T. Phillips, Boot Shoe & Upper Manufacturer. This large (just over 1.5m wide) trade sign is likely to date to the 1860s/'70s and is sign-written on a single, wide board. Gilded letters with a burnt umber outline are set against a dark blue background ... over the decades the paint has thinned allowing the grain of the board to show through.

 

The sign is competently, though slightly naively painted. I would guess from it's size that it might've been from a shop front The wooden trims around the outer edge might be slightly later, and the outer most wooden trim along the upper edge is a fairly recent replacement though it blends in well on the front. As mentioned, the painting has thinned over the years, and it's picked up it's fair share of scuffs and scratches, but it remains fully legible and has a gorgeous, dark antique look / feel to it. 

 

The sign measures 156cm wide x 52cm high x 4cm deep. It can be hung using two mirror plates fixed to the rear of the sign. 

 

S/N: #0430