largely intact antique american c. 1930's interior a & p grocery notification sign, issued by the united states department of health. the sign requires patrons to curb the dog prior to entry. the sign consists of cardstock paper (discolored over time) with original "wavy" glass and black enameled mitered joint wood frame. contains two holes on each side for mounting flush against the wall. the sign was removed from an old a & p store. measures 23 x 15 inches. a & p was founded in 1859 as the great american tea company by george huntington hartford and george gilman in new york city. it was renamed "the great atlantic and pacific tea company" in 1869. the company originally focused on the tea business, selling tea by mail order from a storefront in lower manhattan. they were successful in capturing a large part of the market in the northeastern cities in the u.s. they purchased tea directly from chinese tea plantations. their low costs enabled them to undercut most of the market and grow. by 1876 they had 67 stores. in 1912, the first a & p economy store opened; it was a grocery store format that allowed cost-cutting and standardized layout. the new format allowed the company to grow to 1,600 stores by 1915. in 1936 a & p opened its first supermarket in braddock, pennsylvania.