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Unidentified, Shoe Repair Trade Sign, 20th century, carved and painted wood, 5 3⁄4 x 18 3⁄4 x 6 3⁄8 in. (14.6 x 47.6 x 16.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.325
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Shoe Repair Trade Sign
- Artist
- Unidentified
- Date
- 20th century
- Location
- Dimensions
- 5 3⁄4 x 18 3⁄4 x 6 3⁄8 in. (14.6 x 47.6 x 16.2 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
- Mediums Description
- carved and painted wood
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Dress — accessory — shoe
- Object Number
- 1986.65.325
Artwork Description
In the mid- to late nineteenth century, craftsmen carved signs for a wide variety of businesses. These large, easily recognizable symbols guided people to the service or product needed, from the mortar and pestle of the druggist to the shoe of the cobbler and the fish of the fishmonger. This visual language of figures and objects was especially useful to the large numbers of immigrants, many of whom could not speak English.