Sign painting is the

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale prod ...

of painting

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

signs on buildings,

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s or signboards, for promoting, announcing, or identifying products, services and events. Sign painting artisans are

signwriter Signwriters design, manufacture and install signs, including advertising signs for shops, businesses and public facilities as well as signs for transport systems. Signwriting today Traditional signwriters use methods closely related to th ...

History

Signwriters often learned the craft through

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners ...

or trade school, although many early sign painters were self-taught. The Sign Graphics program at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College program is the last remaining sign painting program in the United States. Skillful manipulation of a lettering brush can take years to develop. In the 1980s, with the advent of computer printing on vinyl, traditional hand-lettering faced stiff competition. Interest in the craft waned during the 1980s and 90s, but hand-lettering and traditional sign painting have experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years. The 2012 book and documentary, ''Sign Painters'' by Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, chronicle the historical changes and current state of the sign painting industry through personal interviews with contemporary sign painters. Old painted signs which fade but remain visible are known as

ghost sign A ghost sign is an old hand-painted advertising sign that has been preserved on a building for an extended period of time. The sign may be kept for its nostalgic appeal, or simply indifference by the owner. History and preservation Ghost signs a ...

Techniques

There are a number of other associated skills and techniques as well, including

gold leaf Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...

ing (surface and glass), carving (in various mediums), glue-glass chipping,

stencilling Stencilling produces an image or pattern on a surface, by applying pigment to a surface through an intermediate object, with designed holes in the intermediate object, to create a pattern or image on a surface, by allowing the pigment to reach ...

, and

silk-screening Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mes ...

Bibliography

* Turvey, Lisa (April 2012). "An American Language". ''Artforum International''. 50: 218–9. * Swezy, Tim (February 25, 2014). "One Shot Seen 'Round the World: A Survey of Sign Painting on the Internet (Part of AIGA Raleigh - the oldest and largest professional organization for Design)". ''AIGA Raleigh''. Retrieved April 21, 2020. * Childs, Mark C. (2016). ''The Zeon files : art and design of historic Route 66 signs''. Babcock, Ellen D., 1957-. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. .

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

944156236. * Auer, Michael (1991). ''The Preservation of Historic Signs''. Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Cultural Resources, Preservation Assistance. *Jakle, John A. (2004). ''Signs in America's auto age : signatures of landscape and place''. Sculle, Keith A. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. .

66385186.

References

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External links

Article on an exhibition of historical roadside signs in New England

The Letterheads Website – The Keepers of our Craft – Sign Painting is alive and well!

The Original Letterheads – A site maintained by one of the founders of the Letterhead movement
Digitised textbooks:
Sign Writing and Glass Embossing
(James Callingham, 1890)
Lettering for Commercial Purposes
(William Hugh Gordon, 1918)
A Roman Alphabet and how to use it
(Frank Forrest Frederick, 1917)
David's Practical Letterer
(Hackes & Binger, 1903) Painting Signage Typography Craft occupations