Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: phones

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of telephones . This is a real photo postcard used as an advertisement by the Keely Stove Company of Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The card dates to 1920, and it shows a woman with a candlestick telephone . She's getting married and wants a Keely Columbian Stove just like her mother has, so she's telephoning Herr & Co. in Lancaster, Pa., to order one. In other versions of the ad that I spotted online, the same woman is phoning J. A. Best & Co. in Allentown, Pa., and Bennett & Billington in Canajoharie, N.Y. I have another copy of this postcard that was addressed to Miss Fannie Groff, Kirkwood, Lanc. Co., Pa., R.R.#1, and mailed in New Providence, Pa., on Nov. 3, 1920. The handwritten message on that copy doesn't refer to the advertisement itself but the writer does mention "phoning" and "call[ing] . . . on the phone": "Tue. eve. [Nov. 2]. Dear Fannie, I received your letter this morning. I guess you think I am a great one for not phoning to you, but I was so busy today. And Jacob came up to vote [Warren G. Harding won the U.S. presidential election held that day], and because it rained he is staying up so I was not at Margie's to stay all night. Fannie, I won't be down this week, but I will come next Fri. eve. as far as I know now, if it suits you. We are invited to a kitchen shower on Sat. eve. Write to let me know if it will suit. And I will write later or call you up on the phone. R.E.M." History of this Genuine Photo The mother of this young lady has a Columbian Stove manufactured by The Keely Stove Co., Columbia, Pa. She is about to get married and telephones to Herr & Co., 7 E. King St., Lancaster, Pa., for she wants one just like Mother's. 515. Schaefer Ross Co., Inc., Rochester, N.Y.

Henry Weill (1860-1929) was a well-known horse dealer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This business card was printed for him by David Bachman Landis . For similar cards by Landis that feature text printed over a background illustration, see: -- Chas. O. Ursprung, Horse Collar Manufacturer, Lancaster, Pa. -- W. R. Cheney, Carriage Builder, Lancaster, Pa. -- William C. Myers, Practical Artesian Well Contractor, Salunga, Pa. Henry Weill, Dealer in Driving, Heavy Draft, and Fine Coach and Saddle Horses. Sale and Exchange Stables, 200 to 216 West Orange St., Lancaster, Pa. Presented by ________ Acclimated and western horses always on hand. Telephone connection.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of telephones. "Merry Christmas. Sophie, Grant, and Kurt Stetzler." A photographic Christmas card dating to the late 1950s.

An advertising postcard addressed on the other side to Mr. Wm. P. Breen, Fort Wayne, Ind., and postmarked New Haven, Conn., June 8, 1911. Off to Europe Visiting Ireland, England, Scotland, Belgium, France, Germany Switzerland. Are you coming with us? We must know soon. Party sails from New York, July 8. 'Phone, wire, or write for reservations. A few choice berths left. Columbus Travel Society, New York office, 2075 Metropolitan Building. Gramercy 3438. Prof. J. C. Monaghan, pres. Mrs. B. Ellen Burke, sec'y. D. P. Toomey, treas.

"Hello - Merry Christmas." An early twentieth-century postcard featuring cutting-edge candlestick telephone communications technology. See also Hello, Merry Christmas! Operator, Can You Help Me, Help Me If You Please .

"S. Elliott & Son, wholesale and retail dealers in pure artificial ice, manufactured by the Consumers' Ice Company of Lancaster. 242 S. Queen St., Lancaster, Pa. S. Elliott. S. G. Elliott. Bell 'Phone, 4924. United 'Phone, 1846 B."

"Wishing you a fortune in happiness! Mr. Fortune. WCBM." Homer Todd, shown here holding a telephone handset and sitting in front of a microphone in this postcard-sized promotional photo, originated the Dialing for Dollars program on Baltimore, Maryland, radio station WCBM in 1939. As "Mr. Fortune," he would randomly call phone numbers and award cash prizes to listeners who answered the phone and could tell him the amount of money he was offering as a prize (the amount increased each time the phone went unanswered or the wrong amount was given as an answer). Dialing for Dollars turned out to be wildly successful and was carried on many different stations as a franchised program first on radio and then on television into the 1970s. Todd--his full name was Homer Ulric Todd, Jr.--apparently continued his career as Mr. Fortune at WCBM until at least 1950. He passed away in 1967 at the age of 56. .

"Econo-Phone. Telephones, accessories, electronics." What telephones used to look like. An advertising postcard for a store in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Wikipedia's text messaging article provides a detailed history of texting. Although there were antecedents-- telex in 1933, ALOHAnet in 1971, and even wireless telegraphy in the nineteenth century--it wasn't until 1995 that Sprint Spectrum introduced the first modern text messaging service (SMS, or Short Messaging Service) in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. I think that this chronology will have to be revised, however, since I'm pretty sure that this old photo shows a kid texting away on his phone while his brother and mother wait for him to finish. Unfortunately, the picture isn't dated, but since the boys are wearing knickerbockers . I wouldn't be surprised to learn that it was taken as early as the 1910s or 1920s. I wonder if any other texting photos from the early twentieth century have survived.

This Sani-Phone Hygienic Telephone Discs advertisement is a screen capture from the World Almanac and Encyclopedia, 1912 , p. xiv, which is available via the Internet Archive . For an example of a disc imprinted with a hotel's name, see Hygienic Telephone Disc, Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia, Pa., 1906 :

The Bellevue Stratford, Phila., Pa. Talk through this disc. Hygiene Telephone Disc. A new one for each guest occupying this room. Talk through the Hygienic Telephone Disc and protect yourself from all germ disease. Replace when soiled. U.S. Patent, June 12, 1906. To put on, bend up small corner on line and slide on mouthpiece. Mfg. by Hygienic Telephone Disc Co., Phila., Pa. -------- Worrying about germs and the spread of diseases is nothing new, as this early twentieth-century "Hygienic Telephone Disc" demonstrates. Guests at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia could place one of these "Sani-Phone" discs--as they were also called--over the mouthpieces of the telephones in their rooms so they wouldn't contract tuberculosis or any other nasty bug. The discs used a wax paper-like film that was sandwiched between two layers of cardboard to keep germs away while letting sound through. For a 1912 advertisement that shows how the disc was placed on the candlestick telephones of the time, see Sani-Phone Hygienic Telephone Discs Ad, World Almanac and Encyclopedia, 1912 (Internet Archive) :

"The Columbia Diner, Route 30, Columbia, Pa. Open 24 hours. Private parties. Home made cheesecake. Take out." The Columbia Diner was located along the Lincoln Highway (Route 462 today but formerly Route 30) in Columbia, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

In this detail from a 1925 photo of the Lewis Walker Company Office , a young man is working diligently at his desk as he ignores the photographer who's taking his picture. The man is surrounded by the tools of his job. A clock and a holder with several rubber stamps are among the items I could identify on the desk. There's a pencil sharpener mounted on the windowsill, and a candlestick telephone is visible on another desk that's situated behind the man. See also the full version of this photo and a close-up of the equipment in the center of the room .

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of furniture (one piece or a roomful; extra credit if your photo includes something instead of—or in addition to—a chair or a table, which we featured in previous themes) . Penciled notation on this photo: "Lewis Walker Co., 2/25." I haven't been able to locate any definitive information about the Lewis Walker Company, but I believe that it was located somewhere in Pennsylvania, possibly in Pittsburgh. The photo shows an office full of furniture and equipment. A solitary man sits at a desk , and additional desks, tables, chairs, and bookcases fill up the rest of the room. Interesting items in the middle of the room include a Dalton Adding Machine on its own stand, a Comptometer case on a desk, and a calendar hanging on the wall. See also close-ups of the man seated at the desk and the equipment in the center of the photo .

"Compliments of S. Kronenberg's Sons, clothing, 6-8 S. Hanover St., Carlisle, Pa. A bit of gossip. Copyright, 1911, R. Hill. January 1913."

"The boys keep me busy at the phone in Jersey Shore, Pa., so excuse me for not writing sooner."

A number of interesting details are visible in this detail from the center section of this 1925 photo of the Lewis Walker Company Office . First, a Dalton Adding Machine is positioned on its own stand in the foreground. The machine was capable of printing calculations onto the paper from the roll that's positioned on top. Secondly, a case for a Comptometer —"the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator"—is lying on the desk located behind and to the left of the Dalton machine. The label on the outside of the Comptometer box says, "Comptometer (Pronounced like thermometer). Felt & Tarrant Mfg. Co., Chicago, U.S.A. Adds. Divides. Multiplies. Subtracts." Finally, an advertising calendar hanging on the wall at the back of the room confirms that the photo was taken in February 1925 and suggests that the location may be Pittsburgh or somewhere else in western Pennsylvania. The advertisement on the calendar says, "Brown & Zortman Machinery Company, machinists supply company, machine shop equipment and supplies, Pittsburgh, Pa. February 1925." See also the full version of this photo and a close-up of the man seated at the desk .