India Tyre and Rubber Co, of Inchinnan, Scotland opened their factory on the site of a former aircraft manufacturer in 1927. Initially the Scottish tyre manufacturer was very prosperous; at their peak in the 1930s they employed over 2500 factory workers and had the architects of the Hoover Building design their offices - which are still regarded as one of Scotland's 'hidden wonders'. However the company only enjoyed around 50 years in business, vacating their factory in the early 1980s.

 

This large, vertical enamel sign would've been produced during the company's more successful years, probably dating from the 1930s/early '40s. It features the company's vibrant red background, a wonderfully detailed pictorial of a tyre and bold, outlined typography. India Tyres were relatively early adopters of 'paint on metal' advertising signs, which makes these nicer, enamel examples earlier and more unusual. I've not encountered this example before. 

 

The sign remains in decent condition; there's enamel loss around the corners, a couple of patches around the lower section of writing and a few patches along the sides. There's also one patch on the right hand side in the middle that's run into the main area of the sign slightly - the size of this sign makes it vulnerable to bending and fracturing the enamel layers; the fact that it hasn't got any major creases etc is a bit of a miracle. The colours remain strong and the surface retains a good, even gloss. The sign has been mounted to two strips of batten wood to aid rigidity, it can be hung like this with the addition of mirror plates, or removed from the framework and mounted directly to the wall using the original mounting holes. 

 

The sign measures 1.83m tall x 46.5cm wide and is 2.5 cm deep with the wooden backing.

 

S/N: #1050