all original c. 1930's american depression era interchangeable black enameled cast aluminum theater marquee word sign designed and fabricated by wagner sign service inc., chicago, il. the durable exterior aluminum letter retains the original red painted recessed interior with stamped manufacturer markings. the original finish shows signs of wear (i.e., discoloration, etc) consistent with age and prolonged exposure to the outdoor elements. the removable letters and words originally graced the brightly colored marquees of chicagoland theaters. improvement to interchangeable letters that could be used in a variety of outdoor settings, were durable and lightweight and could be mass-produced, dates back to the early 1920's, when andrew a. urness of minnesota, was issued a patent for devising such a system, which included letter sign mounting channels with suggested placement, along with design recommendations. the wagner sign service of chicago presumably used many of his patent claims to fabricate letters, numbers, words and other characters for use on theater marquees across the county. we have a large lot of several single characters and interconnected words, in the form of adverbs, articles, prepositions, etc. priced individually. measures 11 x 9 inches