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Old sign from 1854

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

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Wayne Osborne
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:03 am
Location: West Sussex.England

Old sign from 1854

Post by Wayne Osborne »

Finished this little fella this afternoon-
a repaint of a replica of a real turnpike sign from 1854-(part of an outdoor building museum).

Board is all pine planks- held together with 2 big steel bolts right throu the sign-threading it all together and about 5ft x 8ft ish.
8 coats of paint and lots of Fun..

The original- (from just up the road here at Northchapel)- is a great testiment to the original signwriter- In fact, the original board seems to have "raised letters"- as the old timbers have weathered away behind the old black lead paint-to create a sort of "sand-blasted out effect.

Harder to do than it looks as I had to pay attention to every misshapen-inconsistant-letter to keep in touch with the original...not to mention the
badl yspa cedlette rs :lol:
Half way throu- you hate it..and when you get to the end you wish there was more!

(there are also 3 different types of S, and 5 different types of F in there sumwhere-...also some nice old fashioned spellings and turns of phrase


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Doug Bernhardt
Posts: 1077
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:29 am
Location: Ottawa Canada
Contact:

Post by Doug Bernhardt »

That's a pretty sweet one Wayne. I also see a Royal Oak in the back of your shop. It just so happens I'm doing one of those here in Canada right now!
Wayne Osborne
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:03 am
Location: West Sussex.England

Post by Wayne Osborne »

Hi Doug- Thanks,
That royal oak sign, I painted that way back in 92-I was a newbie then, and it did'nt last too good.

I got to replace it last year...Heres the new one.
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DAVE SMITH
Posts: 1213
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:12 am
Location: ENGLAND

Post by DAVE SMITH »

Very nice Wayne . Looks like your getting some nice work in .
Dave
John Lennig
Posts: 101
Joined: Thu May 13, 2004 10:53 am
Location: Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Contact:

Post by John Lennig »

Hi Wayne! what a great job! how did you get into the "mood" when working on this oldie?? pint of ale and a case of cholora?? :roll:

I've got some pics from our '03 trip to GB, of a similar Toll Road sign, and one from this years trip to Ironbridge. a replica and the original too!
my, they were patient signwriters, eh!
if i can pull them together, i'll post them.
BTjohn
"You spelled it wrong!"
Wayne Osborne
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:03 am
Location: West Sussex.England

Post by Wayne Osborne »

Be good to see those photos John- either post em-or mail em, for me to post ( now I got the hang of this).

Yes- In order to "Get in the mood"- I had no running water- no computers and a cold workshop....HEY!..hang on..what am I saying.....everyday is like that here! :D :D

( Did'nt fancy the cholora thou) 8)
Doug Bernhardt
Posts: 1077
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:29 am
Location: Ottawa Canada
Contact:

Post by Doug Bernhardt »

Okay Guys....what the heck is "colora" for us "not-in-the-know" types?
DAVE SMITH
Posts: 1213
Joined: Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:12 am
Location: ENGLAND

Post by DAVE SMITH »

Doug.
Colora the old term spelling -not that I'm any better at spelling is spelt 'Cholera'
It Is Picked up by pour sanitation which leads to drinking polluted water and then your digestive system breaking down ,it can be cured and is controlable. Usually epademics are started from severe flooding areas . I have'nt read the sign so I'm guessing this is what it is.
Dr Smith in England
Wayne Osborne
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:03 am
Location: West Sussex.England

Post by Wayne Osborne »

Sorry Guy's wer'e just havin a laugh- but I bet cholera was a big Killer when this original sign was painted- let's hope our old sign painter was spared that fate!
Doug Bernhardt
Posts: 1077
Joined: Fri Apr 09, 2004 9:29 am
Location: Ottawa Canada
Contact:

Post by Doug Bernhardt »

Got it.....the slepping waas duh problam!
Dale Feicke
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:07 am
Location: Mississippi

Post by Dale Feicke »

That's an awesome piece of work there, Wayne. Come on, you can tell us....it's vinyl, right? I'm kidding, I swear.

Honestly, it's very impressive. But I have to ask, and would bet there are others wondering the same thing......You have a good amount of time just putting the basic structure of the sign together, and eight coats of paint. Then, the lettering. It's hard to imagine anyone having the patience to hand letter something like that. But how in the world do you charge for a job like that? It just seems like it would take much more work to produce than what you could realistically charge for it.
Wayne Osborne
Posts: 165
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 2:03 am
Location: West Sussex.England

Post by Wayne Osborne »

But how in the world do you charge for a job like that? It just seems like it would take much more work to produce than what you could realistically charge for it.
I normally have no worries about charging :lol: :lol: - But in this case your absolutley right- Much more work in that that I could ever realistically charge for,- Partly because its was for a local museum and I desperatley wanted to do the job- and partly because I wanted to give them a proper job- despite the tight budget.

Need Patience?...Not me.....Never really understood that one....?

Doctors/ social workers/ the police/.nurses.......all need greater patience that your average sign painter
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