original intact vintage american exterior gold enameled cast metal oversized skeleton key hanging storefront trade sign

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Out of stock
SKU
UR-24995-17
sign fabricator unknown

 

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american gold enameled cast metal locksmith trade sign in the form of an oversized skeleton key, comprised of bow, barrel and bit. the aforementioned components were likely affixed together using thermite or resistance welding. the exterior trade sign was likely apart of a larger sign - perhaps hanging horizontally below a double-sided custom painted wood or tin sign identifying the locksmith. the trade sign took many forms in early america. when education was a privilege and literacy rare, the ideal trade sign immediately caught the attention of a passerby and, because of its design, was totally self-explanatory. folk artists, sometimes including itinerant portrait painters, created signs that bore pictures that visually explained the name of the establishment or the services to be found within. these signs usually carried pictures or lettering on both sides and were hung from a tall post at right angles to the road, so as to be visible to travelers approaching from either direction. three-dimensional carved trade signs were often produced in the same workshops as figureheads and other ship decorations and usually displayed the same broad-planed carving style that typified american figureheads. the introduction of electric signs, which could advertise a business in the dark, led to the decline of the carved trade signs. measures 25 x 7 inches.

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