Porcelain Signs How to tell if they are reproductions?

[justin91980]

Hi I am new to collecting antiques. Could anyone please tell me how to tell if a porcelain sign is original or a reproduction please.?

[cogar]

Carefully check the backside for original paint, patina, rust spots, etc.

[railman44]

I would be very suspect of any "mint" old porcelain signs.  Originals are heavy where some repros are much lighter although that's not always the case with repros.  I would think there are books written on this subject since there are so many repros out there.  Most originals I've seen have some chips and some rusting.

[justin91980]

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

[D&b antiques]

Justin if your lucky' enough to get ''Hand's'' on. look carefully at any nick's or scratches. study the Rust'' it should be dark in color.not and orange tint

the early signs were made of quality' metal.

[dontbe]

This is a good subject. Id like to know some tricks of the trade. Like D7B said, they were made of thicker metal than average.. but I bet there are some obvious indicators that someone in the know might be able to teach us.

Inquiring minds want to know!

[cogar]

don'tbe, one of the better "obvious indicators" comes by a lot of study and experience and it is called a "gut feeling".

And that is when you look at a piece and say, ..... "That's a good one, don't know why, but its a good one".

don'tbe, there are so many "tricks of the trade" it might be best if you picked another item, then another, etc. to solicit opinions about. Like start a new thread titled

"??name??, .... Tricks of the Trade"

[dontbe]

Not a bad Idea Cogar.. perhaps we could start gathering them in the "special threads" category.

I know what you mean by gut feeling that comes with experience. but I was thinking of general rules like "98% of the time original signs were white on the back side."
or , "original signs had at least one hole or thin porcelain spot where it was hung during processing"

I like your idea with "??name??, .... Tricks of the Trade

[cogar]

Don’tbe, now I’m not be critical in the least …… but I will negate both your above examples.

There is no general “rule” about the backsides of signs being painted or unpainted. And neither about whether a sign has one or more holes in it for hanging purposes. Most all thermometers do have at least one hole near the top.

If there are holes in a sign, one needs to look if it was an original “round” hole put there by the maker or whether it is just a “nail hole” put there when the original owner hung it up. If an original “round hole”, look to see if it is deformed in any way, which would be a clue that it was in fact hung by or nailed/screwed to a wall by the original owner. Also carefully check the edge of the sign near any said holes ….. because if it was originally nailed to something then there is likely to be a “distorted edge” caused by someone “prying it loose” to get it. 

Now those really nice “advertising signs” that are hung inside like a “picture” on the wall, I know very little about. Never was lucky enough to find one …… but a friend showed me one he had. It was about 24” by 30” and “stamped” out of one (1) sheet of tin, the 3” frame around the picture and everything. A beautiful thing it wa$$$.

Hope that was helpful.