An interesting piece of automotive and social history ... This National Benzole tin sign would have originally been supplied along with it's mirror pair to a petrol station in the late 1940s / early '50s - at some point the station must've expanded into car sales and the sign was re-purposed (mercifully to the reverse) as a useful sheet of metal to advertise this new venture. 

 

The original, National Benzole sign dates an era when a petrol station would supply a choice of brands and each would produce advertising to help promote their product. Mr Mercury - the company's logo was introduced in 1928 and was redesigned with a more modernist-angular look in the late '50s (this sign pre-dates that re-brand). 

 

The hand painted 'Car Sales' sign to the other side certainly wasn't done by a professional sign writer, though the sign's 'lozenge' shape was maximised upon with the 'clever' layout of the lettering. Faintly visible below the blue background paint appears to be the ghosting of an earlier, more competently painted sign though it's not possible to make out what this would've said. It's worth noting with this example that 'Car Sales' is painted upside-down on the reverse - so if displayed so that both sides are visible, one will be inverted - as per the penultimate photo.

 

Two of these signs were found together - the Mr Mercury characters facing each-other, 'Car Sales' differing slightly in the way they were painted and the way they've worn - see last image for both examples along side each-other. 

 

The sign measures 100cm wide x 79cm high. 

 

S/N: #2234