The museum continues to grow a diverse collection.
Last month’s column described some of the museum’s most recent acquisitions. But these were only a sampling. We’ll continue to highlight more unique and new additions to our ever-growing collection.
Phillip Berman, in his father’s memory, donated a well-known Lincoln Ave service-station sign, a 7 x 10-ft., double-faced Jubilee Gas iconic advertisement that once hung along Chicago’s Lincoln Ave. The business’s “Gas for Less” neon sign will also join the collection.
Berman, a key spokesperson for the independent service-station operator, testified before Congress during the early 1970s gas crisis. A marketing innovator, he guided other independents in setting up their businesses.
Both museum signs will symbolize Berman’s legacy.
Early, painted variety signs are difficult to find, so we’re always looking for them. A recent acquisition fits this bill: a single-faced, smalttin sign for “Nature’s Remedy Tablets.” The circa 1930s sign was acquired at the Coin-Op show in St. Charles, IL, earlier this year.
Darrell Wilkerson, president of Wilkie Mfg. (Oklahoma City) and a major museum supporter, donated a Blitz Beer sign. He found the sign at a charity auction and immediately thought of us. The early 1960s spinner sign was manufactured by the Ohio Advertising Display Co. (Cincinnati). Thanks, Darrell.
A “Crescio’s Drugs” sign, discovered in a northern Ohio antique mall, will be included in the building’s new “History of Three-Dimensional Letters Timeline” area. The sign contains a faux-marble finish on the embossed, porcelain-enamel letters.
David and Suze Butler, Butler Design Agency (Syracuse, IN), donated a circa-1940 “Showcarder” signmaking kit, which includes letter stencils of various fonts and sizes; paint and brushes; a 1947 supply catalog; and a sticker that reads: “Due to increased costs of labor and materials, price on all stencils advanced 50 cents each as of January 1, 1949.” The Showcarder, manufactured by a company of the same name in Minneapolis, MN, will join other samples of “make your own at home” signmaking systems.
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