Catalog (62)

Offered is a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted sign from the 1940s era. This eye-appealing and visually-graphic sign is constructed of metal, has two-toned, colored lettering and sports the Newark, New Jersey Traffic Club's shield-shaped emblem.

This professionally executed, rare sign measures 29 inches long x 9 inches wide and is in good condition. Areas of light paint loss as seen in the photos and a few minor crimps in the metal, most noted by the corners, are commensurate with age.

An internet search revealed that the club was established over 100 years ago in 1909, although this sign appears to be from the 1940s. A neat find!

Reading "SAFETY FIRST" "EMERGENCY SHOWER EYE BATH", this green, white and black painted sign dates to the 1950's and was likely meant for use in either a professional or academic laboratory.

The sign measures 14 inches wide x 10 inches high, and is quite bright and visually appealing.

This painted metal sign remains in fine condition with minor surface scratching, tiny areas of paint loss and tiny areas of superficial rusting, all as noted in photos.

Measuring a diminutive 2 inches in diameter, this intricately-detailed, colorfully lithographed, celluloid-faced advertising pocket mirror is in mint condition!

The pastoral image features a country maiden leading a cow from the woods while holding a can of Horlick's Malted Milk.

Imprinted on the cow's side is the following, "Ask for Horlick's at all Fountains and Hotels."

Around the circumference of the mirror, the product is further advertised:

"This maiden fair was dressed in silk,
She drinks the Horlick's Malted Milk."

" Tea of coffee it does replace,
In Health or Sickness,
Wins the Race."

Original mirrored backing is in very fine condition with just a few very minute , superficial scratches. Marked in microscopically written print ob bottom edge: The Whitemead & Hoag Company, Newark, New Jersey.

A beautiful little advertising piece!

Offered for sale is a fabulous and most colorful, hand-painted Connecticut TIN trade sign from the 1920s – 1930s.

Framed in sturdy wood, this metal sign is hand-painted in stunning blues, whites, and oranges and reads: “JOHN E. MELVIN – PLUMBER – TEL. CONN”.

Measuring approximately 32.5 inches wide x 18 inches high, this vintage tin sign, a most unusual find, has wonderful visual graphic appeal and would add great decorative interest to any room!

The condition of the sign is quite good with lovely patina and appropriate surface wear for its 70-80+ years of age. Note a small unobtrusive piece of framing missing from the bottom right.

Vividly colored, this unusual, C1920s, Black Memorabilia-themed, advertising diecut measuring 12 3/4" long x 8 1/2" wide, features two utterly horrified, shabbily attired, young, African-American girls faced with an encounter with a very diminutive, very equally-upset dog-- a deliberately crafted, most unfortunate, stereotypical image used to advertise who knows what back in the day!

Recently acquired from a private collection, the framed diecut is without glass (which can be easily and inexpensively added).

The embossed-surface diecut is in near excellent condition, the only noted issue being a crease in the bigger girl's left leg (see close-up photo). An unusual find, with vivid, colorful imagery!

Offered is a seldom found grouping of 2 doctor signs that were used by a Canadian pediatrician's during his early years of practice in the 1930s.

The large brass sign measures 5" x 14", exhibits some tarnishing, and was most likely placed on the doctor's office building exterior.

The diminutive brass sign, measures 6.5" x 3.5" and was most likely attached to an interior door.

Both signs are in very nice condition and are easily displayed either on a shelf or on the wall!

The pair is offered at $100.00 or either one of the signs may be purchased individually at $60.00 each.

This vintage 1940's cardboard advertising fan for the Petersburg Furniture Company, Inc., located at 100 North Sycamore Street, Petersburg, Virginia, measures 12" long x 7 " wide and is mounted on a wooden stick handle.

Featuring a double heart motif, the advertising slogan spouts, "When Two Hearts Beat As One, It's Time To Buy Your Furniture From "Old Reliable" Petersburg Furniture Company, "Petersburg's Oldest Furniture Store!

Neat mid-20th-century advertising piece in very fine original condition!

Measuring approximately 23 inches high X 18 inches wide, this heavy cardboard restaurant menu from the 1940’s has never been used! This menu board was designed by the manufacturer to be a consumable, throw-away --- for jotting down the ever-changing, daily menu “Specials”!

Featuring a delightful, cartoon-like caricature of a black man, this board is in very good condition with minor edge wear, slight age-discoloration and a crease to the rim at the left end of the hat.

An interesting, seldom-found piece of Black Memorabilia!

Please disregard reflections in photos that are due to the presence of protective plastic wrap.

This wonderful vintage hospital sign from the 1920's once hung in a small central South Carolina hospital, as told by the 91 year old seller from whom it was purchased.

Taken right out of her sewing room where it had hung for decades on the wall, the black and gold sign, which is painted on a heavy particle-type board, has a very lovely, warm, aged patina. It was very difficult to photograph as the black background paint readily picked up the slightest light source. The very first photograph most accurately depicts the color and appearance of this piece. Any white glare in any of the photographs should be completely disregarded, as both the color and tone of the sign are quite uniform.

Measuring 24" wide x 6" long, the sign has three eyelet-type holes in each of three corners (one corner is missing) to facilitate hanging. It comes with a heavy, ancient piece of wire that was used to hang the sign in the seller's home.

As noted in the close-up photos, the sign has its share of surface rubs, scratches, paint edge wear and three of the four corner edges missing-- all appropriate examples of wear for a well-used sign that is nearly 100 years old! Close examination of the sign suggests that the background was painted completely black first and then the gold edge-work and lettering were stenciled on top of the black background.

Just LOVE the look of this sign!

Offered is an authentic signed baseball from former Negro League player CLIFFORD LAYTON. The ball was signed for me at an autograph show and is dated 4-15-05.

Mr. Layton was a skilled pitcher with a strong bat who had a four-year career in the Negro Leagues, playing for the Indianapolis Clowns, the New York Black Yankees and the Raleigh Tigers. One of his teammates was a promising infielder by the name of Hank Aaron, who signed with the Boston Braves in 1952, and eventually became a Hall of Famer. Layton received an invitation in 1951 to try out for the Brooklyn Dodgers, but by then his shoulder was troubling him so he declined, hoping it would heal and another opportunity would present, which unfortunately never came. As of 2016, Mr. Layton, at the age of 87, was enjoying retirement as an associate pastor in a North Carolina ministry.

A brief history of the Negro League:

African-Americans first began to play baseball in the late 1800s on military teams, college teams, and company teams, eventually finding their way to the established professional baseball teams of white players. However, racism and “Jim Crow” laws would force African-Americans from these teams by 1900, with black players left to form their own teams.

In 1920, an organized league structure was formed under the guidance of Andrew “Rube” Foster, a former player, manager, and owner for the Chicago American Giants. In a meeting held at the Paseo YMCA in Kansas City, Mo., Foster and several other Midwestern team owners joined to form the Negro National League. Soon, rival leagues formed in Eastern and Southern states, which brought black baseball to major urban centers and to rural countrysides in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. The Leagues maintained a high level of professional skill and inspired economic development in many black communities.

In 1945, when Major League Baseball’s Brooklyn Dodgers recruited Jackie Robinson from the Kansas City Monarchs, Robinson became the first African-American in the modern era to play on a Major League roster. While this historic event was a key moment in baseball and civil rights history, it marked the decline of the Negro Leagues. The best black players began to be recruited for the Major Leagues with their black fans following them, and the last Negro Leagues teams folded in the early 1960s.

Protected in a 15.25 x 24.75 inch, black hard plastic frame with glass and coordinating mat, this authentic GOLD DUST Trolley Sign was manufactured by the N.K. Fairbanks Company in 1920’s!

GOLD DUST Trolley Signs are a very rare find in today’s market as they were made of cardboard, a material much less likely to withstand the test of time as opposed to tin advertising signs which were much sturdier!

This Gold Dust trolley sign features the Gold Dust Twins dressed in ruffled, red skirts emblazoned with the words “GOLD DUST”, busily scrubbing the front porch and the kitchen in a vigorous attempt at “Spring Cleaning”. The colors featured in this trolley sign are just stunning—greens, pale peachy-colored orange, pale blue, and yellows with white apple blossoms and red tulips flowering in profusion!! To the left of the Gold Dust Twin scrubbing the front porch, sits a large box of Gold Dust Washing Powder. The advertisement proclaims in black-outlined, peachy-orange lettering: “For Spring House Cleaning”.

The condition of this trolley sign is truly quite fine. Colors are very strong and consistent throughout; please ignore the various glass reflections seen in some of the photos- they were unavoidable and do appear to make the colors appear a bit faded—which is inaccurate! The sign is free of rips or tears although it does have two, early, fold-creases – one running from top to bottom of the sign along the left side of the pail and between the “O” and “L” in “GOLD” and the other vertical crease on the very right edge of the sign, running through the stove in the kitchen to the “T” in “DUST”. The creases are very unobtrusive and do not detract from the wonderful, colorful imagery this sign conveys.

An unusual opportunity to acquire a very RARE piece of Black Americana!!

Offered for consideration, is a wonderful and rarely found, 19th century, American, "DENTIST" sign in brass measuring 12 3/4ths inches wide x 7 inches high.

The sign advertises the office of "James H. Groom. Dentist.", and remains in fine condition with rich, deep-toned, original patina and some very minor warping due to its many years of age. The lettering is actually impressed into the surface and is painted black. Any white marks appearing on the front of the sign are due only to light/sun reflection---the sign has a very even-toned coloration.

The sign has a hole at each corner to facilitate hanging, or it may be easily displayed upon a shelf!

A fabulous, scarce, rich-looking display piece with great "eye appeal"!

Offered is a scarce, Western Union display box from the 1920's era used hold a variety of telegram forms as well as written guidelines and charts needed to accurately and precisely perform this valuable and popular communicative service.

This advertising gem was once used at the Island Pharmacy, City Island, New York, and was acquired directly from the family.

This display box measures 11"H x 9.25"W x 4.25"D, is in very good condition and sports the "WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH" cardboard label on its front. Both the display box and label exhibit age appropriate wear as noted: a few, small, top edge chips to the wood, some staining to the label as seen in photos, and the "N" in the word "BLANKS" is damaged.

This graphically appealing, vintage, advertising piece comes with a wide variety of very interesting and historic associated ephemera that serves to define the vast scope of service that Western Union provided: a 1962 CIPHER (Encoding and Decoding Card) for use with money order messages, a guideline card defining the delivery of Military Casualty telegrams, a 1949 guide card defining the Priority Order of Messages, a Standard Abbreviations Guide card, 2 cards notating New York City and Albany addresses of the main Western Union Offices in the state of New York, numerous contracts spanning multiple decades confirming the continued authorization of the pharmacy as a Western Union provider, as well as 15 colorful and unused, telegraph and cable THANKSGIVING blanks and over 40 Christmas HOLIDAY GREETINGS blanks. Also included is a 1950's, 17 page, company history given to Western Union services providers entitled, The Story of Western Union.

The City Island Pharmacy contracted with Western Union as an agent for the delivery and acceptance of telegrams and cable services from 1939 through 1972!

What a delightful advertising piece with wonderful provenance, filled with historic Western Union ephemera!

Measuring a diminutive 4.50 inches long x 2.50 inches high, this very unusual tin and pot metal piece features a small black shoe shine boy with shoe polishing brush in hand, about to polish a giant ladies lace-up shoe!!

The piece has two tiny holes in its bowl suggesting that this was once screwed or fastened into another piece. Logic suggests that perhaps this may have been an advertising display item of some sort.

Remnants of red paint are easily visible on the back of the black boy's hat as well as on his lips, and the giant shoe also displays remnants of black paint. When one looks quite closely, one can see that the entire figure was at one time painted. Some light superficial rusting to the bowl is evident here and there.

Certainly a mystery piece as to purpose, this fascinating Black Memorabilia collectible remains quite intriguing and does reinforce a stereotypical occupation associated with black folk during the unfortunate Jim Crow era.

Measuring 7.5 inches high x 7.50 inches wide x 3.50 inches high, this all-original, new-old-stock, cardboard display box for Whittemore’s Oil Paste Shoe Shine Polish of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is complete with all 12 of its original polish tins! It is presumed that all tins still contain polish--they are all closed too tightly to easily open for an inspection! That will be left to the new owner!

Interesting and extremely eye-catching graphics on both box and tins! Displays just wonderfully!

The cardboard box has some expected wear as seen in photos with small rips and abrasions, but it retains its structural integrity- still able to support the weight of twelve metal polish tins! The majority of the tins are in very, very nice condition as well with expected, slight superficial scratches here and there. Three of the twelve tins have a bit more surface wear to their lids than the others and are pictured as a trio for the buyer’s perusal---still very appealing.

A very difficult to find vintage country store display piece!

Offered for separate purchase are two, RARELY FOUND, salesman sample boxes of Sharpoint Black Face Wire Cobbler's Nails measuring a very diminutive 2" tall x 1.25" wide and 1.75" tall x 1" wide!

The trademark for Sharpoint is a cleverly-designed, eye-catching, broadly smiling image of an African American gent. If one looks closely, one can clearly see the words "Sharpoint Cobblers Nails" printed within the black space of the gent's mouth! A very "sharp" advertising strategy!

Sharpoint Wire Cobbler's Nails were manufactured by the Charles F. Baker Co, Boston, Massachusetts. The smaller box retains its end flap which features both the manufacturing and patent information, with the patent number corresponding to a 1933 USA Patent date. Each box amazingly still retains the original cobbler's nails!

The boxes are in very good condition considering their age and the fact that they held tiny, sharp nails for over 80 years! As stated earlier, the smaller box does retain the end flap which features manufacturing info. The larger box is missing this flap. The cover litho on each box remains very crisp and clear. Typical, age-related edge wear is noted. Please peruse all photos for condition details. The boxes have been shrink-wrapped to protect the integrity of the cardboard, and they do contain the nails.

These VERY, VERY RARELY FOUND SALESMAN SAMPLE size boxes WITH ORIGINAL NAILS are offered at $125 each, or the two boxes can be purchased as a pair for $198.00 firm.

Offered are two utterly fabulous, one-of-a-kind, DOUBLE-SIDED, hand-painted signs that hung at Joe's "Colored Only" fish shack near Albany, Georgia, on the Flint River. These signs were created by the black folks who owned the shack which closed in the late 1950s, early 1960s. The folks had an area to eat in --serving pig ears and fish-- and also caught and cleaned fish.

These signs have a very colorful, folk-art appeal and certainly are utterly unique! They very much fit into the American, Southern "Outsider Art" collecting genre, a genre which highlights the work of self-taught, rural area artists who create fabulous and highly expressive art using the media and materials that they have at hand and which reflects the world that they know and live in.

The signs are quite heavy as each is made from a solid wood board. The signs are nearly identical in size and measure approximately 25 1/2 inches wide x 14 5/8 high x 3/4ths of an inch thick. One of the signs has very, very slight warping, but the warpage is not readily evident as seen by pictures. Each sign has 2 holes from which to hang them, and the old rusted hanging wire which is seen in the photos has been replaced by new hanging wire.

Measuring 27 inches long x 18 inches wide, this wonderful, vintage, School Crossing Guard sign remains in all-original condition and is even dated "5-64"!

Double-sided, this visually-appealing school collectible displays stunningly whether displayed on the bright yellow "SLOW" side or the nearly-glow-in-the-dark red and white "STOP" side!

The metal sign retains its original wooden handle as well as its share of age and use-related surface scuffs, scratches and even a couple of errant paint spots that absolutely do not detract from its conversation-provoking appeal!

An interesting and unique enhancement to one's Vintage School Collection!