Posted 10 months ago
JimLinderman
(160 items)
I suppose most know the folk art trade signs of figural form from days gone by were intended to identify the store for those who could not read. The technique was obviously particularly important in the case of eyeglass makers, as their clients couldn't read OR see! Consequently, the giant pair of glasses is one of the most common and recognizable early trade signs.
The sign here, mounted on Elmer the Optician's place in Muskegon Michigan dates to 1920. Elmer was Elmer P. Heimer, who had the top floor. It appears a shoe sale was going on below.
Elmer the Optician Perfect Fitting Glasses Optical Goods Trade Sign Real Photo PC circa 1920 Collection Jim Linderman Dull Tool Dim Bulb
See also IN SITU: AMERICAN FOLK ART IN PLACE book or ebook by Jim Linderman
The Killer Mobile Device for Victorian Women
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
Bizarro Beauty Products, from 1889 to Now
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Pin-Up Queens: Three Female Artists Who Shaped the American Dream Girl
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
Tokens for Sweethearts, in Times of War
American Picker Dream, Part I: Mike Wolfe On His Love Affair With Bikes

