unusually intact and all original visually striking 19th century antique american folk art custom made exterior storefront or shop advertising sign skillfully executed for butcher william brand of whitefish bay, wisconsin. the brilliantly colored or polychromatic enameled hand-painted finish has a truly remarkable allover crazed finish, consistent with age. the shadowed lettering is very well proportioned. the butcher shop trade sign is an excellent example of 19th century folk art. 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 56 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches.