The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1886-09-08
CoLoRs IN SIGNS.
Customs That Prevail in the Decorations
of Tea Stores and Liquor Shops

"Conventiorality, my dear sir re-
marked an old New Yorker TO a Young
companion the other day. ''does a great
many more things than you might i'm
agine. Ii settles the rank Of families.
the style Of carriages. the price OF lux
uries, and even the painting of stores. "
The companion looked incredulous, but
wisely maintained silence. and the old
New Yorker went on. Yes, even the
colors used in painting places of BUSH
ness are conventional Perhaps YOU
might not have noticed il, bat certain
colOrs are instinctively recognized by
residents of this city a. representing
certain branches Of commerce Take,
for instance. red. Think Of a street
and try TO call mp the places painted
that color. What do you see? Tea and
coffee stores? Right Wherever YOU
90 in New York or its surroundings,
and also in a great portion of the
United States. red and green tell Of tea
and coffee. Maybe its the similarity of
colors to the articles sold that caused
the painting. or perhaps it was first
adopted as a distinctive mark by some
importing company. But a dealer IN
those goods nowadays is pretty bold
when be uses aught but red and green
for the painting of his establishment.
Going with the painting is invariably a
collection Of colored lights, giving a re-
markably brilliant appearance to the
place. 1t is conventional but beautiful.
Then, again. who ever saw a Chinese
laundry that was not announced in
great red letters. and that was not
screened from the vulgar gaze by a red
curtain across the window and door?
A blue laundry is absurd, and so is a
green one; but red, that is the color
they grow, and don't believe China
man would think he could have success
with any other color but red.
"And how about blue? In imagina-
ton you can see a number of localities
with bright blue signs and lettering.
All of them have a multitude Of wires
running into their upper portions, while
from their doors below dart little boys
in blue. Telegraph offices, they are.
The origin Of this custom is as queer as
it can well be. 1t was started by the
Western Union company as a trade
mark, but it was promptly initiated,
and now all the telegraph companies
use it. 1t is a cold. bright color, well
suited for electricity, and that is per-
baps a reason why il is used so extern
sively.
For another conventional color go
into any street and by and by you will
see a store front painted a dead black,
black curtains on bar across each
window, a few plants. and a sign:
'Pinking done here. What is it? An
undeltaker's establishment. The ele-
ments of gloom seem to have conspired
to make death hideous instead of pleas
ant. and conventionality perpetuates the
horrid idea. Accordingly an under
takers office is trimmed with black, a
deep, lusterless black, his wagon is
plain black with little silver plate,
and he looks ike an attendant at a fun
eral. Did you ever notice that an un-
dertaker generally has black eyes and
hairP Very few red-heads among them.
All is gloom and duskiness.
The undertaker's twin brother. the
liquor-sellor. has his color, too. He
can't use black. so he tries a rich. warm
red-the blood of life with shadow
upon it. Liquor stores are fitted up
outside in rich woods. polished and
grained, and brown hue invariably
accompanies II uTtHhlH4-LOpLu- 4 ne
signs are usually gold-colored. and the
tall. bedsteadlike arrangement in the
window is OF rosewood or cherry, and
suggests a bed of state for the departed
Liquor-dealers don't use gloomy colors,
but their conventional tints are suggest
i've.
In combinations of colors. also,
there is the mark of custom Look at
the BARRIERS. They use two combina-
tons in New York. red, white, and
blue, and red, yellow, and black The
colors alone frequently Indicate the
shop, as poles have gone out of fashion.
The doors will be painted in stripes, or
square wooden box on the sidewalk
will have checkers OF the three tints
No one ever asks what these colors sig
nifty. They know it must be a barber
| shop and can be nothing else. The
druggists, also. reveal their uses to the
unlettered by their globes of red, vel
low, blue. and green. They are under
stood when a mortar and pestle would
be a mystery, and these same people
are adopting the custom of putting a
piece of red glass in the lamp-post
nearest 10 them as an additional sign
-Nel0 York Tribune