Vintage Clothing and Personal Signs

Signage advertising items for the home covers a broad range of subjects and manufacturers, from clothing and shoes to laundry products and medicine. Many of these brands are still familiar today, like Ivory Soap or Lee Jeans, while others which were once quite prominent are virtually unknown, like Ben Davis Work Wear or Wildroot Hair Tonic.

One of the most iconic mascots of the 20th century was the bright ruby-red bird featured on signs for Red Goose Shoes. The jolly character was printed on signs and novelty items of all kinds, including a countertop display goose that dispensed golden eggs after its neck was pulled. The connection between birds and footwear seems tenuous at best, but other companies also took to the idea, as seen on signs for manufacturers like Poll Parrot and Weather Bird Shoes.

In fact, sign graphics for household goods often seem preposterously disconnected from the products they are ostensibly promoting. For example, at a time when women were never se...

Clothing signs ranged from Levi’s comical Western-themed ads to Munsingwear’s classy Beyond Compare signs, showing a model dramatically removing a red cape to reveal sleek white underwear. Before the era of mass-produced clothing, signs for home-dyeing kits made by RIT, Diamond, and Dy-o-la offered customers an easy way to customize their own fashions. When searching for long-lasting work clothes, none could forget the Sweet-Orr Overalls sign featuring two teams of grown men playing tug of war with a pair of the durable denim pants. Other companies specializing in heavy-duty workwear tended towards no-nonsense names connoting quality, like Union Made or Carter’s Dubbleware.

Particularly interesting are the household signs that featured fashionable trends or products that have now fallen out of favor, from liver tickler to powdered soap to the union suit. Around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a variety of snake-oil style remedies were advertised, including toothache gum and baldness preventers. And if you couldn’t find a specific remedy, there were always brands like Ayer’s Cathartic Pills, a cure-all good for any symptom.

About our sources | Got something to add?

▼ Expand to read the full article ▼

Interviews & Articles

The Disappearing Art of Porcelain Signs

I liked to collect things even as a child. Things that didn’t cost anything, like different colors of stones. There was somethin… [more]

Signs, Tins, and Other Advertising Antiques

How did I get started collecting advertising antiques? My dad was a lecturer and tutor in graphics and art from the 1960s onwards,… [more]



Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

Advertising Antiques

Advertising Antiques

This classy looking British site features hundreds of high resolution photos of antique porcelain pre-war (enamel) … [read review or visit site]

Historical Marker Database

Historical Marker Database

If you're the type who pulls over when you see a 'historic marker ahead' sign, you'll love this site. Orchestrated … [read review or visit site]

Pittsburgh Signs Project

Pittsburgh Signs Project

This group artistic effort to catalog the signs of Pittsburgh captures many vintage signs (porcelain, neon, wood, t… [read review or visit site]

Falvo Collectables Gallery

Falvo Collectables Gallery

Ralph and Carol Falvo's excellent collection of automobiles, petroliana, jukeboxes, soda, and general store items. … [read review or visit site]



Other Great Reference Sites: Signs

Top eBay Auctions

See all 44 by  highest bidmost watchedcompleted
Vintage 50's Levis Struss Denim Advertisement Banner Sign For Solid ComfortVintage Neon/porcelain Dry Cleaner Store Front SignRolex Watches Vintage Big Metal Plaque Sign Display Collector's ItemVintage 1950's Ex-lax Drug Store 39" Metal Thermometer Sign~works~very Nice!Antique Early 1900's Figural Store Front Lady's Shoe/boot Sign Display 4'x4' YqzVintage Star Spool Chest Sewing Cabinet General Store Advertising Sign Anq *nr*Vtg Metal Barber Shop Sign-enamel Red, White & Blue. Excellent Condition!Vtg 1954 Wildroot Barber Shop Advertising Sign. Very Good Condition!Original Burma Shave Wood Sign 2-sided Vintage Advertising 1935 Billboard Vintage Horse Shoe Tobacco Double Sided Porcelain & Metal Flange SignVintage Rare Battleship Laundry Soap Thermometer Advertising Wall SignLarge Vintage Looking "laundry Service" Embossed Sign ... Old Time! Very Cool!Antique Porcelain Barber Shop Sign 2 - Sided Nice ! See Pics Antique Barber Shop Sterilizer Cabinet Display Case Sign Pole Doctor ApothecaryVintage 1920s 30s Dif House Hold Soap & Hand Cleaner Soap Steel Advertising SignDiamond Dye Cabinet -- Replacement Tin Sign -- Shows Hot Air Balloon ----- Nice Hot Bath Wall Word Sign Cowboy Cowgirl Vintage Rustic Western Metal Art DecorWalk - Over Shoes Flange SignDc Racing Shoes Sport Logo Vinyl Banner Sign FullOld Athens Steam Laundry Athens, Ohio "best By Test" Metal Advertising SignVintage Watch Sale Silk Advertising Sign Jewelry Store DisplayDapper Dan Barber Shop Hair Pomade Sign Wall Clock1920s Kreso Dip Live Stock Veterinary Product Drug Store Advertising Tin SignAntique Railroad Pullman Company Vestibule Step Sign Watch Your Step 40's EraVintage 1920's Mayer Honorbilt Shoes Curved 20" Porcelain Metal Sign~very Neat!Antique 1902 Drug Store Advertising Calendar - Sign Burma Shave Metal Storefront Advertising Sign1/2 Lb JarAntique Ex-lax Advertising Thermometer, Unique, Part Of Large SignNice Vintage Cardboard "barber Shop Pole" Sign, 18"x 4.75, Gdt Dandruff Lotion Antique Barber Shop Union Shop Sign ( 2 ) See Pics Antique Barber Shop Master License Sign See Pics Antique Barber Shop -- Master -- License Sign See Pics Barber Shop Metal Sign Vintage Style 4 Hair Salon Chair Men Ladies PoleVintage Selz Shoes With Shoeless Joe Jackson Tin Sign Rare Neat/nrMickey Mouse Safari Watch Circa 1980's New, Never Worn, Band Shows Signs Of Wear190013b Shoes Repairs Key Cutting Leatherworking Instant Office Led Light Sign1930 Art Deco Beauty Display Advertising Sign Special Combs For Bobbed Hair RareVintage Max Factor Gold Tone Ornate 3d Zodiac Sign Pocket Watch Powder CompactPeace Love & Sandy Feet Tie Dye & Flip Flops On Rustic Beach Decor Wood Sign NewVtg Marlboro Adventure Team Pack Bag Sack Pouch Pants Clip 8 X 8 Advertise Sign1992 Olymipc Summer Games Budweiser Inflatable Shoe Bud Man Cave SignAntique 1900s Vaudeville Singer Ruby Rotnour Performance Handbill Poster SignVtg John Deere Big Blade Jewel Knife Gold Tractor Pocket Watch Advertising SignPorcelain Jewelry Box Painted Roses Flowers From China Nr Sign Free Shipping