The sun., 1900-12-09
OLD-TIME STREET SIGNS.
wooDsy NDiAN fnE LAJ REfI'' 4"
pIfTr RTSOfE pPf'
roscA.blp ~ sn oid ',ssr Dealer ana "'
Wooasa sr waiter Raleigh "ld '''''"
s,su. IN Ioudor and rhiisdriph'a '"r'''
Of Tavern J0ards Iapou' N'"''
who Painted sirnb"srda 0ces-'"""''

Ubo painted sirnbosrda 0cea-i"na'''
.pomh.y and ron" sualid be nniio"ahly mn'i-
La,od with the md .1ipmnn l'it "ui tn' h'u"
,poo,ien nidshiprrn Who nl"nl' fV""h W
frpnt ~ the shop door ~ the INSTRUMENT MAKER
eoiotnon GiIl with MA t"i"so"I' iorrV" Riu"l
IN His eyo and taking minute Observation ~
tho pa--cr>.-h, m no street IhtNh' 'Vl-
dsniy was fond = these signs dnh Syfnb"s
vhiob. In the .ary tur'. and even faf on ln'"
the middle ~ tIo '"Htu'y. w'r" wont v" %"
oo.,.d m from; of f'rHGrsfN"n shops. loSlF noun
tng Of tho countless varieties 81 7'rang" bnAst'
and birds wni,a decorated III" aiIhb'ro@
Of inns lie uhko- great tfH" ~ thcW IN
many Instances besdcs TINT II ino WOODEN
mid.hipmcn They were, IN TACT, "a "ohsp'cu-
ons feature ~ the street uanofaina In our grand
fathers days. hut thcy hnr" gone W." way "i
many other old-'irrr things
The wooden Indian, Nir Walter lsl'iSh'
sh. dude and the bicycle girl n front of tho
edgar stores are about al! hat nr" icf' oi hm
image population that used to be- 80 common
10 the streets Perhaps the dummies that stahd
before the clo'hing stores wit' their exhibition
rarments sidly In need Of II good brush
tuQ might come within The 'atesory but
hsy are poor substitutes with their Rogslo
ewes md mere wire frame bodies fpr the works
Of art which they have sucCcCiel The wax
byss and flill-lenRth figures of women IN the
zig and millinery and dry goods store window :
are Of higher grade Of workmanship Yet
ovsn Of these none represents mere Sen'i-
ment or abstraction "a did the old street signs
They are tainte ed with the mGicrlaIism df tae
day They are there hecaus" they are usefil
serving the purIOs" II mere models on "ii'h
h hang the wigs or cloak, "r gowns Now
and then one finds IN the city a bears head
N front Of dellcatesser stor" or TIN fish
m front of a sporting goods store, lut over
these are disappearing RAPIDLY
There was a downtown sign dealer few
years ago who had in front OF hi ~lopa wooden
eir Walter Raleigh peipotua'y p1'riHg -
paesersby n bundle Of Twenty-Five Very
wooden cgars. This dealer had something
Of the old-tiine sentiment touching has sign
that Dickens throws over the wooden miishp-
man In front Of old Sol ,iliE He wa an
Irishman. this dealer. and IT was a matter of
faith with him that Sir Water had not bccn u
mere sojourner In Ireland but was native born
n the old sod So there was n strong dash of
patriotic sentiment in his cult of the craven
image. He always spoke OF sir Walter" with
much respect. and trundling him into the store
when he closed up at night was quite u solemn
rite with Mr. Curry Not Unfr.quently when
hs had escorted the one time favorite Of Queen
Bass to his corner behind the door after hc
had locked up. he addressed hlm with remark
about the weather or the condition Of the
streets or the state of trade
Pretty chilly ont there this evening wasn't
IT, Sir Walter he would say. I'm going to
have a bit Of whiskey myself and would BE-
glad 70 have you come along with me, only one
Of us ought to be here To watch the store. Be
sides l know you don't drink. though hot
drop would do you no harm. We didn't do
much to-day. SIR Walter but no fault Of your~
Sure, you stood there all day inviting them IN,
and YOU a nobleman at that
The old man az a matter of fact, did not do
q roaring business and was SO much alone In
his shop that this communng with his august
silent partner became a second nature to him,
and nobody doubted that the lonely old man
for he was witeless and childless-had some
thing closely akin 10 a human sentiment Of
affection for his baiswood companion. Per-
sonally, he was far from being fastdious him.
self and his shop was ding. cobTe6oy OLD
doublet were always tucked out in the smart
est way possible 10 fresh paint He Ia gone
now. old Jim Curry and Sir, Walter too; has
disappeared; moved over TO Jersey somewhere,
where at last accounts he was leading a dis
sipated. all mi life of IT, and
became sady weather-beaten and bedrageled
But II was in the latter days OF the last century
that the trad" images and sicnboards hourished
a. their best In this country S~,late Phila-
delphia was noted for them even in those times
when they were so common every here
Earlier IN the century in Eng land they ran riot
topic OF not a little critical comment In the
4r2ttsh Apollo in i7io for instance, was this
I'm amazed At the signs
As pass through the town
TO see the odd mixture
~ Maybe and Crown,
The Whale and the Grow,
rhe Razor and Hen
rhe Leg and Seven Sars.
The Ale and the Bottle
The Sun and the Lutte.
The Eagle and Child
The Shovel and Boot
Asiate as 1915 Palmer, an Englishman COM
Bepted on the signs he saw In the streets Of
fhnAdepha The War q the Revolution was
IN CS ,of nPa Sf
y Nj Palmer : remarks on the subject of the
0Tsrn sgnboard- he saw He says.
n. Philadelphia and on the roadside among
others Noah's Ark variety Of Apostles; Bum
xHas Pilgrim; q cock ~ lions back. Growing
'Vith Liberty issuing from his beak, novel
1uga9ement1 In which the British ara in a des-
perate situation. the most common signs are
eagles. heads Of public characters. Indian Kings.
Even before Palmer visit ~ Philadelphia
- fAf back. in fact. ~ -th"'sicubnards had
o0oome 40 mutitudinous in the Quaker City
and 40 dangerous in high winds To- Tas,ers-hy
IN the streets that they w"r" declared 10 ho a
VubilC nuisance ana orders were Issued Tor the
removal Of all Of them save those ia front Vt inns
But the inns were plcn' irl. and even after thi-
-Yeedins out the ~irnbulris wcr" "a picturesque
f0attire Of the streets MANY of them were con-
Qldered works Of high art and some ~ them In
fhct we're painted by artists of r"nown There
- several still preserved which wore done by
ne hand Of Benjamin West aud stu others 10y
lftiets who had been pupils of Vests.
Mr.. Alice Morse EHra, in her book stage
6oqcA and Tavern DAYS. recently published
~ The Macmillans, d"votes n very Interesting
VAapter to the subject of old -iguboards IN
which she puts in condensed form, accom-
parbed by many illustrations. a mGss If nforna-
0hO on this curious subject speaking Of the
signs painted bv BENJAMIN West. she SAYS
Benjamin West painted many signs IN the
vicinity OF Philadelphia. among them, IN iT7l.
that Of the Three Crowns a noted hoS'elry
that stood on tho Kings llghwav in Salisbury
TOw nship, LANCASTER county. TITS u'tghhur-
hood was part Is"ttled by English inn grants.
4nd the old tavern wnS kept bv Tory NJ tie
deepest dve tn" signbnard -till bear the
marks Of the huStil" hullrt~ al the Continental
Army, aud the proprietor Cnnr near sharing
WAS removed in 1916 tu 'lc Waterloo Tavern
Waterloo Tavern was uri slplly fho BuI's
He1d, and was k"u, ., = Revolutionary oh"'r.
By tradition West also PAINTED the >gnhuIrd
OF the Old lIa' Tavern Th,- Nt- k"ut hy Widow
Caldwell In lelcpC' TOWNSHIP. Lancaster
county. on the oil Pnjadolpht rrHi
THE Bul's Head Ian uf l'ri|u3r.'iiI had n
sign suited r. is tit.r. u w. -pi l' 40" middle
OF this century 80 an inrl ''..Itu ,- 'rr WlrN
Of Benjamin West. ir,y '' -',rl la straw
berry allcy, and No once illrl is 'l" al'"y.
end 40 did Bernard Wilson. y rfI' ','r ,'i glHyI"-.
IN Ina. fN.s 4 D. DE-