Sign of the times: Museum London exhibit recalls the city's colourful, handpainted past

From large-scale billboards to vinyl cut lettering to backlit banners, signs are part of today's urban landscape in London — and signs from days gone by tell a story of the city's rich history. 

To prove that, a new exhibit at Museum London called London Recalling: Traces of Places from the City's Past highlights storied signs from family-run businesses, shops and galleries that have called the city home. 

"Today we have things like vinyl cut, we have letterpress, we have all sorts of technology that makes the signs. We have LED signs," said Amber Lloydlangston, Museum London's curator of regional history and contemporary culture.

"But back in the day, that was not the sort of thing that was available for the most part."

The exhibit features signs — big and small — from the museum's collection. Most of them are handpainted on wood, while other are made of tin, Lloydlangston said, looking worn and weathered from being outside.  

"It really is quite incredible," she said. "They're very dramatic, very colourful and really draw your eye up."

Sign painting was once a line of work, and is growing in popularity again today, she said. "People are recognizing the beauty of the hand lettered sign. And so you can come and be inspired by some that we have here."

20/20 Gallery

One bold red and yellow painted sign featured is from the 20/20 Gallery, an artist-run centre that existed from 1966 to 1970 in London. 

The gallery was established by the founding members of the London Regionalists, such as artists Greg Curnoe, Tony Urquhart and Jack Chambers.

"They were commenting on their clarity of vision by calling it the 20/20 Gallery," she said.  

"The young folks who were establishing it were trying to find their way and they weren't necessarily getting the attention and some of the major galleries that they had hoped for. So, they weren't getting the shows, they weren't getting the recognition. So they said, 'Fine, we'll establish our own.'"

It became a venue for up and coming artists to have their work seen, she said.

Silverwood's Dairy

The exhibit also features a tin sign that will "take you back to the days" of Silverwood's Dairy, who served up ice cream, among other dairy and cold storage products, Lloydlangston said. The business was started in 1903 by Albert Edward Silverwood.

"It was very small. He was in an egg and dairy business, and eventually grew and grew until it became at least Ontario-wide," she said. 

Silverwood's was known for its horse-drawn dairy wagons and travelling around the city to deliver goods well into the 40s, 50s and even 60s, she said. 

"It was a very important business in town for many, many years."

Family businesses like Miller Bros. Tinsmithing also ran in London for decades and have beautiful signs, she said.

"No doubt there are people alive today who worked for some of these companies, and I think [it's] really exciting to have that recognition factor," she said. 

The exhibit is a chance to share stories and get an appreciation for family history as well as city history, she said, noting longtime Londoners may have parents or grandparents who worked at some of the places.

'I Spy' London artifacts 

Displayed in the same room, History Goes Digital is a second exhibit that takes a look at a selection of artifacts from the museum's 45,000 item strong collection.

From Labatt beer bottles to Kellogg's memorabilia, it's the first time the public can see the images from the collection, since 6,750 of the artifacts have been photographed, said Lloydlangston.

It includes an 'I Spy' wall of London artifacts that may jog some memories. "They all tell a London story of some sort," she said. 

"We have everything from little tin cars that were made at a local business. We have a Union Gas baseball uniform. We have a grandfather clock that was from the Labatt office."

London Recalling: Traces of Places from the City's Past is on display at Museum London at 421 Ridout St. N. until April 2025.

History Goes Digital is on display until December 31, 2024.