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This photo was among my father's things. The back says that it is Photograph # 17 from the Swearingen A.P Collection in the Western History Collection of the University of Oklahoma Library.
Walker & McCoy Sign Company, next to City Marshall's office on Harrison Avenue, Guthrie, OK 1889.
-------------------- Kimberly Zanetti Purcell www.amethystProductivity.com Folsom, CA email: Kimberly@AmethystProductivity.com
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” AA Milne Posts: 3723 | From: Folsom, CA | Registered: Dec 2001
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Kemberly, that's a wonderful photo. I'm thinking that those signs are the first....a new town, the first signs that were needed.... Real Estate, Brokers, Grocery, J.M. Ennis, Mayor...Counsellors at Law.
The beginnings.... needed signs to tell people what's what.
Who is in Guthrie, Ok. now, any letterheads??
Thanks, John Lennig / SignRider
-------------------- John Lennig / Big Top Sign Arts 5668 Ewart Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada bigtopya@hotmail.com 604.451.0006 Posts: 2184 | From: Burnaby, British Columbia,Canada | Registered: Nov 2001
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Kimberly; Great photo of the original "Letter Heads" love the setting, reminds me of a John Wayne thing. The serif on the bottom of the "N" in the word SIGNS is absent. That in itself reflects a self taught sign guy of days gone by, which is what early sign industries for the most part were. Catagorically sign industries then, as they are today, nothing more than a reprensentation of the geographic and industrial demands of the times.
J.G. Kurtzman
-------------------- John Kurtzman J.G. Kurtzman Sign Shop 97 Taylor Ave. Norwalk, Ct. 06854
----------------------------------- Creative communication since 1959 Posts: 213 | From: So. Norwalk, Ct. USA | Registered: Sep 2000
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J.G. - Better check your font sources as most every modern seriffed type style also lacks your missing serif on their N's. Just glanced thru my Corel source & found maybe 1 bold type with your serif. All else were just as the oldtimer had painted it. Looks right to me.
-------------------- Bill Cosharek Bill Cosharek Signs N.Huntingdon,Pa
bcosharek@juno.com Posts: 704 | From: N.Huntingdon, Pa, USA | Registered: Dec 1999
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Bill, you got it. Doesn't it just BURN YOU when you see dimensional letter put up BACKWARDS.
A,M,N,U,V,W,Y.... drives me crazy!!
Don't think there's to many fonts/letterstyles with a serif on the lower right on an N.
Keep both eyes open, letter crimes are everywhere!
John Lennig / SignRider
-------------------- John Lennig / Big Top Sign Arts 5668 Ewart Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada bigtopya@hotmail.com 604.451.0006 Posts: 2184 | From: Burnaby, British Columbia,Canada | Registered: Nov 2001
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Great pic......I quess if it wasn't for the beginning, you won't know where you were at today. Thanx for the post Kim. CJ
-------------------- Ed CJ Williams CJ Graffx Christiana,Pa. cjgraffx@comcast.net Just have'n fun.... Posts: 296 | From: Christiana,Pa. | Registered: May 1999
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Whatever else you think about their work, the place was BUSY! Those guys were pounding out some signs - how many are stacked up there, waiting to be installed? At least 8 or 10 I can see, most with heavy copy; that's a lot of lettering. 1889 - wasn't that right around the time of the opening of Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to settlement?
-------------------- "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
Cam Bortz Finest Kind Signs Pondside Iron works 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988" Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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That photo was made into a poster back around 1974 or later... I used to have it hanging in my shop.It was part of on old west poster series by a major western boot manufacturer. I saw it hanging in a shoe store, and I made the store owner save it for me. And I saw it in a book one time too, a history of the west series, I forget which one, might have been Time-Life......
-------------------- Jeff Ogden 8727 NE 68 Terr. Gainesville FL, 32609 Posts: 2138 | From: 8827 NE 68 Terr Gainesville Fl 32609 | Registered: Aug 2002
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One of the FIRST things to be done when towns were starting out. Was to go back East,find a sign painter,bring him BACK to town! Perhaps this is where the notion of....... "working in MY town" came about?
Thanks Kimberly
-------------------- PKing is Pat King The Professor of SIGNOLOGY Posts: 3113 | From: Pompano Beach, FL. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Cam is right, dem boys is busy, look at all the work they were pumpin' out. Everybody in town needs a sign, and I don't think there was a speedy sign*a*rama in the next town. And take a look, I can't tell how far back it goes but the storefront is only 5' wide. You'd be lucky to get 2 guys in there working. Half those signs you would have to take outside to turn em around, and I thought my shop was small! 'N'<<<<<< look at that, no lower serif. Most of the fonts that were developed early were taken from ancient Roman styles which most of had no lower serif i.e. goudy, garromond, times etc...
-------------------- Ken McTague, Concept Signs 57 Bridge St. (route 107) Salem MA 01970 1-978-745-5800 conceptsign@yahoo.com http://www.pinheadlounge.com/CaptainKen
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"A wise man once said that, or was it a wise guy?" Posts: 2425 | From: Salem, MA | Registered: Apr 1999
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