Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: 1961

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.

An Easter snapshot dated "Apr 1961." The boy is holding his toy Easter bunny up above his head, and the woman has a pair of sunglasses and a purse (I thought at first that it might be a camera case) in her left hand. What appears to be a garden hose is snaking its way through the lower left-hand corner of the photo. For a better view of the family, see the cropped version of the photograph.

Notice how the boy is holding up his toy Easter bunny. The woman is holding a pair of sunglasses along with her purse. The full version of the photograph is dated "Apr 1961," and Easter occurred on April 2 that year. For similar Easter photos, see A Girl with Her Bunny and Mom and Boys with Their Bunnies and Moms .

Handwritten note on the back of this photo: "Xmas 61 - Cloyd in front [of] our house. I wanted to get the top of the house. Almost missed him. Got it too high." Stamped on back: "Jack Rabbit Co., Spartanburg, S.C."

First of two in a series of two or more photos that tell a story (number them, if appropriate) for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. This is a real photo postcard addressed on the other side to " Mrs. Mollie Neperiny , Lacrosse , Kansas USA." There's no stamp or postmark, however, so it was evidently sent in an envelope rather than mailed separately as a postcard. Handwritten note on the back: "30/12/61. Aboard the ship San Georgia. Bound for Napoli. We are in Athenia now. Expect to arrive in Germany about 6 Jan. 62. Will send Xmas present then. Too many thefts at Turkey in mail. Will explain in letter. Received your pkg. George, Jan, Kit." As far as I've been able to determine, George, Janet , and Kit (or Katherine?) Buck were traveling in Europe--from Turkey to Greece and then on to Italy and Germany--in December 1961 and January 1962. Janet and Kit are posing in front of a giant Santa located on a square in "Athenia" (Athens), Greece. The blurred figures of the pedestrians behind them suggest that the camera was set to a slow shutter speed--perhaps it was a cloudy day. The building in the background on the left appears to be under construction. The one on the right has shops on the first floor, and a sign with Greek letters is partially visible on its roof. As Janet wrote in her note to her mother Mollie, the family was bound next for "Napoli" (Naples, Italy). Take a look at the second photo to see the Santas they encountered there.

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

An ice cream photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. "#1248. A. Hoch's Cow in Patriotic & Industrial Parade, July 3, 1909, Newburg, Pa. Laughlin Photo. Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor." Photographer and postcard publisher Clyde A. Laughlin originally published a series of real photo postcards showing scenes from the Patriotic and Industrial Parade in Newburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1909, not long after it took place. This photo shows a boy riding a cow to advertise "Hoch's Ice Cream Parlor" (mouse over the image for a closer look ). The details in this photo are sharp, but I purchased the card knowing that it does not date to 1909. Unlike other early Laughlin photos, this one is reproduced in black and white rather than sepia, and the Kodak postcard backing was obviously manufactured much more recently than 1909. Fortunately, I have a copy of the book, Clyde A. Laughlin, "Postcard King of the Cumberland Valley": Biography of the Artist and Photographer and Checklist of His Postcards , written and published by Clyde's grandson, Walter Lewis Cressler, Jr., in 2000. The author explains on page 30 that his grandfather reprinted the photographic cards from the Newburg parade in 1961 when the town celebrated its centennial. So it's likely that this version of the Hoch's Cow photo is one of the cards from 1961. For another ice cream photo, see Eating Ice Cream at Raise 'ell Camp, Cooks Mill, Pennsylvania , and check out my Ice Cream album for additional photos and items of ephemera.

Den Krampus soll der Sputnik holen, Weil er die Kinder hat bestohlen! I'm not sure of the exact translation of the rhyming lines on this Austrian postcard (dated 1961 on the back), but I believe the general idea is that Krampus is making his getaway on Sputnik (which evidently can refer to a rocket as well as a satellite ) because he has just taken the children's pretzels and other treats, ones that St. Nicholas gave to them.

The automobile is a Ford Country Squire station wagon. Handwritten on the back of the photo: "1961."