Vintage advertising (Steel signs)

Although first used in the manufacture of coloured metal panels for buildings, the process of fusing coloured glass to iron plates, known as vitreous enamelling, patented in England in the 1870s,

This was soon turned to the production of brilliantly coloured enamelled iron plates, advertising all manner of products, ranging from groceries, newspapers and tobacco, to bicycles and motor cars.

 By the start of the First World War, almost every small shop in Great Britain would have had a colourful display of permanent advertising signs on its external walls, with slogans proclaiming the properties of the goods they advertised, such as: 'Cadbury's Cocoa, Absolutely Pure, Therefore Best', 'Robin Starch, Does not Stick to the Iron', 'Stephens' Mucilage, Sticks Quickly', and 'Hudson's Soap, Powerful, Easy & Safe'.

The onset of the Second World War saw the decline of this advertising medium, as the primary need for steel was in industry supporting Britain's war effort

 This, together with the adoption of the less durable American style paper posters on hoardings, effectively marked the demise of the enamel advertising sign in Britain.

The signs shown on this blog were photographed at transport / industrial heritage sites 

For photographs please 

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