Signwriters at work

August 3rd, 2012 by Kathy Hackett

This photograph, from the Rousel archive, shows two signwriters from Rousel Studios standing on a suspended platform painting an advertising sign on a wall for Tooth’s K B Lager. The photograph is dated 1920s. Rousel Studios photographed many of their signs in public spaces, sometimes showing the process of production as well as the completed work. This shot gives an idea of the scale of the advertisement as well as the risk taken by the men who painted it, particularly when seen in a wider view, below.

The advertisement appears to have been positioned on Regent Street in Redfern, Sydney, near Central Railway. The distinctive architecture of the the Mortuary Station can be seen in the background on the left. The man posed standing on the footpath in the foreground may have been one of the studio’s proprietors.

According to the Powerhouse Museum collection records, the 1920s and 1930s were the high point of Rousel Studios, with the studio employing up to 26 tradesmen and artists during most of this time.

Post by Kathy Hackett, Photo Librarian

Photographer unknown

Tags: buildings, labour, men, sign writing, work

The Powerhouse Museum's Photo of the Day blog features a new image each day, chosen from the Powerhouse Photo Library.

The majority of these images have been taken by Museum photographers for a variety of purposes such as for exhibitions, of objects in our collection, events, behind-the-scenes and location shots. We also feature many images taken by our Flickr community and from our visitors. We hope you enjoy the photographs and stories.

The licensing of each image varies however we are trying to release as many as possible under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 license.