original c. 1930's american antique exterior chicago building or storefront druggists' mortar & pestle trade sign with a largely uniform gilded finish. the medium-sized druggists' trade sign was mounted against a chicago drugstore or pharmacy facade supported by a bracket on the topside. the protruding pestle is in great shape, considering age. great overall form or profile. comprised of riveted joint zinc with enameled finish. the exact fabricator is not known. 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.