Vintage Farm Sign Basics

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Left: Of all the signs in Curtis Barwick's collection, his favortie is this Dixie Fertilizer thermometer dating to the 1950s. The company is a local brand still in business and owned by the same family.Top right: This door-push sign for Smith-Douglass Fertilizer is the only one of its kind Curtis has seen.Bottom right: This sign for a Kinston, N.C., tobacco warehouse dates to the 1920s.

By the late 1800s, thousands of farmers across the country had created a fast-growing market for better machinery, seed and production items. To provide information and help build brand and product loyalty, manufacturers advertised heavily.

Advertising items included printed ads, match holders, watch fobs, calendars, thermometers, song books and signs. Today, those items – including pieces made well into the 20th century – are very collectible. They are often colorful, eye-catching and give a glimpse of early product design and company history.

While many sign collectors look for almost anything, others specialize. Curtis Barwick, Clinton, N.C., likes farm-related pieces.

“Sign collecting is very enjoyable,” he says. “There are many beautiful signs out there that need to be preserved, especially from defunct businesses. The signs are part of our history that needs to be saved.”

Curtis has about 100 farm-related signs, plus several advertising thermometers and clocks. He became interested in those items a few years ago, after years of collecting farm truck license plates and smaller items, including seed and fertilizer notebooks.

“I like feed and fertilizer signs the best, especially from area companies and ones that pertain to tobacco production,” he says. “Most signs are metal, with a few porcelains, and a few are fairly rare.”

Many signs were originally displayed by seed, feed, fertilizer and machinery dealers. Often they were fairly large and were mounted on store walls or hung over a front door. Others were given to farmers to nail on building walls or fences for public display. But most have been removed from their original locations; a collector would be considered lucky to find one still in place.

“I find many signs at antique stores, but mostly from other collectors,” Curtis says. “Ag-related ones are sometimes not as popular, so they are often cheaper in comparison to soft drink and oil company items. I have gotten several signs from old feed mills and fertilizer dealers.”

Curtis displays a few signs in his home office, with the rest in two small barns nearby. Weatherproof storage space is a must when collecting signs, he adds.

Some cleaning and preservation work is suggested, mostly to prevent deterioration.

“I clean most with Armor All,” he says. “It depends on the type of sign and condition. Greased Lightning cleans porcelain pretty well. I wax some signs, but you can take paint off with wax if you’re not careful, especially from sun-faded signs. I put white lithium grease on any nicks on porcelain signs to stop rust.”