“The world of enamel signs is like football and this sign is like Manchester United. It's in near-perfect condition and is a remarkable survivor. What were once considered scrap metal are now being seen as the works of art they really are.”
These were the words of a Yorkshire private collector of
advertising signs after paying £28,000 (plus ~15 per cent buyer's
premium) for this early 20th century enamel motoring sign at the
Canterbury Auction Galleries on June 14. The previously unrecorded
image produced for British Petroleum measures 3ft 6in by 2ft 3in
(1.07m x 69cm) and shows a racing car passing the finishing line
with the legend The Winner "BP" The British Petrol". Few signs of
this calibre have come to auction in recent years.
The vibrant image had belonged to a Broadstairs gentleman who
lived with his select collection first in a flat in Fulham and,
upon retirement, in a bungalow in Herne Bay. Canterbury auctioneer
Anthony Pratt made the discovery when he was called in to conduct a
probate valuation earlier this year. He had estimated the sign at
just £400-600. The collection also included a 4ft 4in by 5ft (1.02
x 1.52m) sign depicting a British super-dreadnought on an Admiralty
floating dock being coated with Suter Hartmann's Rahtjen's
antifouling paint. Against the same lowly expectations, it was sold
for £10,500 - a similar price to another version of this sign sold
in Australia earlier this year.
While £28,000 appears to be a record for an enamel sign, the price
is dwarfed by the $85,000 paid in 1990 for a Campbell's Soups
painted tin advertising sign by Standard Advertising Company, Ohio
with 52 red-and-white cans forming the stripes of a stylised
American flag.
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