Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: store signs

"Thank you! Each loaf of Sunbeam you buy is a vote for me. I'm in line for prizes in the big contest if you keep backing me. ________ (sig.) Your Sunbeam Salesman." Hat: "Sunbeam Energy Bread." As Wikipedia explains, " Sunbeam Bread is a franchised brand of white bread, rolls, and other baked goods owned by the Quality Bakers of America cooperative. The bread products are produced and distributed by regional bakeries....The brand was launched in 1942 and was first marketed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania." In the 1950s and 1960s, Quality Bakers ran contests with cars as prizes for the salesmen who handled Sunbeam and its other brands of bread. This poster, which dates to 1960, was probably distributed to grocery stores.

"Still only 5¢. Hershey's Banjo, vanilla ice cream coated with rich chocolate. Fudjo, a delicious chocolate fudge confection. Creamsicle, a combination of sherbet and vanilla ice cream." The Hershey Creamery Company (not to be confused with Hershey's , the chocolate manufacturer) makes Hershey's Ice Cream products in Harrisburg, Pa. This colorful store sign dates to the 1960s and advertises three ice cream bars that the company still sells (for more than 5 cents, unfortunately) today--Banjo, Fudjo (now called Fudge-O), and Creamsicle (now Orange Blossom) bars.

"Innerspring Mattress, $14.95. $17.95 value. 50¢ per wk. No carrying charge." For a similar store sign, see Coronado Gas Range, $69.95 or $1.25 a Week .

"Aeroplane Headache Tablets make headaches fly. 3 for 5¢. (Trade Mark Reg. U.S. Patent Office.) Phone, South 694."

"Labor Day Novelties. Picnic needs, auto supplies, and holiday goods. September, 1922." A store sign that advertised special Labor Day sales in 1922.

"Coronado Gas Range, $69.95. Pay $1.25 a week." For a similar store sign, see Innerspring Mattress, $14.95 or 50¢ per Week .

"Sun-Ray Cigar. Pleasing to all. Mild and fragrant."

"Visit Roadside America, famous miniature village, Route 22, Hamburg, Pa. Harry R. Dubbs, Allentown, Pa." A cardboard sign for Roadside America , the quintessential American roadside attraction.

"Cyclone Twister. Looks crooked but smokes straight. Cigar, five cents."

"Sliced Butter-Nut Bread. Convenient for toast, for sandwiches, for table use. It's made with milk." The greatest thing since sliced bread!? I've used the phrase but never knew that sliced bread was an innovation that only dates to 1928. This Butter-Nut Bread sign, probably used in stores in the late 1920s or early 1930s, uses sliced bread as a selling point, suggesting that it's convenient for toasting, making sandwiches, or just eating at the table.