Antique Rosser & Russell Ltd. Company Sign

This is an antique sign from a company called Rosser & Russell Ltd. They are an engineering/building firm. This particular sign is apparently from a London branch. They have been in business since the 1860s, so someone that knows anything about this particular company may have an interest in this rare item.

It has a bit of expected age-related wear. Take any guess as to the age of this sign. Could be early 1900s, could be even older.

It is approx. 9" up and 13" across.

I will take £40 for it including P&P for British buyers. For foreign buyers, this will obviously be significantly more.

 

I can't tell.
Is this posted in the for sale thread?

 

@KingofThings Yes, it is......lol.

 

I can never see the thread title on my phone.

 

It looks like it is made of fudge, is that correct?

 

Ok I give up. Fudge?

 

My interpretation... No indication of fabrication material offered.

 

could be, here I am thinking it's a cool term for something.

 

Sorry to be cryptic, yes would be nice to know the material. Plastic? I really can't tell.

 

The phone number and London SW1 place it in the 20th C. I think possibly 1930s from the font used. SW1 did not exist before 1917.

 

Even in the 1950s it would be very unusual indeed to find an air conditioned place in London. It was quite reasonably thought not worth the expense for possibly a couple of weeks worth of days a year when it would be useful, and more effective than just opening a few windows.

It took the advent of tall buildings with sealed windows to create a use for general air conditioning, and this did not really occour till the building boom of the 1960s. The phone numbers with named exchanges, usually abbreviated for dialing to three letters was not abolished till 1968.

I'd say on the evidence this sign is from the 1960s.

 

@springfld.arsenal Lol All I can tell you is that it's metal.....

 

@afantiques Hmmm that's very interesting indeed.

Yes, I did question the likelihood of an air conditioning plant in the early 1900s. However, what I know for certain is the company dates back to the 1860s, so pick your decade if you think you can place it.

If it isn't "antique" it is "vintage", and it's a very nice sign. I've sold a few old signs recently, and I've noticed just how popular they are. I hadn't realised there was such a market for sign collection. It was a surprising little gem to tap into!

 

I know for certain is the company dates back to the 1860s, so pick your decade if you think you can place it.

That decade would be after 1917 even if Noah founded the company, and for reasons stated, my pick would be 50s or 60s. Vintage has come to mean 'old'. Just with more letters. You could describe it as vintage 1950, the term 'vintage' should always have a date attached or it as meaningless as the Vintage Cheddar I had for lunch.

 

@afantiques I beg to differ on that. You can't always be certain of a date, or even a decade, but you can know something is "at least x years old." If you know for certain something is 50-70 years old, I see no reason you can't say that it's vintage. In fact, if you don't, you are seriously hindering its selling potential.

 

If you think it is 50 to 70 years old, 1960 is a reasonable point, so you say, vintage C. 1960. The term originated to denote the year a wine was made, and the wine would be, for example, a 1967 vintage wine.
Linguistic drift has caused it to come to be taken as a synonym for old, which is a shame, as properly used it can be a handy way of indicating an approximate date.
By itself, the term is not a good one to use, as it makes the user look ignorant of the proper usage. Use the term properly and you may enhance its selling potential.

 

A very quick internet search brings up a PDF on Rosser & Russell - the clips below, taken from that PDF, seem to indicate that they were at Romney House from 1932 to 1939, and didn't really look much further, but found no record of them at that address past then.

Commercial air conditioning was fairly common here in the states by the '30s, but concerning England, would have no idea...

~Cheryl

 

@DragonflyWink So 1930s seems likely then?

 

Well, I spent literally less than five minutes searching online, for an item that doesn't belong to me and interests me little, but does provide clues, especially to someone in the country of origin. If mine, would put effort into research before offering for sale with a random guess of its age...

~Cheryl

 

@DragonflyWink Well, now you are making assumptions.....

I did do my own research on the company, that's how I know it was founded in the 1860s. I had seen no clues as to the age of the exact age of this particular sign, and there is no exact evidence to be able to say for certain the age of the sign. You are the first person in this thread to suggest the 1930s, so clearly there is no general consensus anywhere as to the age of THIS particular item. When I did my own research, I had initally thought early 1900s.

I have sold loads of things that I don't know the exact age of. I'm a dealer. I don't need to be the master of everything that I buy. I just need to get a return on my investment. Furthermore, for a sign that is possibly 80+ years old, I am practically giving it away, so why anyone would complain is baffling.

I wasn't asking anyone to tell me what they know about the item. I am offering it for sale. If you find it unimpressive or uninspiring, or you are unsatisfied with the fact I haven't written a whole fable and backstory pertaining to this particular item, then I am not forcing you to buy it.

Respectfully^