene in front of the photographer's gallery . -------- Although the photographer's name and address appears as "Schlickeisen, 343 Central Avenue, Jersey City, N.J.," on the front of this cabinet card, the name on the sign in the illustration on the back is spelled as "Schlickeysen" (ending in -keysen instead of -keisen). In addition, the arrangement of the street number--"343"--in the palette shapes on either side of the Art Gallery sign is curious, ending with a smaller superscript "3" that seemingly was added after the fact. Interestingly, Langdon's List of 19th & Early 20th Century Photographers provides some relevant information regarding Gustav Schlickeysen/Schlickeisen. According to Langdon, "Schlickeysen" was the spelling listed in city directories for 1888 and 1889, but during those years the photographer's address was 34 Hancock Avenue, Hoboken, New Jersey, rather than 343 Central Avenue, Jersey City, N.J. Directories for 1891, 1892, and 1893, however, indicate that "Schlickeisen" had already moved to the Central Avenue address in Hoboken. It's not clear why the spelling of Schlickeysen changed to Schlickeisen when the photographer moved from Hoboken to Jersey City. Although the new spelling appeared on the front of this cabinet card, the sign in the artwork on the back retained the old spelling. The street number, however, was updated by squeezing an extra "3" into the palette shapes to indicate the change from "34" (Hancock Avenue, Hoboken) to "343" (Central Avenue, Jersey City). If the illustration depicts the original gallery in Hoboken, however, I wonder if customers at Schlickeisen's new gallery in Jersey City were still confused by the drawing despite the updated street number. Finally, it's worth noting that a "Portrait" display case to attract potential customers is situated on the sidewalk in front of the gallery. And notice the horse-drawn tram passing by on the tracks in front of the gallery--an indication of how easy it would be to travel to the gallery.

"J. A. Pfeifer & Co., photographic artists, 262, 264, & 266 S. High Street, Columbus, Ohio. Pfeifer, Smith, Mulligan Bros."

"From the Cornell University Art Gallery of E. D. Evans, 74 and 76 East State St., Ithaca, N.Y."

For this cabinet card back, see the full backmark illustration and a detail showing the street scene in front of the photographer's gallery (above). -------- Although the photographer's name and address appears as "Schlickeisen, 343 Central Avenue, Jersey City, N.J.," on the front of this cabinet card, the name on the sign in the illustration on the back is spelled as "Schlickeysen" (ending in -keysen instead of -keisen). In addition, the arrangement of the street number--"343"--in the palette shapes on either side of the Art Gallery sign is curious, ending with a smaller superscript "3" that seemingly was added after the fact. Interestingly, Langdon's List of 19th & Early 20th Century Photographers provides some relevant information regarding Gustav Schlickeysen/Schlickeisen. According to Langdon, "Schlickeysen" was the spelling listed in city directories for 1888 and 1889, but during those years the photographer's address was 34 Hancock Avenue, Hoboken, New Jersey, rather than 343 Central Avenue, Jersey City, N.J. Directories for 1891, 1892, and 1893, however, indicate that "Schlickeisen" had already moved to the Central Avenue address in Hoboken. It's not clear why the spelling of Schlickeysen changed to Schlickeisen when the photographer moved from Hoboken to Jersey City. Although the new spelling appeared on the front of this cabinet card, the sign in the artwork on the back retained the old spelling. The street number, however, was updated by squeezing an extra "3" into the palette shapes to indicate the change from "34" (Hancock Avenue, Hoboken) to "343" (Central Avenue, Jersey City). If the illustration depicts the original gallery in Hoboken, however, I wonder if customers at Schlickeisen's new gallery in Jersey City were still confused by the drawing despite the updated street number. Finally, it's worth noting that a "Portrait" display case to attract potential customers is situated on the sidewalk in front of the gallery. And notice the horse-drawn tram passing by on the tracks in front of the gallery--an indication of how easy it would be to travel to the gallery.