Antique Painted Tin Top Hat Trade Sign or Display Form
Located in Dekalb, IL
Large-scale tin top hat form with exaggerated proportions, featuring a tall cylindrical crown and wide, gently flared brim.
Category
Early 20th Century Signs
Materials
Tin
Top Hat Trade Sign
Arts and Crafts Copper Milliners Trade Sign. Copper Top Hat
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
Arts and Crafts Copper Milliners Trade Sign. Copper Top Hat This is an unusual piece, the Top Hat is hand made in beaten Copper it sits on an old wooden hat stand, incidentally the ...
Category
Vintage 1960s Folk Art Signs
Materials
Copper
Recent Sales
Folk Art Painted Metal Milliners Top Hat Trade Sign Annie Gold circa 1890 London
Unavailable
H 9.75 in W 14 in D 16.5 in
Folk Art Painted Metal Milliners Top Hat Trade Sign Annie Gold circa 1890 London
Located in Bedford, Bedfordshire
The handcut and riveted sheet metal shop or trade sign in the form of black top hat, showing an good aged patina and retaining the original paint, of high crowned form, the whole hai...
Category
Antique 1890s English Late Victorian Signs
Materials
Sheet Metal
Top Hat Trade Sign
Located in Stamford, CT
19th century American red painted tin trade sign in the form of a top hat. With black buckle.
Category
Antique 19th Century American Primitive Signs
Top Hat Trade Sign
Located in Stamford, CT
19th century American painted tin trade sign in the form of a top hat. With gilt buckle and original paint.
Category
Antique 19th Century American Primitive Signs
Top Hat Trade sign with original iron bracket, late 1800's
Located in Buffalo, NY
19th century American Painted Tin Trade sign,, Consistant wear,rust. Retains original hanging bracket,hand hammered wrought iron,,
Category
Antique 19th Century American Arts and Crafts Signs
Materials
Metal, Tin, Iron
English Late 19th Century Metal Top Hat Trade Sign with Original Paint
Located in Charleston, SC
English trade sign in the form of a top hat.
Category
Antique Late 19th Century European More Furniture and Collectibles
C.1880 American Folk Art Top Hat Hatmaker’s Trade Sign
Located in Briarcliff Manor, NY
A hard-to-find and charming sheet iron hatmaker’s,trade sign from the mid to late 19th century. The sculptural curves of the brim and the hat itself are engaging and amusing. This...
Category
Antique Late 19th Century American Folk Art Signs
Materials
Iron
Top Hat Trade Sign On A Stand
Located in Kent, Ct
This is an early 20 th c hat shop trade sign.
Category
20th Century American Signs
Materials
Iron
Top Hat Trade Sign
Located in Stamford, CT
Top hat trade sign in cast iron with hand forged hanging hardware components, circa 19th century.
Category
Antique 19th Century Architectural Elements
Materials
Iron
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Finding the Right Signs for You
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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