1884 WELLS & HOPE TIN LITHOGRAPH MELLIN'S BABY FOOD ADVERTISING SIGN TIN LITHO

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Very rare and original, 1884 Point of Sale Tin Lithograph Advertising Sign for Mellin’s Invalid and Baby Food by the premier American Tin Lithograph Advertising Sign maker Wells & Hope of Philadelphia. This rare and original Tin Lithograph Sign measures approx. 20 1/8” by 26 1/8” including its original, gesso advertising frame. The Sign features a somewhat allegorical Image depicting a beautiful young woman standing before a window that looks out on the city below. The young lady stares at a caged bird that hangs above the window and the image tells the story of the young woman "caged" indoors because she is an "invalid" and unable to venture out into the world. There is text at the top and bottom of the Sign that reads “Mellin’s Food” and "For Infants and Invalids”. Further text at the bottom of the Sign reads "Doliber, Goodale & Co. Boston, Mass (maker’s of Mellin’s Baby Food). The Sign is Copyright 1884 and carries the mark of the manufacturer - Wells & Hope of Philadelphia. This very rare Advertising Sign is framed in its original gold gilt and black gesso advertising frame with text on the top stretcher that reads "Mellin's Food" and text on the bottom stretcher that reads "Doliber, Goodale & Co. Boston". This exceptionally rare and original, Wells & Hope Mellin's Food Tin Litho Advertising Sign displays in very good condition but has extensive surface restoration and inpainting. It appears that there was extensive flaking to the surface and a very long time ago the Sign was "restored". While the gesso advertising frame is very well preserved and without restoration or alteration, the Sign itself has had restoration / in-painting throughout much of its surface. The color match on the in-painting is amazingly good although in the areas where it was necessary to recreate the image (mostly confined to the sprays of berries that can be seen in the Image) the quality of the restoration / in-painting is somewhat poor. At the present time the surface has been stabilized and there is no active flaking or deterioration to the lithographed surface. There are a few, somewhat larger "bubbles" to the surface along the bottom edge of the Sign that have been stabilized but are still somewhat fragile (see the scans below). The Sign displays nicely but most definitely has had extensive repair and restoration. We have been unable to uncover ANY other example of this very rare Wells & Hope Mellin's Food Advertising Sign and believe that it may be one of the only examples that have survived the years!! A very rare and attractive, 1884 Point of Sale Tin Lithograph Advertising Sign for Mellin’s Invalid and Baby Food by the premier American Tin Lithograph Advertising Sign maker Wells & Hope of Philadelphia and with all faults still a fantastic addition to any collection!!! Overseasshippping is extra and cost will be quoted at bidders request. Massachusetts residents must add 6.25% sales tax. Please check out other early and interesting items offered by this seller on ebay. Important Notes about Shipping Charges: The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by eBay and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 "packing fee" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping. read more

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