The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1891-06-13
SIGNS AND SIGN BOARDS.
HOW SOME FAMILIAR ONES HAD
THEIR ORIGIN.

HOW SOME FAMILIAR ONES HAD
THEIR ORIGIN.
Quaint end Incousruous Specimens
Used ina the Olden mines oven Now
Some Queer once aIay BE seen in old
London Town Their Peculiarities
Explained by student OF ola
ThinEs.
Nowadays the great commercial COM
mupty pays but little attention to the
trading legend which like the noble
mans armorial bearings, was once upon
time a necessary part Of every store
keepers stock in trade BARRIERS and
pawubrokers still, it is true, continue TO
exhibit their well known syrnbols-the
striped polo and the three golden balls;
and in addition to these, which still hold
their own on this side Of the Atlantic, tho
curious notices and devices which COM
monty distinguish the public hous and
gin palaces in England are familiar to
every visitor to chat country But these
are scattered remnants Of O custom
which, not so very long ago, was almost
universal I'm the good old days, when
few people could read or write, and when
the modern system Of numbering the
houses in the street was q convenience as
yet undreamed of by our uninventivo
race, the sign board flourished in all it's
glory, and it will be readily understood
that in those times it had a far more i'm
portant part to play than would ever be
assigned to it in our own.
Reference has just been made to Eng
lish public house (or saloon BAR signs,
which are interesting because they re-
tain so much Of the old world flavor.
Everyone who has amused himself by
making even a cursory examination Of
these stranded anachronisms during
stroll through some Of the old thorough
fares Of London, or has learned some
thing Of their character in the pages of
Dickens or Thackeray, must have been
struck again and again by the extraordi-
nary and often entirely meaningless COM
binations Of ideas which are presented by
them. AS we turn back to their pro-
genitors in the tradesmen's tokens Of the
past we find the same cause for amuse-
ment and surprise. What, for instance,
can be the possible significance of "The
Lamb and Anchor?" Why should a bull
be associated with gate in the common
sign Of "The Bull and Gate?n Where i8
there any conceivable connection between
an elephant and a castle, which yet
famous taverns in the English metropo-
lis?-between q nun and three hmes?-
between q goat and compasses2 What
law could have governed the introduction
of such anomalous inscriptions as "The
George and Cannon?" or "The Green
Man?" or The Iron Devil. Thepuzzles
presented to US in these quaint and curl
GUS compounds struck an observant
versifer of the last century, who thus
gives vent to his. .astouishmont;
I'm amazed at the signs
As pass through the town;
see the odd mixture,
A magpie and crown;
The whale and the crow;
The razor and hen;
Tho leg and seven stars;
The axe and the bottle;
The tun and tho Lutte;
Tho eagle and child;
The shovel and boot.
Truly, such "odd mixtures" must at
first sight seem devoid Of any sort Of
meaning; and it is only as we delve
back into the past that we become aware
that their apparent absurdity and ex-
travagance may be very easily explained.
There are, indeed, several ways in
which these strange associations have
been brought about. For example, when
a young tradesman decided to start busi-
ness on his own account he frequently
followed the common practice Of adding
(as a kind Of recommendation his late
masters sign to that which he himself
adopted-just as to-day it is not unusual
for Jones, opening a store, to mention
under his own name the fact that he
was late with Brown & Co. In this
way we may account for such complex
tokens as the "Three Nuns and a Hare,
above referred to, and others Of equal
incongruity.
Again similar result was brought
about when tradesnan, removing from
one place Of business to another, adopted,
as he very often did, the sign of the new
establishment in addition to that which
he had chosen for his own. Thus we
read that one Anthony Wilton who had
formerly traded under the sign Of the
"Green Cross, - removed to house al
ready known by the motto Of the "Cross
| KEYS, and thenceforth carried ON bus
iuess under the double sign Of "Tho
Green Cross and Cross Keys. In the
Daily C0trant for November II, 171S,
there is an advertisement reading
"Thomas Blackall and Francis Ives,
mercers, are removed from the Seven
Stas' in Ludgate Hill, to the Black Lion
and Seven Stars, over the way.
Thus so wild and senseless an associa-
ton as lion and seven stars becomes ex.
| lplicable; and, Of course, there was nc
limit to the number and oddness Of the
combinations thus produced.
A third and very frequent source OF
such curiosities as are now referred TO il
to be sought in the mistakes and corrup-
tons Of the ignorant populace Of former
times. As there were no inscriptions
under the various signs to show what
they were really intended to represent
and as they were, as a rule, very rudely
painted, it was often enough a matter oI
no small difficulty to decide upon theil
actual meaning, Hence arose numerous
errors. Moreover, in the course Of time
the original significance Of the sign wa'
often entirely lest under the corrupted
pronunciation which they had acquired
in being passed from mouth TO mouth
Many of the most puzzllng devices still
in use as public house signs in England
are 10 be explained by reference to suol
coTupdons. Thus the Bull and Gate
is really the Boulogne Gate; the "Goa
and Compasses" is only corruption o
the pious words, "God encompasseth us,