Wanted to share this item I have for sale on our ebay store. It's a MFA Double Sided Porcelain Sign.
Here is a fantastic sign recently purchased at a local estate auction. This is a double-sided porcelain sign that used to hang out in front of an MFA office in mid-Missouri. The sign measures 35 5/8" tall by 31 5/8" wide. The sign alone weighs 17 pounds, 14 ounces. It has a fantastic original porcelain surface that is in great condition on both sides. There are a few dings to the porcelain, with the worst part being at the top where it was hung by some very heavy wire and a couple of bolts. Years of blowing in the wind bent the area where it hung and knocked the porcelain off around the holes. Overall, the condition is fantastic.
The sign is signed at the bottom on one side: Burdick, CHI. The Burdick sign company of Chicago was a distributor of signs such as this, but they were not the manufacturer. The company was in business from 1895-1950, so we know the sign at least pre-dates 1950.
I do have the original sign hanger that this sign was attached to. It measures 40 5/8" across the top and 35 1/2" up the side. It was designed to bolt to a wall. It is made of heavy steel and weighs 15 pounds, 9 ounces. It is a bit bent, so if you choose to use the hanger you may need to shape it just a bit. If the buyer is local and would like to pick up the sign I will discount the winning bid by $100.
MFA stands for Missouri Farmers Association. It was founded on March 10, 1914 in Brunswick, Missouri at the Newcomer School. William Hirth was MFA's first president, serving until his death in 1940. By the 1920's, MFA represented 400 local cooperatives. Today' MFA is based in Columbia, MO. The cooperative created independent companies to serve its members: MFA Oil in 1929 and Shelter Insurance in 1946. The familiar logo represented by this sign is still visible in very prominant locations on local grain elevators. The agricultural cooperative now serves more than 45,000 farmer/owners in Missouri and adjacent states.
Here's the link to our ebay page and the MFA sign listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MFA-Missouri-Far...b#ht_701wt_1165
