1920's Advertisement in New York, New York, Urban Landscape

Courtesy of Mo, all rights reserved
Collection: Urban Landscape
Location: New York, New York,
Time Period: 1920's
Type style: serif
Materials and methods: ghost sign and porcelain enamel
Purpose: advertisement

Addtional Information: ghost signage in lower Manhattan

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Throughout history lettering and type have been used on buildings and signs, surrounding us with visible words -- messages aimed at the common man. These signs reflect the character and activities of a neighborhood. Advertising on buildings give insight into how people lived: the products they used, the popular vocabulary of their time. Variations in materials and form reveal each generation's fascination with new technology.

But lettering and type in signage and on buildings get lost over time. Change of building use, the elements, and restoration decisions have led to the disappearance of decades of type history—and by extension a valuable component of the histories of architecture, advertising, industry, and society.

Submit an image to any of our collections. Tell us as much as you can about the lettering, materials, time period and location of the signs. If you do not know specific information, that's OK! Tell us as much as you can, and our editors will update unknown information.

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A community-based image database, dedicated to collecting, documenting, and preserving images of type and lettering on old signs and buildings in the United States.

Materials and Methods: Porcelain Enamel

Popular from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s, porcelain enamel signs were created by firing powdered glass onto metal. The powdered glass melted to a liquid form and cooled.

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