Keeping Signage Heritage

This interesting news article from the US shows that there is a real interest in keeping historical signs and methods. For decades, especially around the turn of the twentieth century, the most prominent form of advertising your product or business was to have a sign painted on the side of a building. A drive through a city or town of just about any size would present the traveler with views of various ‘brick ads' ranging from sugar to flour to muffler shops and soda pops.

Painters of the brick ads were referred to as ‘walldogs' who worked wherever the signs took them, whether it was ground level or ten stories in the air. Knowledge of the business was passed from one walldog to another, an art of layout and font became skill for those diligent enough to stick with it.

Many of the artistic signs painted in the early part of the twentieth century have been covered up, but those that remain are fading fast, giving a new name to the brick ads of yesteryear - Ghost Signs, aptly named for the remnants of businesses and products of bygone days.

Signage and advertising formats changed, became more flexible and more disposable and the art of brick ads faded like the signs the walldogs had painted years ago.

Today, a drive through towns across America reveals faded bits of history, ghosts of an era past. From time to time, brick ads are found that were not even known to be in existence. Buildings fall down or are torn down and brick ads that have been long forgotten are rediscovered.

This was the case a couple weeks ago when restoration work began on the north wall of the Linn County News building. Crews working under contractor Brandon McGinnis, owner of Mid-States Restoration, removed the remainder of the adjoining wall of the former International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) building and underneath was a fairly well preserved brick ad - white and mustard yellow on a green background, offering Owl cigars at a mere five cents each.

Schmidt & Storm was founded in New York City in 1860 and succeeded by Straiton & Storm in 1863 and became the Owl Company in 1890. Somewhere along the way the company introduced the White Owl line which can still be purchased today.

Documents dating back to 1909 show an agreement in place with the then owners of the building where the News is now housed for the construction of a wall to adjoin the north wall of the News building.

Work on the IOOF building commenced soon after agreements were in place and for a hundred years the IOOF building stood on Pleasanton's Main Street.

Hidden in between, for a century, was the brick ad revealed two weeks ago.

Jackie Taylor, owner of the Linn County News, debated whether or not to have the sign covered, but throughout the next week, several townsfolk and others made a point of stopping by to comment on the sign and what a great discovery it was. So the decision was made. Restoration work began and the hole was repaired with bits and pieces of the green-painted brick from the original wall.

The sign stays and you can read the full article here

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