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New fellow with very old copy of Atkinson's sign painting

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

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luke langsmer
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Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:29 pm
Location: Fort Collins, CO

New fellow with very old copy of Atkinson's sign painting

Post by luke langsmer »

Hello everyone. My name is Luke. I'm 19 and I live in Fort Collins Colorado. I have been interested in hand painted signs since I was a little kid. There was always just something about them that grabbed my attention. When I was a kid I found some old gold leaf bank signs buried in the basement of an old bike shop I was helping to clean out. We assume they are from the the bank next door that closed in the 50's.

Anyway, thats another story. But yes, I am interested in learning to hand letter signs. Right now I have been practicing with a 1/8" Mack Soft Flat Stroke Series 1992 and using Atkinson's sign painting to learn out of. The only copy I was able to find was on the internet. I ordered it from the book store thinking it was going to be a used reprint, seeing as I payed relatively little for it. I got it and it looks to be printed in 1915. It is in pretty darn good shape with a few paint marks here and there. I am extra careful not to get paint on it when I am using it, and I prop it up so the spine doesn't get stressed. Not that I am interested in selling it, but is it worth anything?

I just figured it might be good to introduce myself. Hello! Here are a few pictures of the book I am learning from.

Image

Image
Kelly Thorson
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Post by Kelly Thorson »

Welcome Luke, nice to see someone so young interested.
Nice find. It looks to be in nice shape. From what I have seen those books usually run over $100 in fair condition.
I believe there is no shame in failure. Rather, the shame lies in the loss of all the things that might have been, but for the fear of failure.
Mike Jackson
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Congratulations on your book find. They are not necessarily rare, but are highly prized by most sign folks.

That book is #1 on my list of the Top 25 sign books.

You can see the rest of them at:
http://www.signmuseum.org/library/topbooks.php


Good luck on finding more!

Mike Jackson
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Kent Smith
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Post by Kent Smith »

Nice find. Welcome neighbor.
erik winkler
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Broke

Post by erik winkler »

Thanks for the list.... :?
It costed me a few euro's, but than again: Books are life.
I looked for "Atkinson's sign painting" a few times now, but i do not seem to be able to find it....
Does anybody know?
Realizing we are in the 2nd renaissance of the arts.
Learn, copy and trying to improve...
Still in the learning phase ;-)
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Jerry Berg
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Post by Jerry Berg »

I'd love to have a copy of that myself!
Mike Jackson
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Post by Mike Jackson »

I looked for "Atkinson's sign painting" a few times now, but i do not seem to be able to find it....
Does anybody know?
I believe Atkinson Sign Painting IS the book langmer just purchased. Some people call it Atkinson's Sign Painter. The title page calls it Sign Painting Up to Now. It is also called the Art of Sign Painting. They are all basically the same book.

Here are his book titles:
ATKINSON, F. SCENE PAINTING AND BULLETIN ART 1916
ATKINSON, F. LAST AND FINAL BOOK ON SIGN ART 1950
ATKINSON, F. A SHOW AT SHOWCARDS 1913
ATKINSON, F. ART OF SIGN PAINTING 1915

Several of them have different editions and even different sizes.

M. Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

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Teton Images
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Best of the Tetons
Kent Smith
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Post by Kent Smith »

The 1909 edition was reprinted by ST in 1983 with a limited edition of hand-bound copies (I have one) and the commercial copies as well. Esoteric had the last of these and they have been available elsewhere. Not so much a book for collectors but more for the information it contains, although it was a faithful reproduction under the guidance of Tod Swormstedt.
Steven Vigeant
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Gratitude

Post by Steven Vigeant »

Mike,
Thank you for the bibliography. And also for the glass gilding materials list. These are two lists to refer to forever. Much appreciated. Are all of those pictures from your collection? And where is the list on the website? I got the linkup but I couldn't see how you locate it on the website and what-all is on there. Is there an out-take list? Top 50 almost classics? Top 10 recent books? Thanks for doing them and letting us know about it. I've just received my Atkinson Sign Painter in the reprint form. The sketches are really crisp and inspiring. Would you say that there are 4 Atkinson books with a few others that are a bit recycled? Noel has a book entitled something like "Atkinson's last sign book he's ever going to write." What's that about?

PS Just did a couple searches for Henderson and there is not one copy for sale anywhere between ABEBooks and Bookfinder. Not even the reprint. Someday.
What I don't get is that even the reprints are tough to find sometimes.
Mike Jackson
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Post by Mike Jackson »

ATKINSON, F. LAST AND FINAL BOOK ON SIGN ART 1950
Steven,
That book title was listed above.

It has a few plates from other books, with maybe a few Frank did. Most are from the Hendersson book.
He has a few additional formulas and tips in it. I believe it was self-published in his later years. The binding is done with the red plastic "combs".

Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
brian oliver
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Post by brian oliver »

Hey Luke,

I would also like to say hello. I, too, live in the Fort and welcome you to look me up.

I own and operate Paxton Signs out on La Porte Ave. (Just down the street from Poudre High School).

I still hand letter on occaision and invite you to come on by and introduce yourself.
luke langsmer
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Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 6:29 pm
Location: Fort Collins, CO

Post by luke langsmer »

Thanks for the kind replies. I got the book from Powell's books, but it was their only copy. I would keep an eye on them for anyone looking for this book. Like I said, it was pretty inexpensive.

Brian, I will defiantly drop by. I stopped by Tribal Rights tattoo to ask who did their hanging sign. They told me the man who did it died years ago, but they said to drop by your shop.

-Luke
Kent Smith
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Post by Kent Smith »

I should have said you are always welcome over here in Greeley too.
Steven Vigeant
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Post by Steven Vigeant »

Mike,
I'm a wanna be librarian but I've always been a poor shelf stacker. Does the museum have all of those books or plan to have them in a permanent library?
I'm ready to assume you have them since they are your favorites. Is it safe to say your top 25 list has more of an emphasis on design than how-to's? Could you give us your top 5 from a how to practical point of view? How do the practical parts of Atkinson Sign Painting rate with say Mathews?
Mike Jackson
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Post by Mike Jackson »

Steven,
There is a little paragraph at the top of the page that explained how I came up with the top 25. Past that, I'd say the emphasis was more on the visual content over the written content. The book called "Sign Painting Course" by EC Matthews might fit as a top runner for both visual content and useable information. It was my first real sign book and I devoured it from cover to cover numerous times.

I own all the books in the list and the photos used on the site are of my books. The museum owns quite a few books, but I don't think they are out and visible, much less accesible. You'd have to ask Tod about that.

Of course, the list if made up of books with artwork "I" personally admire. Someone else might not like the old classical ornamentation and prefer a completely different look. If so, their list would probably be much different.

Mike Jackson
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Dan Seese
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Post by Dan Seese »

Luke,
I haven't checked in for a few days but I'm a Fort Collins guy too.
Brian Oliver (Paxton Signs) & I are buddies and we collaborate from time to time.
It's always a thrill to find someone who is interested in the trade. The possibilities are endless and you have a great start with an original copy of Atkinson's book. Give me a call some time & I'll be glad to share what I can with you.
970-226-0618
Dan
oatis
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Post by oatis »

Luke: Welcome, friend, to the fraternity. A similar book to the one you hold "launched" the Letterheads. I was given the book by the family of Henry Asmus, alongtime Denver Signpainter, upon his death in 1969--when I was as old as you are now. My enthusuiasm for the text cemented my resolve to become a signpainter, and I sought out other apprentices interested in period sign design and techniques. I am so happy to see you are carrying on the tradition. You now have the capacity to learn and retain new information better than you will as you get older (does the paint thinner have anything to do with that?) so engrave those Atkinson plates in your brain: They're the best ever drawn.

And keep any eye out for the 1986 "Colorize Atkinson" book, published by Signs of the Times. Artists from all across North America followed the writted specs from the book, and rendered all the pieces in color. In that way, it was much like the original book, which had contributors from all over. Best of luck to you.

I.O.A.F.S.,

Mark Oatis
Doug Bernhardt
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Post by Doug Bernhardt »

Just a quick aside from here. In Canada old sign books are quite rare and I stumbled on the ST re-print in the early-mid eighties....it made a huge impression on me. My copy is full of my notes on colour etc. Although I'd heard of Letterheads I new really nothing of the "movement" when the N.Glantz rep here dropped off a pile of oldish Signs of Times mags. Lo and behold it had coloursized versions in many of the issues and it was then that I discovered that there were others wrestling with the same design issues as was I......although they were actually doing it well!!
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