Signboard

“ The claimed infirmity in the ordinance consists in the requirement that before any billboard or signboard of over 12 square feet in area may be erected in any block in which one half of the buildings are used exclusively for residence purposes, the owners of a majority of the frontage of the property on both sides of the street in such block shall consent in writing thereto. ”

“ These signboards befit the streets which justify their metallic existence, and these streets the signboards which give them a local habitation and a name. Both of them are dreamily and wonderfully lapped in forgetfulness and decay. They pursue their way through the wood which they have invaded—but the wood refuses to rest. ”

“ Signboards at the present day may be said to inspire their historian with something of a melancholy feeling. A history of them is a history of a bygone art, which has long passed its zenith, which has served its purpose, and which is destined to decay more and more before the advance of modern education. Truly the glory of signboards is departed! Though one sees here and there a barber’s pole, a golden fleece, and a few other signs of divers trades, innkeepers and alehouse-keepers are the only persons who as a class keep to their old distinctive marks. ”

“ From every lane and alley in the lower parts of the town sally forth men and youths in clean moleskins and corduroys, each invariably accompanied by some yelping cur, the least of whose faults is to be ugly. It is no wonder, then, that the Dog should be of frequent occurrence on the signboard. Pepys mentions a tavern of that name in Westminster, where, about the time of the Restoration, he used occasionally to show his merry face. ”

“ Classic authors also have come in for their share of signboard popularity in this country, which, at the time they flourished, was about as little civilized as the Sandwich Islands in the days of Captain Cook. These signs were set up by booksellers; thus Homer’s Head was, in 1735, the sign of Lawton Gilliver, against St Dunstan’s Church, publisher of some of Pope’s works, and in 1761, of J. Walker at Charing Cross. Cicero, under the name of Tully’s Head, hung at the door of Robert Dodsley, a famous bookseller in Pall Mall. ”

“ Education was spreading fast, and reading had become a very general acquirement; yet it would appear that the exhibitors of signboards wished to make up in extravagance what they had lost in use. “Be it known, however, [26] to posterity,” says a writer in the Gentleman’s Magazine, “that long after signs became unnecessary, it was not unusual for an opulent shopkeeper to lay out as much upon a sign, and the curious ironwork with which it was fixed in the house, so as to project nearly in the middle of the street, as would furnish a less considerable dealer with a stock in trade. ”

“ The liberal arts are as badly represented on the signboard as the Bar. The Poet’s Head was a sign in St James’s Street in the seventeenth century; who the poet was it is impossible to say now; perhaps it was Dryden, since the trades tokens represent a head crowned with bays. The same sign had been used during the Commonwealth by Taylor the Water poet, but in his case the poet was Taylor himself, (see p. 48.) The Five Inkhorns, we gather from the trades tokens, was the sign of Walter Haddon, in Grub Street, a very appropriate trade emblem in that scribbling locality. ”

“ It figured also as one of the signs in Bonnel Thornton’s signboard exhibition of 1762. [665] It seems to have originated from an extremely indelicate joke called “selling bargains,” with which the [468] maids of honour amused themselves in Swift’s time, (see his “Polite Conversation;”) unless it be a vernacular reading of some crest, such as an antelope or a unicorn issuing out of a mural crown. ”

“ Signboards are in principle to be installed at a suitable height and in a position appropriate to the line of sight, taking account of any obstacles, either at the access point to an area in the case of a general hazard, or in the immediate vicinity of a specific hazard or object and in a well-lit and easily accessible and visible location. ”

“ Great men of former ages, also, are known to have painted signs; [41] in the museum at Basle, in Switzerland, there are two pictures of a school, painted by Holbein when fourteen years old, for a sign of the schoolmaster of the town. The Mule and Muleteer in the Sutherland collection, is said to have been painted by Correggio as a sign for an inn; a similar legend is told about the Young Bull of Paul Potter, in the museum of the Hague, in Holland, which is reported to have been painted for a butcher’s signboard. ”

“ Notwithstanding the narrowness of the streets of Canton, they are extremely picturesque; more especially those in which we find the old curiosity-shops, the silversmiths and the silk-mercers, where the signboards present a most attractive display of brilliant and varied colours, as indeed, in the one through which we have just been passing. ”

“ The equally common Hearty Good Fellow is adopted from a Seven Dials ballad:—
“I am a hearty good fellow,
I live at my ease,
I work when I am willing,
I play when I please.
.... With my bottle and my glass,
Many hours I pass,
Sometimes with a friend,
And sometimes with a lass,” &c.
Of signboards portraying artists, but few instances occur; and when they do, they are almost exclusively the property of printsellers. We have only met with three: Rembrandt’s Head, the sign of J. Jackson, printseller, at the corner of Chancery Lane, Fleet Street, 1759; and of Nathaniel Smith, the father (?) ”

“ That there were signboards, however, representing her Majesty’s “person, favour, and grace,” during her lifetime, is evident from the fact that an ancestor of Pennant, the London topographer, made his fortune as a goldsmith at the sign of the Queen’s Head, in Smithfield, during the reign of good Queen Bess. ”

“ Amongst many examples of this, in various vocations, is the frequent recurrence of signboards, representing a lady reposing in her bed after an interesting event, whilst the nurse (who thus advertises her profession) is holding up a beautiful infant in her arms for the admiration of its parent and the general public. ”

“ Permanent signboards must be used for signs relating to prohibitions, warnings and mandatory requirements and the location and identification of emergency escape routes and first-aid facilities.
Signboards and/or a safety colour must be used to mark permanently the location and identification of fire-fighting equipment.
2.1.2. Signboards on containers and pipes must be placed as laid down in Part III.
2.1.3. Places where there is a risk of colliding with obstacles or of falling must be permanently marked with a safety colour and/or with signboards. ”

“ SIGN DESIGN, SIZE AND SITING
45 The detailed design of signs for on—street parking and loading is set out on the appropriate working drawings (see para 1.9) , with additional guidance in section 12 of Chapter 7. Note that panel dividers are always the same width as the sign border. A restriction always applies at all times unless qualified by an indication that it applies only at specific dates or times. It will lead to confusion, and undermine understanding of restrictions signed according to this convention, if expressions like ”Mon—Sun” are used. ”

“ The universal use of sign-boards furnished employment to many painters of inferior rank, and occasionally even to great artists, who, either as a freak of genius, to win a wager, to crown a carouse, or perhaps to earn with ease a needed sum, painted a sign-board. ”

“ We consider that the authorisation permitting the erection of temporary direction signs supplied by the approved motoring and cycling organisations for the temporary diversion of traffic during road repairs, or for the direction of traffic on special occasions such as exhibitions, football matches, race meetings and so on, serves a useful purpose and should be continued. These signs are of a suitable size to incorporate lettering not exceeding 6 in. in height, and may be of the colour or colours adopted by the organisation supplying them, and may bear the badge of that organisation. ”

“ The requirement is that the signs must be placed on each side of the road or on each side of the appropriate carriageway of a dual carriageway road, except that signs need only be placed on one side if any of the following circumstances apply:
(i) where the restriction, requirement or prohibition applies only to one side of the road.
(ii) at a junction where traffic turns from a one-way road into the relevant road. The sign should be angled to face towards the driver. ”

“ The whole front is exposed to view in the daytime, not by opening all the doors and windows, but by taking down much of the front siding, which consists of boards varying from ten to twelve inches in width, standing up endwise, and fitted into grooves above and below. These boards are slid out early every morning, one by one, and laid away out of sight under the floor, in a place reserved for them during the day. Early in the evening each board is put in its place for closing up the front of the shop, leaving not the least door or window by which one may have direct access to it. ”

“ At certain junctions where control is not exercised by traffic signals, police, or a Stop sign there will nevertheless be a need for a sign in addition to the new transverse carriageway marking which we advocate in paragraph 224. We therefore recommend for this purpose the sign at figure 8. Since avoidance of accidents will depend upon drivers obeying the sign we believe that it should be given a legal mandatory significance and the meaning of 'proceed so as not to cause inconvenience or danger to traffic on the major road'. ”

“ For a sign-board an idea is suggested in Fig. 26. At one’s place of business, in front of a cottage, or on a mile-post, it may be displayed to good advantage.
It is only a board on which sheet-iron or lead letters have been fastened, and the edges bound with metal and large-headed nails. A rod set at right angles to a post supports the sign-board, and to ornament it some scroll-work is attached at the top. Scroll ornaments decorate the sides and bottom of the board. These are fastened on with steel-wire nails driven through holes made in the metal and into [99] the edges of the board. ”

“ The entry signs may be supplemented by signs to diagram 660 or 660.3, used as reminders in the individual streets. In this case a special direction should be sought from the Department (see para 2.1) to allow the signs to be used without bay markings. Any part of a road may include a prohibition of waiting (which would apply equally to permit holders) and be signed and marked as described in section 6. Signs indicating the end of the permit holder parking area will be needed, unless it is a cul-de-sac, and again these will require authorisation. ”

“ The Traffic Signs Manual not only explains in non-legal language the requirements of the Regulations and Directions but also advises on all aspects of signs and their uses including matters not covered in the Statutory Instrument. If all highway authorities follow this advice a reliable and uniform system of traffic signing will be ensured and this will benefit road users throughout the United Kingdom. ”

“ In these days of fast-rushing automobiles a demand has sprung up for a more striking and legible series of special sign-boards along certain roads, in order that he who runs may read. And so the Touring Club of France, on the great road which runs from Paris through Normandy, to Havre and Dieppe, for instance, has erected a series of large-lettered and abbreviated sign-boards, which are all that could be desired. ”

“ Only panels giving information likely to be of value to a reasonable proportion of drivers using the road should be shown. A multiplicity of panels defeats one of the primary objects of the signposting system—to give information at a glance. ”

“ The provision, erection and maintenance of traffic signs is primarily the duty of the highway authorities, but the authorisation given to highway authorities to use or permit the use of signs supplied by certain approved organisations, viz. the Royal Automobile Club, the Royal Scottish Automobile Club, the Automobile Association and the Cyclists’ Touring Club, has worked well in practice and has been of particular value in connection with direction signposting, and we recommend that it be continued. ”

“ In appropriate cases an artificial background should be provided to improve conspicuity. (Paragraph 22.)
(11) Height of Signs—In open country the lower edge of signs should be 3 ft. 6 in. above road level. In towns there should be a clearance of not less than 6 ft. 9 in. over footpaths. (Paragraph 23.)
(12) Illumination of Signs.—By night the conspicuity and legibility of all traffic signs should approach as nearly as possible to daylight standards. Direct external illumination 1s to be preferred. ”

“ In every signal cabin the name and private address of the chargeman who is responsible for it is posted, and it is the duty of the signalman to report to him every failure or defect that may become apparent during the intervals of his visits, sending at the same time a duplicate of the report to the inspector of the district. ”

“ The legend should be repeated at intervals of about 12 m and marked on both sides when used in the centre of the road. Where stopping by other vehicles is prohibited, the sign to diagram 650.1 is used together with the yellow prohibitory line from diagram 1025.1 (see para 17.20) . Otherwise the prohibition of waiting sign to diagram 650.2 is used. In both cases a traffic regulation order is required.
20.13 The marking to diagram 1028.3 (see figure 20-3) forms a wide bay, designed for use by vehicles displaying a disabled person's badge, by buses or by large vehicles. ”

“ Sign boards are beginning to be well thought of and are making their appearance throughout the larger cities. Posters, well executed, but in glaring colors, and if possible displaying a portion of a nude female always attract universal attention and for many lines are excellent mediums. Some of the countries charge an internal revenue tax on all sign boards, posters, placards and street announcements proportionate to their size. ”