photo by Amber Gregory

In one of the books, Signpainters Don’t Read Signs by Syl Ehr (an out-of-print book published in 1957), Ehr wrote that most sign painters can’t spell and see signs as just letters rather than words. Faythe also presented the children’s book Slappy Hooper: The World’s Greatest Sign Painter (1946), and the Outdoor Advertising History and Regulation Book. The books showed how little the trade has changed. In a letter to Faythe, one writer described her father as strong, liking to work outdoors, and a draftsman who later learned to letter when he became a sign painter. They had to hustle to get work while being self employed. Faythe noted that the diversity of background makes it hard to type a sign painter despite Hollywood’s attempt of typing a sign painter in white overalls.

Faythe shared her cheat sheet “The Rampant and Horrible Societal Infection of the Word Typography.” Since the computer replaced the press, it is ok to refer to digital lettering as a typeface. However, hand painting is not typography. Sign painting is not calligraphy. To have the book cover be true to traditional hand painting, Ira Coyne sign painted the cover, and Josh Luke (who started at New Bohemia Signs) sign painted the headlines.

Faythe Levine

Faythe Levine works as an independent researcher, multi-media artist, curator, author, and collector. She's based in Milwaukee. Faythe’s current focus is Sign Painters, a documentary and book about the trade of traditional hand lettering in America. She curates Sky High Gallery in Milwaukee and produces the annual event, Art vs. Craft, also in Milwaukee. Her personal artwork and writing have been published and exhibited internationally in both formal and renegade outlets. Levine’s first book and film Handmade Nation: The Rise of D.I.Y. Art, Craft and Design (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009) received widespread attention. She keeps track of her work with slightly obsessive updates via various social media channels and visually on her website, where she documents her community-based projects, travels, and experiences.  

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The sign painters featured in the documentary said that sign painting is an invisible art and industry that are taken for granted. Sign painting alters and environment; old signs become art. As a backlash to computer-designed, machine-cut vinyl lettering, there is a growing trend and demand for traditional sign painters leading to a renaissance in the trade.

– By Diana Banh @dibanh