Sketchley was founded in 1885 as the A.E. Hawley dye works at Hinckley, in Leicestershire, the works dyed hosiery for the many factories Hinckley once had. In 1910 the company branched out into ‘French Cleaning’, the forerunner of dry cleaning, eventually becoming a household name. By the 1950s it was the largest dyers and finishers in Europe.

 

Here we have a lovely, double-sided enamel flange sign that would have been mounted to the wall of an 'Agency for [the] Sketchley Dye Works' (a shop that would take in items for dying). The flange would allow the sign to stick out from the wall at 90 degrees and be seen from both directions. This is an early example that features a fantastic mix of typography; swirling, bold, serifed and sans-serifed, all highlighted with a light blue drop shadow. The sign remains in excellent condition with just the most minor of nibbling round the edgers, the flange is intact and functional and both sides have a good, deep surface gloss (see sixth picture along where I've tried to capture this). The sign was produced by the Patent Enamel Co. of Birmingham c.1920 (it's worth noting that it doesn't mention the cleaning service introduced in 1910, so this sign was probably produced before that became a major part of the company's operations). 

 

The sign measures 51cm high x 38.5cm wide and the flange is 5.5cm deep. 

 

S/N: #0832