The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-07-14
SIGNS OF OLD TIMES.
Ancient and Curious Sign Boards of
Great Britain.
Nondon PalI Mall Gazette.


Great Britain.
Nondon Pail Mall Gazette)
Long before education was universal
and when houses were unnumbered and
many streets were unnamed, but took
their cognomen from the wares vended
therein, 1t was the custom for an traders.
without exception, to hang out signs
above their doorways in order to make
their establishments and callings the bet
ter known. and in the following lines we
purpose citing some of the more curious
and quaint, in this connection including
some referring to houses for the refresh
ment OF man and beast the proprietors
OF which are about the only traders who
have kept green the memory of signs
and signboards. Most persons are ac-
quainted with the quaint present day
sign of THE Case Is Altered" opposite
the gates of kensal Green cemetery, but
IT may not be so generally known that
II was a cohbler who adopted the follow
ing sign when he took TO the calling of
licensed victualer; Search all the town
over, and you'll find good ale at the
Last" On the Hounslow road in former
Jack striving TO live" At the sign of the
Snail was to be found this Inscription
at a house in the Kings road:
The snail is slow.
And I am low;
What d We Think
Pray stop and drink.
In the days of Walpole, on the Green
witch road. an old house bore the sign:
Stand fast. Sir Robert,
showing little fat man straedling upon
two hogsheadS. In Old Fish street was
formerly house bearing the sign of the
Labor in Vain." the board showing two
women trying to scrub a negro white;
and in Oxford street was the Load of
Mischief" showing a man bearing on his
back a woman and a monkey. the former
with a glass of gin in her hand This
sign has been attributed to Hogarth, and
certainly it is painted in his style. The
house is now known as the Primrose"
The "Moonrakers in the borough derives
its name from the term applied to the
natives of Wiltshire, while the Bag O.
-11s at Chelsea Is a corruption of the
Bacchanals. the original sIgnboard show
ing satyrs dancing and carousing around
the picked Egg" and near Knaresbor-
ough in Yorkshire the Ass in Band
box, upon the signboard being shown a
figure of Napoleon the Great. in full uni
form. getting on a donkey. which stands
on bandbox which is floating across the
English channel, and bearing the inscr1p-
ton: Me will make de Jean Bull trem-
bic, now have found out de grande con-
veyance." The signboard is still in ex-
istence, but the establishment TO which
II belonged is no longer an inn Nearly
everyone knows the little public house at
Lands End, the sigDboard of which bears
on one side The Last Inn in England,
and on the other The First Inn in Eng
land" but it may not be so generally
known that at Witcombe, near Giouces-
ter. there is an inn az the bottom OF hill
which also has a doubts signboard with
these two Inscriptions:
Before the hin you do go up.
Step in and have a cheering cup
and on the reverse side
You're down the hill, all danger past,
Come in and drink q friendly glass.
At Falmouth, some time since, the
writer saw signbodrd with the following
inscription:
Temperance Hotel.
Ellen Tone sells here
Lemonade and Gingur Beer,
Cow hels and tripe every friday
Sekond hand cloes to make ee tidy,
Crox and kittles. pans an all
And Cooley Dukes to save yer sole,
Man-trapS gins. and pattenS likewise,
And on Saturday nights Hot Mutton Pies
We hope this is genuine signboard-
pranks with the English language-but,
like the Scotsman, we "ha'e cor dCuts."
Another signboard TO be seen at the same
establishment contained the following
JEREMIAH MUTE.
Dealer in Cod Liver Oil and Treacle, Tur-
key Rhubarb, Tarts and Mustard, Saws,
Hammers, Winnowing Machines. Clogs.
Wheel-barrows, Frying-pans, and other
Moosical instruments.
Men they have many faults
But woman has but two;
Nothing's right that they say,
And nothing's right they do.
The Town Arms Inn. Lostwithiel, for
merly had this on its signboard:
Since man to man has been unjust
/ do not know what man to trust.
1 have trusted many to my sorrow,
J. STEVENS. Landlord, QS32-)
The following odd sign comes from a
Worcestershire village:
Johnny Overy lives here. teaches music
by steam; egg merchant and parish clerk
pig killer and bellman. J. o. sells red
herrings and raisins. parasols and pistols,
BARN and sand. fiddle strings and flour,
tripe. clubbing and all kinds Of hardware
but treacle-
At Coopersdale. Essex. there was some
years since at the Queen Victoria" a
signboard bearing the following:
The queen some day
May pass this way,
And see our Tom and Jerry;
Perhaps she'll stop
And stand drop
To make her Subjects merry.
shoemaker named Feather, at Brad
ford has the following on his signboard:
Within this house poor man dWeIls,
In spite of wind and weather:
Boots and shoes he makes and mends,
His name as William Feather.
Another boot furniSher has the follow
ing:
When boots and shoes are nearly ended,
Here they can be neatly mended;
But, gentle folks, what do you think?
l must have the ready chink.
Near Marlborough there is an inn with
the following sign:
All who enter here n
Need not have any fear,
For, when they've drunk all the rum and
gin,
They can do the same with the beer
One more bootmaEer's sign, taken from
ElstoW near Bedford, and we have done:
Here lives a man that don't refuse
To make and mend both boots and shoes;
His feathers good, his work is Just,
His profits small: he cannot trust
The above constitute few examples of
curious signs, but the list could be very
materially added TO.