Signs on the Wall      

I just bought myself an early 2024 birthday present — software called Excire Foto 2024.   I’d been looking for a while for software that intelligently tags photos according to their content, and this version of Excire finally promised decent capability.  Best of all, I don’t have to upload my tens of thousands of photos to “the cloud” for the software to do its work,

My first experiment with Excire Foto was to help complete my “signs” gallery.  I entered the search text “signs painted on a wall” and Excire returned several hundred candidate photos (I set fairly loose criteria), most of which were indeed signs or lettering.  Considering my 25-year trove of film and digital images, and my interest in taking photos of signs, this proved to be a great time-saver.

Here is a set of twelve photos which I’ve deemed best of the lot as of February 2024.  Sooner or later, I am sure to tire of some of these images and will replace those with others.  You can accelerate this process by identifying the images that do – and don’t – do much for you.  Thanks for viewing.

• Valentine — Chalon-sur-Saone, France, November 2000 (film).  One of my favorite shots.  After an exhaustive search on Google Street View, I discovered that the sign still exists, albeit greatly faded, at 7 Rue de la Banque.

• Flea Market — Donora, Pennsylvania, July 2017.  Apparently (see this link) the sign was painted over in 2021 for the TV series American Rust.

• Zipper Service — Sharon, Pennsylvania, 2000 (film).  At least one person in the world made a living doing zipper repairs.  This was a fairly large sign, considering it was in a small space behind other buildings.  I liked the Z shape in the window above the sign.

• Demandez — Montreal, Canada, 2002 (film).  The text reads, “Ask for your packages at this door.”  Old Montreal had a nice assortment of painted wall signs at that time.

• Stetz Bottling Co — Donora, Pennylvania, 2017.  “The Home of Mission Beverages.”  Mission was a California-based producer of fruit-flavored sodas including “Orange, Lemon-Lime, Coco-Pina, Black Cherry, Cream and Root Beer” until about 1970.

• Rue De La Vieille-Tour — Bordeaux, France, 2014.  I concede that the sign itself is barely visible in the photo, but only in France would they award such a tiny alley such a prolific name.  Google Street View suggests that, as of 2017, the shutters have been removed, the stonework has been power-washed and bleached, and the Rue sign is no longer there.

• Pelloms Time Shop — Black Mountain, North Carolina, 2003 (film).  At the time (ahem) I took this photo, this was a clock repair shop.  I never went inside, as I had nothing that needed to be fixed — but one could see that the shop was filled with tables and shelves piled high with clocks and timepieces, all waiting for attention.  John Pellom, the owner, was profiled in this 2017 article, the year he passed away.  The repair business closed but the Pelloms Time Shop sign lives on, serving as the name of a vacation rental in the same location.

• We Sell Sealtest — Bluffton, South Carolina, 2015.  The 1940s drug/variety store “The Rate” was refurbished after this photo and is presently occupied by Simpson Construction.  The vines have been removed from the roof but fortunately the Sealtest sign, lettering and illustrations have been largely preserved — if perhaps somewhat over-restored.

• Two — Asheville, North Carolina, 2014.  I believe this sign was at the Rankin Avenue parking garage in downtown Asheville and that it has since been replaced.  Our city has to keep up appearances.

• Counter Service — Beaufort, South Carolina, 2008.  This was the former Sea Island Supply Company warehouse on Cartaret St.  The side and rear of the building were quite decrepit and a nice photographic find at the time.  The building was renovated in 2015 and the signs are gone.

• Company — Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, 2002 (film).   This was the exterior of the Mayer’s China Company (later Beaver Falls China Company) factory before it was torn down in 2007.  I later found a photo of the entire building on Pittsburgher Marc Rettig’s Flickr page.

• Nightcrawllers — Ashtabula County, Ohio, 2003 (film).  Would you go around back for nightcrawlers?