August 2009 © Frank H. Jump
Seattle WA
A Pair of Urban Ediglyphs – Capitol Hill – Seattle, WA
© Frank H. Jump
© Frank H. Jump
I call the interplay between painted text on brickface and graffiti/streetart an “urban ediglyph.” The etymology of this word comes from the words ediface- an imposing building (in this case a building wall) and petroglyph - ancient rock engravings left behind by earlier indigenous cultures. Often the earlier fading ad is somewhat indecipherable but takes on a newer meaning with the addition of the streetart or urban tagging. Here are two from Seattle that I thought merited a blog posting.
Bass-Hueter Paint Co. – Seattle, WA – Oscar Maurer, Pictorialist photographer
© Frank H. Jump
“Make that ‘ugly duckling bathroom’ the pride of your LITTLE GAY HOME IN THE WEST” – Sunset Magazine 1932 – CLICK FOR PDF – Ebay
Oscar Maurer (1870–1965) was a nationally recognized Pictorialist photographer based in California. His photographs appeared in Camera Work, Camera Craft, The Camera, and other photography journals. His studio in Berkeley, designed by Bernard Maybeck and built in 1907, is an architectural landmark.
Oscar Maurer was born in New York City and moved with his family to San Francisco in 1886. His uncle, the lithographer Louis Maurer, encouraged him to take up photography as an important new artistic medium. The teenaged Oscar got a box camera, set up a darkroom in the basement, and was soon selling a line of San Francisco scenes to local art stores. He studied chemistry and physics at the University of California but didn’t pursue a scientific career. Between 1891 and 1898, he worked as a salesman for Bass-Hueter Paint Company. By 1897 he had become a member of the California Camera Club. - Wikipedia
© Frank H. Jump
- Berkeley Heritage dot com - Berkeley Landmarks: Oscar Maurer
- Sunset Magazine ad – Ebay
Holsum Bread – Hotel Fenimore – Seattle, WA
Ask Your Grocer for Holsum – The Bread of Quality – Baked Clean, Sold Clean – Aug 2009 © Frank H. Jump
- Previously on FAB - Hotel Fenimore – Holsum Bread – Tom Keene Cigars – Seattle, WA – Dec 2009
- Ghost Signs of the Last Outpost – Holsum
Famous – Can’t Bust ‘Em Overalls – Union Made – Lovera Cigar Sign Pentimento – Pioneer Square Area – Seattle, WA
Previously posted on August 2, 2009 © Frank H. Jump
But lurking behind this Cigar ad is yet another ad- what I call a “pentimento.”
CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE – © Frank H. Jump
Coast Seamen’s Journal – Google Books
© Frank H. Jump
- Vintage Workwear - May 31, 2011
Schwabacher Hardware Co – Seattle, WA
Schwabacher Hardware Co – First Avenue S. – Seattle, Washington © Frank H. Jump
Schwabacher’s Hardware Co. at First and Yesler, Seattle, circa 1900 – Wikipedia Commons
The Schwabacher Brothers—Louis Schwabacher (1837 – June 3, 1900), Abraham (Abe) Schwabacher (c. 1838 – September 7, 1909), and Sigmund (Sig) Schwabacher (May 14, 1841 – March 20, 1917)—were pioneering Bavarian-born Jewish merchants, important in the economic development of the Washington Territory and later Washington State. They owned several businesses bearing their family name, first in San Francisco, then in Walla Walla, Washington, and later in Seattle…..
The three Schwabacher brothers’ only sister, Barbetta (Babette) Schwabacher (January 3, 1836 – January 7, 1908), married the brothers’ business associate Bailey Gatzert in 1861. The couple headed in 1869 for Seattle—then a town of barely 1,000 people—where Gatzert established a branch of Schwabacher Bros. & Company. Gatzert would go on to become Seattle’s first (and, as of 2009, only) Jewish mayor. Schwabacher Bros. & Company became Seattle’s first wholesaler, with a business opened October 11, 1869. Schwabachers’ 1872 Seattle shop at Front Street (now First Avenue South) and Yesler Way was the city’s first brick building. Under Gatzert’s direction, the company also constructed a warehouse, a grist mill, and Schwabacher’s Wharf. – Wikipedia
Schwabacher interior circa 1900 – Wikipedia Commons
Key Seattle Schwabacher personnel, 1900.
Top: Sig Schwabacher.
Middle (left-to-right): Sigismund Aronson, James S. Goldsmith, George Boole.
Bottom: Nathan Eckstein. – Wikipedia Commons
© Worthpoint
This is a 5 lb Coffee Can on the front it says: M.K. (Milk Kettle) Coffee Schwabacher Bros. & Co Seattle On the back it reads; “Five Pounds Net weight, M.K (Milk Kettle) Coffee is packed in a kettle with the idea of placing Coffee in the hands of consumers in best possible condition. The package – which furnishes brand name – is more costly than the ordinary can and has a virtue aside from its use as a coffee container, no doubt apparent – particularly to house keepers. RULES FOR MAKING COFFEE: Take dry coffee, quantity desired, add boiling water, boil water and coffee five minutes, settle by adding a dash of cold water. Serve immediately with cream.” In small letters it says St. Louis Tin and Sheet metal Working Co. – Worthpoint
- Seattle: Schwabacher & Co. – Tracing the Tribe – March 26, 2008
- Schwabacher Family – Jewish Genealogy Society of Seattle
