This one's pretty unique. Long story short, this sign was made in the 1960's by the Disneyland sign makers. It is a replica of a sign that was in the Ford general offices in Detroit. It was made to look really old. So, it has fake patina before people even cared about patina! lol.... It has about 50 years of fake patina and 40 years of real patina. Interesting to say the least! All done by hand, extremely detailed, beautiful lettering and scrolling. Recently had a Ford collector and sign maker tell me this belongs in the Ford museum. It's not going anywhere for now. It's at home in the garage hanging above my '40 Ford, so it has good company. Anyway, just thought I'd share an interesting piece with everyone. Enjoy.
That is a good looking sign
MAC:
That's cool.
Might I suggest . . . printing out a nice detailed description of the sign's history and attaching it to the back of the sign. Just cut the flap off of an envelope and tape three sides to the back of the sign and slip in the information.
Since "technically" this is an un-marked reproduction, this information will establish it's provenance for future collectors.
Later . . .
Jim
Tway, that's a great idea. I'll do that. I have no intentions of passing it on as an original "real" sign, but I know there's plenty of people out there that would. Thanks for the idea!
Real nice sign! In my opinion, if it were an original Henry would have made sure that it would have a Ford pictured. Hard to tell with the glare but I guess it could be a Lincoln.
Rod
...I used to provide/install decor packages for Applebee's in nine states, before they reimaged/streamlined their decor to more resemble Ruby Tuesday's...there was a company that made signs VERY similar to the one pictured above, especially the way the top part of the frame was cut numerous times to create the curved edge...they made some signs with a 3-D hot air balloon, airplane, bicycle, etc., that were aged to look 'nostalgic'...those signs were made in the 1970's & 1980's, they weren't made by Disney, and they weren't reproductions or facsimiles of actual old signs...they just used old graphics and plenty of tinted varnish for a nostalgic look...we did not install them, but they were present in older restaurants - if the decor them warranted their use, we reused them...if not, we trashed them or took them to the flea market...I'm quite sure other decor companies did the same thing...so they are out there...
...no - I didn't see THIS sign...but the styles are identical...
...as we didn't order the signs new, I do not know the name of the company that made them...nowadays they are made with silkscreened graphics...there are a few ones on eBay: look under the items for sale by accent_signs...
Just looked at those signs. You're right, they are very similar. I think if you saw the level of detail up close in the Ford sign, you would find it's definitely different. Thanks for the heads up though!