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unusually small 20th century american metallic gold enameled hand carved pine wood dentist's three root tooth trade sign
  • unusually small 20th century american metallic gold enameled hand carved pine wood dentist's three root tooth trade sign
unusually small 20th century american metallic gold enameled hand carved pine wood dentist's three root tooth trade sign

unusually small 20th century american metallic gold enameled hand carved pine wood dentist's three root tooth trade sign

SKU: UR-18878-13
diminutive 20th century american hand-carved pine wood dentist trade sign in the form of a skillfully crafted three root molar with a mostly uniform darkened metallic gold enameled finish. the carved tooth is unique both in form and size. the artist is not known. fabrication date knot known. from the chicago area. the trade sign took many forms in early america. when education was a privilege and literacy rare, the ideal trade sign immediately caught the attention of a passerby and, because of its design, was totally self-explanatory. folk artists, sometimes including itinerant portrait painters, created signs that bore pictures that visually explained the name of the establishment or the services to be found within. these signs usually carried pictures or lettering on both sides and were hung from a tall post at right angles to the road, so as to be visible to travelers approaching from either direction. three-dimensional carved trade signs were often produced in the same workshops as figureheads and other ship decorations and usually displayed the same broad-planed carving style that typified american figureheads. the introduction of electric signs, which could advertise a business in the dark, led to the decline of the carved trade signs. measures approximately 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches.

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