Signs of Earlier Times Can Make You Smile

Tavern Sign near 2nd and Spruce St

For several reasons – that we won’t go into – taverns were the most numerous businesses in colonial America.

It helped to have a clever name for your tavern with a memorable or amusing sign hanging outside.

Many tavern signs were simply copies of tavern signs in England, Ireland or Wales.

Here are a few memorable taverns from our area.

THE FOUR ALLS: 
The tavern was a 6th and Catharine. The sign portrayed four figures with a caption under each.
King “I rule all.”
General “I fight for all.”
Minister “I pray for all”
Peasant “I pay for all”

A MAN FULL OF TROUBLE: 
This sign (not the original) can still be viewed on the tavern near Second and Spruce streets. The sign shows an older man with a younger wife. She has a shopping basket with a cat sitting on it.
The poor guy has a monkey and a parrot.
The idea apparently comes from a Biblical verse: “Man’s days are short and full of trouble.”

 SILENT WOMAN: 
The sign, near Chester, showed a woman having her head cut off.

NOT SURE the name of this old tavern at 13th and Walnut. However, the poetic sign is almost an exact copy of one in England.

I, William McDermot, live here
I sell good porter, ale and beer
I’ve made my sign a little wider
To let you know I make good cider.