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Page 32 The Antique Shoppe March, 2019
Trade Signs Indicative of Respective Trades

by Larry LeMasters, LeMasters’ Antique News Service

tin trade signs, circa early 1800s.
The molds were hand-carved in
great detail, and tin sheets were
set on both sides of the mold and
gently hammered into shape,
tightly configuring to the mold’s 19th century
Early Optician’s Sign, circa 1870; 23 inches wide; cast iron. design. This was an exacting and copper gaslight
boot that was
time-consuming trade. used to advertise
Up until a few years ago, if you Outside nearly every tobacco shop, a boot repair
had wandered into Franconia Notch a wooden Indian with cigars in hand shop.
in New Hampshire, you could have stood, a silent reminder to a passer-
seen The Old Man of the Mountain. by of the wares found inside the
I’ve been there, and as stirring as the shop.
face on the mountain was, Daniel Also common
Webster’s immortalized words in bygone days were
on a plaque beneath the mountain 3-dimensional
were even more stirring: “Men mortars and pestles Barber Shop Pole sign, mid-1800s,
53” high, $500
hang out their signs indicative of outside druggist shops;
their respective trades: shoemakers large, detailed fish, Modern 3-D Sea Horse
hang out a gigantic shoe; jewelers, such as salmon or trout, Trade Sign, painted with vivid colors. Unlike
a monster watch; and the dentist outside a harborside 32” x 6” x 25”, $350.00 wood or metal trade signs, glass trade
hangs out a gold tooth; but up in the fishmonger or a tavern serving signs hung in the front window of a
mountains of New Hampshire, God fresh seafood; large spectacles hung The pieces of tin were then business and were illuminated by the
Almighty has hung out a sign to outside an optician’s shop for all trimmed to size and soldered natural light outside the window as
show that there He makes men.” passing customers to see; and giant, together, forming a 3-dimensional well as the artificial light from within
God’s 3-dimensional trade sign 3-dimensional molars, gilded with trade sign. Many of these early the shop. Few glass trade signs have
in Franconia Notch was more awe gold, adorned dentist shops. Of tin signs sport hand-painted survived, so they are both sought
inspiring than the average trade sign, all the 3-dimensional trade signs, inscriptions. Metal trade signs after and expensive.
but anyone who has ever gazed upon perhaps the most recognized is the allowed for ingenuity in design Some trade signs, such as a 3-foot
a 3-dimensional trade sign surely barber pole. The familiar red and that was lacking in wooden signs. long Waterman display pen, were
thought the trade master must have white striped pole with white balls For instance, some metal signs crafted in the early 20th century and
been something of a lesser god. on each end has hung outside of operated as gaslights, whose glow have lithographed names of major
The most frequently collected barbershops since the early 1800s. was visible through perforations brand products on them, serving to
signs are those that advertise The many odd and interesting outlining the shape and trade name identify the product, not the shop
products or identify a place of 3-dimensional trade signs found in on the sign. the product was sold in. These signs
business. And of all the different trade centers gave inspiration for the Glass trade signs were popular in are called display facsimiles and
advertising signs made throughout following 19th-century poem: the early 20th century. These glass were set up in stores as advertising
history, the most desirable signs are I’m amazed at the Signs signs were cut to resemble a trade promotions. Facsimiles are easier to
the 3-dimensional trade signs. object, such as a human eye, and find and less expensive to own than
Trade signs once identified a As I pass through the Town, wooden trade symbols. Facsimiles
business by displaying a symbol of To see the odd mixture; are smaller in size, averaging about
the business’ trade, such as a giant A Magpie and Crown, 36 inches, so that they could fit
pair of wooden shears hung on a sign The Whale and the Crow, in stores on countertops or hang
bracket outside a cutlery shop or a The Razor and Hen, Metal, over display racks. Some display
giant, hand-painted watch hung over top hat facsimiles were built of the same
the entrance of a watch repair shop. The Leg and Seven Stars, trade material as the life-size products
During the late 1800s The Axe and the Bottle, sign, circa they resembled and others, such as a
1800, that
and early The Tun and the Lute, is valued at Waterman pen display, were made of
1900s, city The Eagle and Child, $2,500. wood and metal and were intended to
streets were The Shovel and Boot. simply resemble the original.
dotted with Back in a time now lost, when
trade signs. If you’ve ever sought buildings did not have street
It was during to bid on a 3-D trade sign at numbers to advertise their locations,
this era that auction or tried to purchase 3-dimensional trade signs served
the cigar store one from an antique dealer or to let people know what type of
Indian became estate sale, you know that these business operated within a shop.
common trade gems don’t come cheap. Trade signs Today trade signs hint of simpler
signs in cities. are valued as much for their unusual times while continuing to increase in
folk art and social history as they are value each year.
for their advertising appeal. And a
wooden sign delights the collector 36-inch, 1920s display pen for Waterman’s
Pens. This type of sign would have
19th century, 3-feet because of the skill and time required hung in a drug store, over the pen display.
tall dentist trade sign. to design and hand-make such a sign.
This three-root tooth is Hammering tin over a wooden
made of pine and was
offered on eBay for $4,800. mold of the object created some early