A Seven-Color Lithographic Tin Sign, Rose & Co. Merchant Tailors, Chicago, IL 1901
Rose & Co. Merchant Tailors Lithographic Self-Framed Tin Sign 1901
This is a beautiful seven-color lithograph self-framed tin advertising sign made for Rose & Company Merchant Tailors, Chicago, Illinois, circa 1901. I acquired this amazing sign at the Indy Antique Advertising Show last year and immediately knew it was a great example of an early lithographic sign. It’s the only one known of its kind and shines with colors of blue, red, light green, dark green, yellow, brown and gray. It’s from an era when city businesses were growing and custom-made tailors were becoming more competitive. Advertising their services was vital for the company’s growth. This large advertising sign most likely hung in a men’s clothing store to promote their merchant tailor services.
Rose & Co Merchant Tailors Logo
The company’s trademark logo is displayed on the top, illustrating scissors cutting through the letter R and a tape measure around the entire image. The sign reads, “Established 1880. Popular with Good Dressers for Over 20 Years.” The vintage sign measures 26 inches tall by 18 inches wide.
Rose & Company was a merchant tailor, also known as a tailor-to-the-trade. They started in business in 1880 located at 337 Franklin Street in downtown Chicago. The company sold custom made clothing through local merchants. They cut men’s suits according to exact measurements of a customer who had ordered that garment from a retail outlet serviced by Rose & Co. This vintage advertising piece was produced by the Meek & Beach Co. in Coshocton, Ohio, as stated on the lower right corner of the sign. The Meek & Beach Co. was in business from 1901 to 1905 and helps date this rare antique relic. The Meek & Beach Co. made many different self-framed tin signs. The company started with the merger of The Tuscarora Advertising Co. and The Standard Advertising Co. However, their partnership dissolved in 1905, so the name changed to The Meek Company after that.
Lithographic Artwork Printing Process
Lithographic Offset Printer 1880’s Created Advertising on Tin Signs
Lithographic self-framed tin advertising signs such as this one for Rose & Co. are highly sought after by collectors because of their bright colors and striking lithography. In the 1800’s, when tin advertising signs first appeared in the U.S., it was fairly expensive because they were hand-painted. However, when the lithograph offset printing press was invented it made the process of making tin advertising signs easier and more affordable.
The process printed one color for each run through the press. Accordingly, each color required a new printing plate for the individual color application. So the more colors on the tin, the longer and more complicated it was to produce the item. In order to make a self-framed tin sign, the lithographed artwork method was applied to one piece of sheet metal. The main image was printed in the center and the simulated frame was printed on the same piece of metal. The entire metal was put into a machine in order to crimp it to the sign’s finished shape. The durability of the metal and quality of the paints helped ensure these advertising art relics have lived on past their expected lifespan.