Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: clocks

A photo of dolls for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the other side of this small snapshot (circa 1950, possibly from Columbia County, Pa.): "Charlie Coates (left). Ed Sharretts (right). Madge dressed Charlie & I dressed Ed. Ed got [a] prize for being the cutest." Not to be confused with Guys and Dolls .

A photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park monthly topic of something funny . A couple of funny Easter bunnies -- actually dressed up for Halloween -- pose in front of a fireplace as they hold their carrots. Printed on the back: "This is a Kodacolor print made by Kodak. November 1961 R." The November photo developing date was the first clue that these are Halloween costumes (but I'm counting them as Easter bunnies, too!). There's also a scarecrow standing on top of a pumpkin (on the right in front of the fireplace) that's obviously an autumn decoration, and it looks like there may be pumpkin and ghost figurines on the mantel. See also Quizzical Kids in Easter Costumes and more photos in my Funny Bunnies album.

Sheltering in place with a fancy stove in a sunlit room during the early twentieth century. This is an unmailed real photo postcard with an Azo stamp box (four corner triangles pointing up) on the other side, which suggests a date as early as 1904 to 1918.

A Halloween postcard addressed on the other side to "Miss Bertha Duncan, Cresson, Penna.," and postmarked in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on October 24, 1912. Handwritten message: "This card is a little soon for Halloween but I will send it anyhow. Aquilla." Printed on the back: "Printed in Saxony 0624." In a candlelit room at midnight on Halloween, a young woman gazes into a mirror through the steam from a cauldron so she can catch a glimpse of her future husband. For other Halloween postcards with a mirror-gazing theme, see: -- Halloween Greeting—I Gaze in the Mirror My Future There to See -- Halloween Greetings—Look Out for Ghosts -- Wishing You a Lucky Halloween

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard.

A real photo postcard with a CYKO stamp box on the back that suggests a date between the 1900s and 1920s. The fellow in the photo doesn't seem to be too happy about the New Year.

"I am simply killing time!!"

One in a series of amusing "How We Pass the Time" postcards published in the early twentieth century. This noon-time example is postmarked 1911, and it illustrates how " Pittsburgh " has been spelled with and without a final "h" at different times. How We Pass the Time at Pittsburg A stroll at noon, a quiet spoon, The time it passes all too soon.

An African American photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "Gloria . . . and her wedding desk, Met. Life Ins., Oct. 1951." This "wedding desk" seems to be part of a bridal shower for Gloria in a Metropolitan Life Insurance Company office in 1951. It appears to be taking place in a large open room with other desks and people in the background and fluorescent lights overhead. The bride-to-be is wearing a corsage, there are a couple of roses in a vase on the desk, and additional flowers decorate the trellis that serves as a backdrop. On the desk itself are what I assume to be gifts--bowls, a shiny electric appliance of some sort (a waffle maker or roaster, perhaps?), a clock, a knife set, and an opened box of chocolate candies (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the desktop ). It looks like Gloria is tasting something that was prepared in the pan in front of her, which may also have been a gift. Has anyone else ever heard of a workplace bridal shower referred to as a "wedding desk"?

Posted as an "interiors" photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park group. The bartender with a stogie in his right hand, the well-worn surface of the bar, and the spindly looking bar stools initially attracted my attention to this photo, which the dealer's label described as a Lenhartsville, Pennsylvania, bar interior. What made me decide to purchase it, however, was the wide array of items visible on the shelves and walls behind the bar. Old photos can be windows to the past, and it's fun to look through them to see what they reveal. In this bar scene, I first noticed the advertising calendars (there are at least four of them), particularly the one featuring U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which is situated just above the bartender's head. After enlarging the image, I discovered that the calendar displays the month of August 1934. A sign partially visible in the upper left-hand section of the photo humorously explains the bar's credit policy--"Credit makes enemies, let's be friends"--and on the shelves below the sign are open boxes of cigars. Some of the cigar brand names include John Hay Junior, Henrietta, Rose-O-Cuba, and Gilbert's Deuces. To the right of the credit sign is an ad for Daeufer's Peerless Beer that depicts a smiling woman, who's holding a glass of beer and saying, "What you like I like." Another copy of this same Daeufer's Beer ad, which additionally claims that the beverage is "Allentown's Favorite," shows up on the far end of the bar near the window, where there's also a display rack with packages of Tas-T-Nut snacks. A different Daeufer's Beer ad appears on the wall to the right of the clock above the far end of the bar. And on the other side of the clock are two framed certificates, one of which includes the year (1934) printed in large numerals. Below the certificates is an ad for Camel cigarettes. Back over at the cash register (behind the bartender) is a second ad for Camels, and hanging on the mirror above the cash register is yet another ad for Daeufer's Beer, along with a sign that suggests, "Try our delicious sandwiches." To cap off a night of smoking, drinking, and sandwich eating, patrons of this establishment could indulge in some of the candy displayed in open boxes in the far corner behind the bar, just above what appear to be two beer taps. Milky Way, Mr. Goodbar, and Zero candy bars as well as boxes of Cracker Jacks and packages of Beech-Nut Gum were available. For a closer look at the area behind the bar, see the cropped version of this photo (thumbnail image below).

A clocks photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. So, is this a spindle, star, sunburst, atomic, or some other kind of clock?

A photo marking the passage of time (any interpretation of "time" in a photo) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Although the couple in this real photo postcard paradoxically seem to be looking up at a cuckoo clock that's hanging on a wall behind them, the "Gelukkig Nieuwjaar" caption (Dutch for "Happy New Year") lets us know that they are counting down the seconds until the clock strikes midnight and the cuckoo makes its first appearance in the new year. Gelukkig Nieuwjaar and Happy New Year to all the members of the Vintage Photos Theme Park, and hearty thanks to Lisa and Angelica for their time and effort in keeping the group going this year! I'm looking forward to seeing some more fun and interesting vintage photos in 2016!

Printed on the back of this postcard: "Th. E., L. Theochrom-Serie No. 1210|6. Printed in Germany." Postmarked Baltimore, Md., Apr. 7, 1910, and addressed to Miss Ella Killinger, Mongul, Franklin Co., Pa. Handwritten message: "How is your five o'clock beau. Just the same I guess. With love to all and from the girls. Our address is 2334 E. Monument St., Balto., Md. From Ellen Truer." Anyone know what a "five o'clock beau" might refer to? A boyfriend that you only see after work perhaps?

"All my dreams came true." Info on the back of this postcard: "Genuine Frees Animal Series. Photographs of real live pets. No. 765. Christmas Comics. 6 designs....Publ'd by the Nyce Manufacturing Co., Vernfield, Pa." This printed postcard reproduces a photo by Harry Whittier Frees (1879-1953), who posed cats, dogs, and other animals in amusing scenes like this for magazines, books, and other publications. Mary L. Weigley's fascinating article, " Introducing Harry Whittier Frees, World-Famous Animal Photographer ," which originally appeared in Pennsylvania Heritage , Spring 2014, describes how Frees captured these images: "Frees's photographs were uncommon because he used live animals and no tricks were involved... He attired them in dresses, work uniforms, smocks, shawls, robes, and aprons made by his mother or his housekeeper Annie Edelman. The clothes were held in place by pins so the animals could be quickly dressed and undressed. They were then posed in human situations--ironing clothes, cooking on an old-fashioned cast-iron stove, hanging laundry, playing a piano, pumping water, even casting votes in a wooden ballot box! The work was challenging, time-consuming, and nerve-wracking. It caused Frees so much anxiety that he photographed his furry subjects for only three months a year." Weigley's article goes on to tell about the popularity of Frees's photos and his success in publishing books (such as Animal Mother Goose, with Characters Photographed from Life , which came out in 1921) and providing illustrations for magazines, advertisements, and picture postcards. Sadly, though, Frees died alone and ended up in an unmarked grave (check out the article for the full story). His imaginative photos, however, continue to delight us today. Here's another postcard from the "Christmas Comics" series:

Postcard addressed on the back to Earl Elliot, Douglassville, Pa., and postmarked at Douglassville, Pa., Oct. 31, 1906. The handwritten message on the front is "Greetings for the day," and the initials "L.U."--presumably those of the sender--appear in a number of places on the front, including on the wall next to the fireplace. The clock strikes midnight on Halloween as a woman gazes into a fire and children bob for apples in a wash tub and on a string. Jack-o'-lanterns form a border around the scene, and ghostly figures hover in the message box at the bottom. The woman in front of the fireplace may actually be playing a fortune-telling game involving three nuts, which she has named after three of her suitors. After placing the three nuts in the fire (I think the nuts are visible here on the top of the grate at the front of the fireplace), she watches to see how they burn. The following poem, which appeared in 1900 in The Jolly Hallowe'en Book , by Dorothy M. Shipman, p. 68, describes the practice. The Test of the Nuts I've named three nuts and placed them Side by side on the grate, The one which cracks is unfaithful, The lover I know I should hate. The one which blazes with brilliant fire, Tells of high regard, 'tis said, But the one which burns with a steady flame Names the man whom I shall wed.

This advertising wheel chart for Gübelin watches and clocks displays the difference in time around the world and includes a "bright Swiss coin" to "bring you luck."

Sent to Mrs. Nell Frishour, Dayton, Oreg., and postmarked Portland, Ore., Oct. 31, 1909, with the message: "Look out for ghosts tomorrow night. E.W."

An example of postage stamp collage art on a vintage postcard. This clever construction consists of used U.S. postage stamps that have been cut apart and arranged to depict a colonial interior scene that includes a grandfather clock, spinning wheel, writing table with a quill pen and inkwell, chair, fireplace, cat, and two works of art hanging on the wall. Based on the issue dates for the Warren G. Harding stamp (1925) and the Yorktown sesquicentennial stamp (1931), the collage was probably created sometime in the 1930s. Although this postcard was not postally used (there's no message, address, or postmark on the other side), the glaring hole in the middle of the Yorktown stamp suggests that it was hung on the wall at some point. For some interesting articles on stamp collages, see David A. Norris, "Vintage Stamp Collage Postcards," American Philatelist , Jan. 2012, pp. 56-58, and Russ Hahn, "Postage Stamp Collage Art," American Philatelist , Dec. 2012, pp. 1120-32 (to locate copies, Google the article citations). For another example of repurposed stamps, see Easter in Stamps :