“You are motoring down a two line, back country road when you happen to notice a faded, slightly rusty sign hanging on a dilapidated weather worn barn. It the virtues of a product from a by-gone era. While they are all but gone today, these tin signs were the icons of advertising ‘back in the day’. Colorful, concise, and most of all durable, these classy bits of advertisement dotted the landscape from New York to Los Angeles.

Tin signs sang the praises of everything from soap to soda. Less intrusive and often quite inventive, tin signs were the ultimate in soft sell. Unlike their flashy cousins the billboards, tin signs were almost subliminal in their delivery. They were so common that they seemed to blend into the countryside almost as though they were a natural part of the landscape. Yet if you looked closely at home movies and snapshots taken along route 66 and other highways, you were sure to see one of these mini ads in the background.

Like the neon signs found today in liquor stores, the tin signs of yesteryear where either given to the grocery store owner free or, often, a small payment was made to the farmer or store owner that would put up the sign. Often the competition for advertising space would get fierce especially if a prestigious or high traffic location was up for grabs. Some manufactures wanted exclusive rights to a wall (i.e. no competitor’s signs) while others simply placed their signs wherever they could get permission.

More than just an advertising gimmick, tin signs were also used during World War II to convey patriotism. The Norman Rockwell depiction of ‘Uncle Sam’ with his finger pointing out of the sign stating ‘Uncle Sam Want You!’ is now a cultural icon. Rosie the Riveter was a popular sign found on the outside walls of defense plants, while signs asking the public to collect scrap metal and paper or to buy ‘War Bonds’ could be found on almost every building.

Not only did tin signs have a practical function but, in many cases, they were in of themselves works of art. It was not unusual to find a Norman Rockwell or a Grant Wood painting fatefully reproduced as a method to promote Coca-Cola or John Deere. It was also not uncommon to find your favorite movie star such a Marilyn Monroe , selling Luster Crème Shampoo or James Dean hawking ‘Kist Kola’.

With the advent of television, tin signs as a form of advertising began to slowly fade into history. Now original copies of these signs can go for hundreds of dollars to collectors. With the resurgence of nostalgic decorating, tin sign replicas have become a very popular glimpse into the past.

These facsimiles have been fatefully reproduced to bring back an appreciation of a time long gone; when the world moved at a much slower pace and people actually had the time to stop and look at a tiny sign up on the side of a barn, out in the middle of nowhere.

[Image ny naterade81]