Antique "Spearior" Hand Saws Oversized Figural Advertising Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
c. 1920s; Spear & Jackson - Sheffield, England Oversized hand-painted and screen-decorated trade sign modeled after a traditional carpenter's hand saw, advertising Spear & Jackson's...
Metal
$1,036Sale Price|20% Off
Lady Blessingtons Sailors Donation Momento Plaque
Located in Los Angeles, CA
20Thc Repro trade sign from New England with a weather protector varnish for bad weather protection.Wired for hanging inside or outside.
Wood, Paint
Antique "Peerless Shoe Repair" Double-Sided Painted Wooden Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
A monumental, boot-shaped wooden trade sign for Peerless Shoe Repair, painted in strong roadside red with white block lettering.
Paint, Plywood
Enameled Steel Sign For "Tourist Fruit Room"
Located in Nantucket, MA
Great Vintage Enameled Steel Trade Sign For "Tourist Fruit Room." Of course! This is a period enameled steel plaque from the RMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, 1946 - 1969, marking the refrigerate...
Steel
Folk Art Giant Metal Scissors Industrial Store Display Sign, circa 1950
By Travail Francais
Located in Atlanta, GA
It is possible that the sign was initially used as a trade sign for a tailor shop or a millinery store.
Metal, Chrome
Vintage "Johnson's Jeweler-Watch Repairing" Double-Sided Neon Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
Double-sided projecting neon trade sign reading "Johnson's Jeweler - Watch Repairing" with secondary "Loyalty" diamond motif.
Steel
Antique Garland Shirts Embossed TOC Advertising Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
c. 1890s-1900s; Tin over card trade sign advertising Garland Shirts and their patented "cushion split neck bands."
Tin
Antique Hand-Carved "Bookhout Funeral Home" Painted Wood Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
c. 1910s/1920s; Bookhout Funeral Home - Oneonta, NY Large hand-carved wooden trade sign for the Bookhout Funeral Home, featuring deeply incised, gold-painted lettering on a black fi...
Wood, Paint
Vintage Hand-Painted Old Absinthe House Saloon Sign with Iron Corbel
Located in Dekalb, IL
Two metal hooks along the upper edge allow the sign to swing when suspended. An ornate wrought iron corbel with decorative scrollwork is included for wall mounting, giving the piece ...
Wrought Iron
Mid-20th Century American Folk Art Double-Sided Bait Shop Fish Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
Handmade American bait-shop trade sign constructed from cut galvanized sheet metal.
Steel
Vintage Retro Mid Century French Neon Illuminated Butchers Display Sign, c.1950
Located in London, GB
An incredibly rare French neon butchers trade sign. c.1950. A characterful hanging neon sign from a French butcher’s shop, its metal body finished in a flocked‑velvet coating that h...
Aluminum, Brass
Impressive Huge 19th Century Pawnbroker Folk Art Sign with Three Spheres Symbol
Located in Lowestoft, GB
An impressive rare and monumental in scale folk art pawnbroker trade sign with its original trio of giltwood spheres which represent the universal symbol for the pawnbroker trade.
Wrought Iron
Art Deco "Beauty Shoppe" DSP Flange Storefront Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
Double-sided porcelain enamel projecting trade sign for a beauty shop, featuring a striking Art Deco portrait of a fashionable woman framed within an oval medallion and accompanied b...
Metal
$1,224Sale Price|25% Off
19th Century Regency Hand Blown Chemist Pharmacy Apothecary Display Carboy Sign
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A very early 19th century chemist display carboy, circa 1820 possibly earlier The bulbous center sits on a stepped base with a swan like neck and a fine cut glass oversized stopp...
Blown Glass, Cut Glass
$1,480Sale Price|20% Off
1940s Native American Trading Post Wooden Sign
Located in Los Angeles, CA
1940s Native American wooden painted trading post sign. Colors are vibrant. This is what paint collectors appreciate.
Wood
Cigars Store / Trade Folk Art Wooden Carved Sign. c 1900
Located in Buenos Aires, Olivos
American Folk art wooden "CIGARS" sign from the 1920's. Great old Store Trade sign.
Wood
Large Hand Painted Double Sided Arrow "Radio Trade In" Folk Art Trade/Store Sign
Located in Buffalo, NY
Large Hand Painted, Double Sided Arrow "Special" Radio Trade In sale,,,,Folk Art Trade/Store Sign,,Wonderful size,,amazing crackle paint, patina..Great subject.
Masonite, Paint
$1,306Sale Price|20% Off
Early 20th century double sided English chemist sign
Located in London, GB
Early 20th century double sided English chemist sign Made from double sided glass with reflective silver illuminated text, this early 20th century example of an English chemist tra...
Metal
$1,088Sale Price|20% Off
Early 20th Century Double Sided French Pharmacy Metal Sign
Located in London, GB
Early 20th Century Double Sided French Pharmacy Metal Sign A rare double sided pharmacy trade sign, origins of France, dated to the early part of the 20th century, made from metal ...
Metal
19th Century Large Pyramidal "Kern and McNaughton" Cigar Signage
Located in Dekalb, IL
Large freestanding wooden trade sign advertising "CIGARS," constructed in a tapered, pyramidal form with four painted panels rising to a shaped top crest reading "KERN AND McNAUGHTON."
Wood
Signwriters Reverse Painted Verre Eglomisé Glass Sample Flash Trade Board Sign
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A reverse painted and gold leaf glass sample board, showcasing numbered cartouches, swags and decorative elements. Very much in the style of a tattoo flash card. Likely from a sign...
Glass
Late 19th Century Folk Art "BOOT' Cobbler's Trade Show / SHOP Sign / Sculpture
Located in Buffalo, NY
Late 19th Century Folk Art "BOOT' Cobbler's Trade Show OR sHOP Sign / Sculpture . aLL Hand made,, Oil cloth, copper top and Wood...Most likely hung outside of an old cobbler , shoe ...
Copper
“The Classic Cars of the 50s” Shop Trade Display Shelf Good Collectors Piece
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
“The Classic Cars of the 50s” Shop Trade Display Shelf Good Collectors Piece, 50s Model Car Display shelf, in good condition The Shelf is 21” high, 19” wide and 5” deep CS188
Plywood
Early 20th C. - A.V. Pendl - Kohler Plumbing Sign
Located in Dekalb, IL
Large hand-painted metal trade storefront sign reading "A.V. PENDL" with "KOHLER PLUMBING AND HEATING" beneath.
Metal
19thc Monumental Cast Iron Garden Rooster
Located in Los Angeles, CA
It was probably used in a store front as a trade sign or a garden element. The patina is amazing and in very good condition.
Iron
Six Foot Carved Wood Codfish
Located in Norwell, MA
Carved wood codfish trade sign reminiscent of the signs that used to hang in the English fish terminals in the 19th century.
Wood
Carved Tuna Fish with Painted Finish
Located in Norwell, MA
This carved fish is reminiscent of the trade signs that would hang in the fishmongers stalls at the Dover Fish Markets in England.
Wood
19th Century American Patriotic Barber Pole Open Sign Folk Art
Located in Forney, TX
A rare, likely one-of-a-kind, large antique, circa 1860s, early American hand carved, painted, and sculpted wooden patriotic barber pole advertising trade sign / open sign. Mid-1...
Wood, Giltwood, Paint
$4,246Sale Price|20% Off
19th Century Boucherie Chevaline French Tradesign
Located in London, GB
Boucherie Chevaline We are proud to offer a late 19th century Boucherie Chevaline, zinc gold leaf hand beaten butchers advertising trade sign. These items have become rare over th...
Zinc
$1,742Sale Price|20% Off
Early 20th Century English Folk Art Shell Work Diorama Scene
Located in London, GB
The scene displays houses with chimneys, village people in different shapes and sizes, plant foliage and trees, steps leading up to the village from the river side, a horse and cart,...
Pine
Folk Art Embroidered 1800s Primitive Crazy Quilt Exceptional initialed Textile
Located in Amsterdam, NY
Primitive animals and human figures have a charming flatness and directness associated with nineteenth-century American trade signs, chalkware figures, and schoolgirl needlework.
Cotton
20th Century American Folk Art Double-Sided Carved Wooden Fish Sign
Located in Elkhart, IN
A charming vintage American folk art trade-style sign, hand-carved in the form of a fish and painted with the words “BAIT” on one side and “TACKLE” on the reverse.
Wood
Giant Double Sided Wood Peach Trade Sign from California Farm
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Great wooden trade sign from a California farm. Giant peach with graphics on both sides.
Wood
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.
At Waddesdon Manor, artist Joana Vasconcelos has installed a three-tiered patisserie inspired by the narrative tile work of her homeland. We take a look at the cake sculpture and how Portuguese tiles have been used in architecture from the 17th century to today.
The streets of fin-de-siècle Paris were set aglow with colorful poster ads, thanks to the printing techniques invented by Jules Chéret. Now, the Milwaukee Art Museum is celebrating this undersung talent in America's first solo show dedicated his exuberant works.
Expert Jeff Bridgman explains the history and meaning behind the twinkling constellations that have graced Old Glory.
The iconoclastic style setter displayed African and Oceanic art, as well as works by indigenous peoples of the Americas, alongside pieces by such major modernists as Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock.
Perfect for July 4th weekend, a new show at Philadelphia's Museum of the American Revolution displays an array of antique red, white and blue flags.
Designers are beginning to see this enigmatic form of folk art in a whole new light.