Village Black-Smith and Gasoline Trade Sign, c. 1910
Handcrafted wood frame
100 in. x 65 in.
Hershey 2015
Village Black-Smith and Gasoline Trade Sign, c. 1910
The Richard Roy Estate
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$8,625 USD | Sold
| Hershey, Pennsylvania
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This large, hand-painted trade sign was purchased by Richard Roy in 1971 from a seller in Massachusetts, who obtained it from the owner of a barn where it sat for decades. The sign was originally used in a garage as an advertisement and still has the oil smudges to prove it!
Mr. Roy spent years unsuccessfully attempting to identify the artist, going so far as to take out advertisements in automotive publications seeking information about the painting and consulting his friend, the artist Peter Helck, about its origins. The car depicted in the painting is a Lozier, circa 1910, but beyond that, all we know is that this is a true piece of turn-of-the-century Americana and folk art. Regardless of its attribution, or lack thereof, the sign has been displayed alongside Mr. Roy’s automobile collection for an incredible 44 years.
