Salesman's Samples & Ad Specialties The exquisite 4-3/4 x 7-in. glass panels are from the portfolio of George Brooke, a late 19th century Portland, OR signpainter. The glass pieces were collected in a notebook, which was signed by Brooke and dates November 10, 1870 - Kansas City, MO. The collection was purchased from the estate of the late Rick Glawson, former member of the Museum's Board of Trustees. The salesman sample sign was acquired in its original felt-lined carrying case, which included an extra lighting fixture. The etched glass sign is bottom edge-lit. Crystal Signs was a top-of-the-line manufacturer of point-of-purchase signs in the 1920s through the 1940s. The single-faced, embossed baked enamel Consolite Corp. sign measures 20 x 28 in. The cast metal plaque for G.C. Clarke Co. measures 10-1/2 x 16 in. A sample for customers, John Trantina fashioned this 7 x 30 x 34-in. sign's colonial-style, double-faced can of pressboard. The painted tin faces are tilted back so the incandescent bulb recessed in the top section washes indirect light down upon the sign faces. Will Miller, Miller Signs, Glen Rock, NJ, passed along to the Museum a sample of "Mac" McDonald's goldleaf samples which had hung on the wall of his mentor's shop. "Mac," who passed away in April of 1996, had primarily been a theatre artist and was featured as such in a September/October issue of Signcraft Magazine. Miller owns a collection of Mac's theatre posters that he dearly treasures. Miller, himself, specializes in gilded carved signs. The combination neon clock/flip-ad display was manufactured by Electric Ad Clock Co., Chicago, IL. These vintage p-o-p displays flooded the antique advertising market several years ago when the company's former warehouse was discovered. This particular acquistion, however, was a salesman's sample and included a hardshell case, blank flip-ads, order forms, etc. and the individual "ads" touted the promotional value of the display. Although this hospital directory is presently in less than good condition, the piece is very interesting from the standpoint that it was a sample H.R. Strachan Inc., Brooklyn, NY, used to sell signs in the late 1920s. There is a letter and photograph that accompanied the sample from Lewis E. Birdseye, Superintendent of the Jewish Hospital, attesting to an actual installation of the sample sign. The sample display is a corner section for a sign directory that would announce whether a doctor was "in" by lighting up that respective doctor's name. If the doctor is not "in," his name remains dark. The sign consists of a copper cabinet with translucent white inserts for the doctor's individual names. The salesman's sample for the Novelty Sign and Adv. Co., Philadelphia, PA, serves a dual purpose: One side depicts an incandescent backlit, handpainted glass sign; the reverse side shows an example of a scroll sign in which numerous messages were painted in sequence on a roll, which could be manually turned. The sign was intended for indoor and probably dates to the 1920s.

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