Limited Edition

A random phone call to Tod Swormstedt recently led to a precious new addition to the American Sign Museum: glass negatives for the printing of The American Sign Writer, a rare signpainting resource book – The Library of Congress houses one of the few remaining copies – published in 1877 by Collins & Brooke. A Columbus, OH-area woman sent Swormstedt photos of the find after her grandson stumbled upon glass plates in a crate in her home. Though several panels are missing, the all-important title page is intact and the remaining 15 panels were salvageable.