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Signs For Sale
1950’s Neon Sign Diner
Located in Chicago, IL
1950’s neon sign Diner. It has new transformer and new wiring. Please note that this sign needs to be created for shipping. There will be fee to make ...
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Signs

Materials

Metal

Matched Pair of Edwardian Milk Glass Shop Signs
Located in London, GB
Matched pair of Edwardian milk glass shop signs. We share what we love, and we love this rare, matched pair of Edwardian milk glass shop signs. One stating “All kinds of repairs” ...
Category

1910s British Edwardian Vintage Signs

Materials

Milk Glass

1950’s Enamel and Neon TV Sign
Located in Chicago, IL
1950’s enamel and glass TV sign. It has new transformer and new wiring. There will be Additional fee for shipping crate.
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Signs

Materials

Enamel

Vintage Hand Painted on Wood Advertising Sign for Golf Equipments, 1920s
Located in Casale Monferrato, IT
This vintage sign for collectors is truly special. Made of wood with relief decorations and hand painted. The advertising sign was dedicated to the golf attire and equipment.
Category

1920s Scottish Vintage Signs

Materials

Wood

Vintage Blue Illuminated Letter Y, 1980s
Located in Kojetice, CZ
This vintage industrial blue illuminated letter Y was made in Netherlands during the 1980s and comes from the old advertising banner. I featuers a grey iron b...
Category

1980s Dutch Industrial Vintage Signs

Materials

Iron

Card Game Wall Decoration Sign, 1961
Located in Antwerp, BE
Vintage card game wall decoration sign. 1960s advertising sign with a typical card game scene: green playing card felt, playing cards, dice, a go...
Category

Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Signs

Materials

Other, Tin

Vintage Porcelain Beer Tray, Beer Sign
Located in Antwerp, BE
Vintage porcelain beer tray - beer sign. An enameled metal beer tray designed and made for the Belgian Beer: CTS Stout Wielemans, a dark Belgian Beer made by the Brewery Wielemans which was located in Brussels. Black with orange and yellow beer tray with the typical long Stout glass on. This porcelain beer tray is in used condition so does have some traces by age. It's a great beer sign - beer collectable - Belgian Beer Sign - Vintage beer tray...
Category

Mid-20th Century Belgian Modern Signs

Materials

Metal

Hand Painted Oversized Fiberglass Cheeseburger Pop Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Oversized vintage cheeseburger pop art in fiberglass. Likely used as a store display. Hand made in fiberglass and hand painted with great detail. ...
Category

1970s American Vintage Signs

Materials

Paint, Fiberglass

Boucherie Chevaline Trade Sign
Located in London, GB
Boucherie Chevaline Trade Sign A hand crafted Boucherie Chevaline, zinc gold leaf hand beaten butchers trade sign. A highly decorative wall hanging in untouched condition with or...
Category

Early 20th Century French Victorian Signs

Materials

Zinc

Giant Art Deco Brass Fountain Pen and Mechanical Pencil Display Models
By Wahl Eversharp Co
Located in Hanover, MA
Oversized retail advertising presentation brass fountain pen and mechanical pencil display signs from the early 1920s when they would have been featured within a wood and glass display cabinet at the pen counter of a stationary store. Originally the fountain pen would have been marked on its side "Wahl Pen...
Category

1920s American Art Deco Vintage Signs

Materials

Brass

Wood Carved Red and White American Folk Art Barber Pole Trade Sign Sconce, C1920
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Great Americana! c. 1920s American Folk Art wood and iron carved barber pole. Layers of thick original red and white hand painted surface. Substantial iron mounts and iron strapping around neck of sconce. Unique wall sconce...
Category

1920s North American Folk Art Vintage Signs

Materials

Iron

Vintage Desk Sign, circa 1944
Located in San Francisco, CA
About An original wooden desk sign for Carl J. Wilkerson from Fort Knox, Kentucky. His years of employment are written on the back as well as the signatu...
Category

Early 20th Century Signs

Materials

Wood, Plastic, Paper

Eat or Tea Large Scale 1950s American Porcelain Enameled Steel Letters Sign
Located in Pound Ridge, NY
Superb large scale American 1950s porcelain enameled metal letters, over 24" high, originally used as exterior signage from Chicago. EAT or TEA or ETA or ATE, 3 individual heavy gauges pressed and folded cold-rolled steel letters...
Category

1930s American Art Deco Vintage Signs

Materials

Metal

Original 1950's Route 66 Neon Café Sign
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
An original Route 66 double sided neon CAFE sign in its original paint, circa 1950.
Category

20th Century American Signs

Materials

Tin

Antique Early 20th C Hanging Trade Shop Sign "Antiques" Star of David Solomon
Located in Lowestoft, GB
Hanging double sided trade sign, sheet metal with a black ground and gilt lettering. Two pretty cast iron riveted hanging brackets. A small Star of Solomon is located in the corner ...
Category

Early 20th Century English Signs

Materials

Metal

1890's Gilt Painted Timber Printer's Trade Sign
Located in Downham Market, GB
An early printer's trade sign. A wonderful 19th century painted timber trade sign for 'Wheeler' printer's, delightfully original & untouched with the p...
Category

19th Century British Rustic Antique Signs

Materials

Pine

Vintage 'No Bikes' Street Sign
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vintage 'no bikes on sidewalk' sign with incredible sunburn weathering patina. Steel sign featuring a bicycle encircled by a red ring with a line through it. Great faded coloring give this piece unique character. Cool vintage graphics...
Category

1970s American Vintage Signs

Materials

Steel

Vintage Framed Signed Art
Located in Seattle, WA
Vintage framed signed art Dimensions. 72 W ; 36 1/4 H ; 3 D.
Category

1970s Mid-Century Modern Vintage Signs

Materials

Glass, Wood

Pressed Zinc Facade Panel
Located in Chicago, IL
Pressed zinc exterior panel from the Red Cross building.
Category

20th Century Signs

Materials

Zinc

Rare 1970s Adult Peep Show, Books & Magazines, Large Plastic Embossed Sign XXX
By Terry Richardson
Located in St. Louis, MO
Large 1970s sign with embossed letters, Adult Peep Show - Books & Magazines. Sold without its original aluminum frame, can be back lit with LED. Small star crack to top of Red "S", minor loss of paint and scuffs. Subject matter is in the style of photographer Terry Richardson...
Category

1970s American Vintage Signs

Materials

Plastic

Antique English Enamel Pub Sign
Located in Wormelow, Herefordshire
‘The Friar’s Oak’ enamel pub sign with a wrought iron hanging bracket / frame. Reclaimed from a Public House in Shropshire. Double sided.
Category

Early 20th Century Signs

Materials

Enamel, Wrought Iron

Hand Signed Written Cart Yolk
Located in Alton, GB
Hand painted cart yolk from W.lowis.
Category

19th Century Antique Signs

Materials

Wood

Chinese Signboard with Gold Coloured Calligraphy from Hardwood, C. 1900
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
With a wood coloured base this signboard (crafted entirely from wood) highlights 3 large gold coloured Chinese Characters. The signboard dates to the early 20th Century and has aged ...
Category

Early 20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Signs

Materials

Wood, Paint

20th Century Blacksmith's Sign on Custom Mount
Located in Chicago, IL
A bold and striking 20th century American blacksmith's sign with an arm swinging a hammer against a block of metal on an anvil, and with sparks flying from the impact. We've had this...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Industrial Signs

Materials

Steel

Antique London Covent Garden & Borough Market Trade Shop Signs Thomas
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A decorative pair of trade signs for J B Thomas of either Borough Market or Covent Garden London, a red ground with gilt/yellow hand painted lettering. ...
Category

Early 20th Century British Signs

Materials

Pine

English Pub Sign, Squirrel
Located in Austin, TX
An authentic English pub sign (one-sided) featuring a painting of a squirrel with a nut, untitled. A very fine example of vintage advertising artwork and ...
Category

20th Century English Signs

Materials

Wood, Paint

Vintage Original Painted California Gold Rush Sign
Located in Los Angeles, CA
20th Century Original painted Gold Rush Sign.
Category

20th Century American Adirondack Signs

Materials

Wood, Paint

Antique Reverse Painted Glass Drink Coca Cola Sign Ice Cream Parlour circa 1920
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Fabulous 10 x 21 reverse painted glass coca cola sign from the twenties. In excellent vintage condition with a bit of fixing on the upper right corner. Made by the Price Bros. from C...
Category

1920s American Industrial Vintage Signs

Materials

Brass

Hand Painted 'ICE ON ROAD IN PLACES' Wooden Sign
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great vintage wood sign from the 1980s. Hand-painted. Deep blue background with white lettering and white border. Very good vintage condition. Perfect for a cabin or winter house...
Category

1980s American Vintage Signs

Materials

Wood, Paint

Late 17th/Early 18th Century Polychrome Tobacconist Figure Sign Folk Art Carving
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A large carved and polychrome painted tobacconist's figure almost certainly 17th or early 18th century For a related example see Edward H. Pinto, Treen and other Wooden Bygones, Bell and Hyman, London 1969. Page 412, plate 436. Originally this may well have been a tobacconist's shop window figure. For a similar, but slightly earlier unpainted example, see Sotheby's, The W. J. Shepherd collection of treen, 30th November 1983, Lot 393, illustrated in Pinto "Wooden Bygones of Smoking and Snuff Taking", plate 1. Carved wooden figures, often painted, were placed outside tobacconist's shops as signs from the 17th century onwards. The earliest of these figures is the 'black boy' or 'blackamoor'. 'At the sign of the black boy' or 'at the sign of the blackamoor' was a popular address for tobacconists since the early 17th century. The 17th century figures...
Category

17th Century English Antique Signs

Materials

Pine

St Paul’s Churchyard, City of London Glass Edwardian Street Sign
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
St Paul’s Churchyard, City of London glass Edwardian Street Sign This is a City of London Street sign, it is set in its Cast Iron Frame, it is ma...
Category

Early 20th Century Industrial Signs

Materials

Iron

20th Century Italian Mix Metal Wall Art Car, C.1970
Located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
This classic car is handmade in Italy from brass, copper and steel, created in the mid 20th century as a piece of decorative fun and novelty. CONDITION In Good Condition - wear c...
Category

20th Century Italian Signs

Materials

Brass, Copper, Steel

Enamel Sign for Colman’s Mustard
Located in Cheshire, GB
Enamel sign for Colman’s Mustard, of rectangular form decorated in blue and yellow enamel. Dimensions Height 16 inches Width 62.5 inches Depth 0.5 ...
Category

Early 20th Century British Signs

Materials

Enamel

Large Antique Handcrafted Folk Art Sign ..MASONIC TEMPLE, Raised Letters
Located in Buffalo, NY
Large antique handcrafted Folk Art sign ..MASONIC TEMPLE,, Beautiful sign,, turn of the century,, Retains original finish,, patina,, modeled blue background,, raised letters.
Category

1910s American Folk Art Vintage Signs

Materials

Wood

Los Angeles Highway Trash Removal Sign
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles trash cleanup sign. Emerald green background with a man in work clothes picking up trash. Great coloring and patina. Cool vintage graphics...
Category

Early 2000s American Signs

Materials

Steel

Telephone Sign
Located in Chicago, IL
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Signs

Materials

Metal

Giant Bayer Pill Pop Art
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Monumental vintage Bayer pill in cream plaster/ceramic. 7" diameter. Likely used as a store display. Whimsical desktop object or paperweight. Black felted bottom. Great piece of art ...
Category

1970s American Vintage Signs

Materials

Plaster, Paint

Vintage Yellow & Black Painted Steel 'FRESH OIL' Traffic or Street Sign
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine vintage traffic or street sign. With text that reads: FRESH OIL. In reflective yellow paint. Simply a great vintage sign! Date: Mi...
Category

Late 20th Century Unknown Signs

Materials

Steel

Chinese Signboard with Gold Coloured Calligraphy & Hanging Hook from Hardwood
Located in Jimbaran, Bali
With a wood coloured base this signboard (crafted entirely from wood) highlights 3 large gold coloured Chinese Characters. The signboard dates to the Mid-20th Century and has aged be...
Category

Mid-20th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Signs

Materials

Wood, Paint

Rare Domed Wiener Werkstaette Vienna Art Nouveau Enameled Advertising Sign
Located in Vienna, AT
A rare, domed, black and white enameled Art Nouveau advertising sign for Wiener Werkstätte, founded by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Fritz ...
Category

Early 1900s Austrian Art Nouveau Antique Signs

Materials

Metal, Enamel, Iron

Marvelous Antique Carved Wood Locksmith Trade Sign
Located in Hopewell, NJ
A wonderful early 20th century carved mahogany locksmith trade sign in the shape of a large key. Makes an unexpected piece of wall art as a found object with tons of character.
Category

Early 20th Century American Folk Art Signs

Materials

Wood

Enamel Sign for Colman’s Starch
Located in Cheshire, GB
Enamel sign for Colman’s Starch, of rectangular form decorated in blue and white enamel. Dimensions Height 16 Inches Width 62.5 Inches Depth 0.5 Inches.
Category

Early 20th Century British Signs

Materials

Enamel

1961 Advertising Sign MARTINI BLANC , Apéritif Beverage
Located in Antwerp, BE
Vintage " MARTINI BLANC " or WHITE MARTINI Metal Advertising Sign. This Tin Sign has a gold colored metal frame, is mounted on Cardboard and dates from 1961. This Sign for the famous Italian Drink was made in Belgium for the Belgian Market by Etabl. J. Schuybroek S.A. Hoboken-Anvers ( Belgium ). It is in good but used condition. If you keep the sign in a certain angle to heavy light , you will see stains of teh old wrapping paper. Do view all our items , we do have a matching Rossi Sign...
Category

Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Signs

Materials

Tin, Other

Ladies ‘Dame’ Mid Century Restroom Sign from South of France Made in Metal
Located in London, GB
A French Mid Century Modern Swimming Pool changing room sign for a Lady or Ladies. The 3 dimensional letters made from metal box cut and riveted and weld...
Category

1950s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Signs

Materials

Metal

Traditional Large Iron Hanging Pub Sign, The Boot
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
Traditional large iron hanging pub sign. The Boot This is a large and heavy piece dating from the beginning of the 20th Century, it is double sided though the paint on one side is...
Category

Early 1900s Folk Art Antique Signs

Materials

Iron

Large Weathered Trade Sign "Carriage Shop"
Located in Greenwich, CT
A 12 foot long trade sign displaying the words Carriage Shop on one side and Horse Shoeing on the other. In weathered early hand painted lettering on wood, with molded edging on all ...
Category

1870s American Antique Signs

Materials

Wood

'Boulder' Colorado Hand Painted Wood Road Sign
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Rustic hand painted Boulder road sign in black and white. Painted on a 3/4" thick plank of wood give this piece interesting character. Taken down from a nearby trail. Sign can...
Category

2010s American Signs

Materials

Wood, Paint

Big Wooden Wrench, a Trade Sign, USA 1930
Located in Milan, IT
Big wooden sign of a machine shop depicting a wrench, with mechanic’s address and phone number. USA 1930 ca.
Category

Mid-20th Century American Signs

Materials

Fruitwood

Vintage Porcelain Corona Beer Sign
Located in San Diego, CA
Super cool and hard to find vintage porcelain Corona beer sign, circa 1970s. The sign is actually a former tabletop at a roadside cantina in Mexico. The di...
Category

Mid-20th Century Mexican Signs

Materials

Metal

Elizabeth Arden Vintage Wooden Signs
Located in Milano, IT
Rare advertising sign of Elizabeth Arden, an entrepreneur who founded, in that name, her cosmetics company, dating from the 1950s, taken from the Lake...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Signs

Materials

Aluminum

Vintage Elizabeth Arden Signs in Wood and Painted Aluminum
Located in Milano, IT
Rare advertising sign of Elizabeth Arden, an entrepreneur who founded, in that name, her cosmetics company, dating from the 1950s, taken from the Lake...
Category

1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Vintage Signs

Materials

Aluminum

Glass Pedestrian Crossing Sign
Located in New York, NY
Colorful Pop Art Pedestrian Crossing sign on glass. Found vintage art at it's best! Front has 4 small rubber elements and back has rubber edging. Final ...
Category

1950s North American Vintage Signs

Materials

Glass, Rubber, Paint

Spanish Provincial Style Carved Horse Head Wall Plaque Sign
Located in New York, NY
Spanish Provincial (20th Cent) style painted and carved horse head wall plaque/sign (La Taberna Caballoblanco) (Related item: 049724D).  
Category

20th Century Renaissance Signs

Materials

Wood

Vintage Enamel Letter N, 1930s
Located in Kojetice, CZ
This vintage industrial enameled letter N was made during the 1930s and comes from the old advertising banner.
Category

Early 20th Century European Industrial Signs

Materials

Iron

Vintage Solo Margarine Enamel Mid-Century Sign
Located in Norwich, GB
A wonderful bright vintage enamel sign advertising Solo margarine. Belgian - Circa 1940's. The sign is in very good condition for its age, ther...
Category

Mid-20th Century Belgian Mid-Century Modern Signs

Materials

Enamel

HOVIS, Etched Glass Bakery Advertising Window Sign
Located in Chillerton, Isle of Wight
HOVIS, Etched Glass Bakery Advertising Window Sign A great piece of social history, this is a window, the old sash type, the glass is etched and ...
Category

Late 19th Century Edwardian Antique Signs

Materials

Art Glass

Large Porcelain Sign Mauxion Chocolat, 1920s, Germany
Located in Antwerp, BE
Large porcelain sign for Mauxion Chocolat Products circa 1925. Antique porcelain sign - enamelled sign - advertising wall sign. This spectacul...
Category

Early 20th Century German Art Deco Signs

Materials

Metal

Enamel Parisian Metro Station Sign
Located in Gloucestershire, GB
French mid 20th century enamel metro sign. This sign comes from the Commerce Metro Station in the 15th arrondisement in Paris. This station is on li...
Category

Signs

Antique, New and Vintage Signs

Vintage and antique signs are popular collector’s items loved not only for the charm and pops of color they add to a space but also for the unique story each one has to tell. An interesting sign can help set the mood for a room and spark dozens of lively conversations.

Before and during the 18th century, many European peasants and colonists in the Americas couldn’t read, so shopkeepers, in an effort to promote their goods and services, hung trade signs with limited amounts of text.

Indeed, symbols and representational physical objects comprised early-day advertising efforts. In lieu of painted words on a wooden board, trade signs made use of handmade three-dimensional symbols to indicate the function of the shop. The iconic red, white and blue pole could be found outside barbershops, while a figural trade sign mounted to an apothecary’s storefront might be a mortar and pestle sculpted from bronze in order to indicate to passers-by that inside there were apothecary cabinets full of remedies for common ailments and a druggist to carefully dispense them.

As literacy rates improved, signs evolved into rectangular, round or square shapes that featured text. Short and sweet, early iterations were characterized by a mere few words, such as “tavern,” “boarding room” or “apothecary.”

During the 19th century, proprietors endeavored to render their signs more appealing. This meant the introduction of more color, font types and other pictorial representations. After the Civil War ended, logos, branding and advertising became increasingly more important, and the design of signage evolved. Trade signs were still in use during the 20th century, and you will likely find hand-painted tin eyeglasses for an optometrist’s office or an oversize bowling pin that likely had a home in the front window of a bowling alley.

Today, collectors and art aficionados alike collect and display antique and vintage signs. Old signs hearken back to a long-gone era, infusing any interior with warmth and nostalgia.

A vintage sign can help anchor a room — think of decorating with signs as you would arranging any kind of wall art. A large-scale sign in particular can prove a distinguishing feature in a living room or dining room, a focal point so prominent that it might lessen the burden of introducing any additional decorative elements to this particular space. Smaller signs work wonders too — pepper sparsely decorated corners with small colorful signs or add a humorous or graphic element to your gallery-style hang with a small text-based sign or two.

On 1stDibs, find metal, wood and glass antique and vintage signs that span a number of styles, including mid-century modern, industrial and folk art.

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