some peculiar ancient shop signs
a thousand years ago when reading was a skill on par with alchemy, shopkeepers needed a way to alert customers to the types of goods they were peddling without using writing. they did this through iconography (a loaf of bread meant a bakery and a shoe represented a cobbler’s shop). as literacy became a hot new fad, many of these icons were lost to time though a few still survive today: consider the barber pole of the barbershop, the cigar store indian of the tobacconist, and the snow globe of the pharmacist. other emblems have faded over time, but fortunately for you, i have been able to discover a few highly peculiar icons from our bygone days of blissful illiteracy.
- a goat signified the store of the perfumer
- the french king’s head signified the sword-cutler’s shop
- a rampant lion with a cornucopia on each side signified the shop of a silk-weaver
- a baptist’s head signifies a cook’s shop
- three balls signify a pawnbroker
- a dog licking a porridge-pot was a usual sign at ironmongers
- an ivy bush signified an alehouse
- a woman without a head was a common emblem at oil-shops
i don’t know about you, but when i see a dog licking a porridge-pot, my first thought is: “where can i get me some iron?”
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