The tight economy has meant that the museum hasn’t purchased any new signs or other objects in the last 18 months. However, this hasn’t deterred the museum’s collection from growing. And, because we haven’t profiled new additions in this column in some time, we’re doing so this month, but keying on some of the more unusual ones.
The first is a heavily dimensional, plaster-cast, POP display for Early Times whiskey that was donated by Judith Noe of Weston, CT. Noe acquired the piece from her father in Louisville, KY, who had, in turn, been given the sign in the early 1960s by a New Albany, IN tavern owner when he renovated the bar.
The signs were originally produced in the 1930s by Louisville Composition Products, which used the turn-of-the-century, carved-wood original from which to make a mold. The 37 x 45-in. piece is in immaculate condition, with no chipped plaster or damaged paint. According to Dave Greene, the museum’s local “go-to” guy when it comes to vintage signs, it’s unusual to find a plaster casting in such excellent condition.
The second is an original oil painting, created and signed by Alf R. Becker, well-known for the 232 alphabets he authored for ST magazine. The 22 x 35-in. piece was created in the 1950s by Becker as a gift to John L. McCarthy, who was then vice president of the Iron Workers Union. McCarthy was born in 1904 in East St. Louis, which is where Becker spent most of his signpainting career in the shop of Levy Sign Co.
The donor, Juanita McCarthy of Chesterfield, MO, had planned to donate her father’s painting to a charity silent auction, but, after having researched Becker’s name on the Internet, found the museum and contacted us as if we would be interested in receiving the painting as a donation. The museum also has four, copper-framed, gilded, reverse-glass sample signs created by Alf Becker.
The third addition came about when Wayne Cooper, and his son John, of Cooper Signs (Niagara Falls, NY), visited the museum earlier in the year – the trip was a birthday present from John to his dad. They brought with them some very early neon electrodes, a 1940s-era Tubelite catalog and a colored glass cap (circa 1930) of the type that were used to cover clear, incandescent bulbs to provide colored light. The pair mentioned they had a car-top sign that they also wanted to donate if we were interested. Knowing that we would be coming east on the New York Thruway later in the year to pick up the Norge globe in New Hampshire, we said we’d stop by, and so we did.
During our visit, we were treated to a shop tour and learned more about the history of the nearly 90-year-old business. Unlike many signshops, the Cooper family has preserved photos of the shop and the signs it has produced through the years. The walls of the office and sales area are rich with these images, many of which have been incorporated into company brochures.