Sunday, August 23, 2015

Brilliant Lewis & Skinner cocoa sign uncovering in Caulfield

Big thanks to Rob Gray for alerting me to this uncovering on Glenhuntly Road in Caulfield. It's for Bensdorp's Cocoa, a brand that is still going. It looks like it's from the 1920s or 1930s, judging by the cobalt blue and type face - but it's hard to tell. There are a few containers around with a similar type, such as the one on this page, described as being "1900-1930": http://historydetectives.nyhistory.org/2014/02/the-history-of-chocolate-at-the-new-york-historical-society/

Still, the most exciting thing for me is that it was painted by the Lewis & Skinner, whose company records I found three years ago (see: www.lewisandskinner.com).

Here are some of the pics I took today, in the late winter light:

From the street

From the back








And here's an example of a tin with a vaguely similar typeface:

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bensdorps_leight_loslicher_Reiner_Cacao_Amsterdam,_oranje_rond_blikje,_foto4.JPG


2 comments:

  1. Fantastic work Stefan and you truly are a great ghost sign sleuth. Happy to have helped in some way and the detail of your photos and the evidence of Lewis and Skinner is exciting. Rob

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    1. Yes indeed...good to find evidence that they actually painted real signs!

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