Shoe Repair Trade Sign

Unidentified, Shoe Repair Trade Sign, 20th century, carved and painted wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.325
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
Mediums Description
carved and painted wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — accessory — shoe
Object Number
1986.65.325
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/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.

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