esrosedotblog

SANDWICH SIGN

The sign flipper, the second post down from here, reminded me of a bit of personal history.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by pictures of guys walking around with "sandwich signs".

These were poor guys who restaurants and stores would hire to walk around the city with their ads. Cheap labor.

I wanted to be one of those guys.

I never saw one. Not in New York, not in Boston and not in any other place.

I think they were a product of the depression. Guys desperate for work and tough times selling anything.

In fact, a lot of them were advertising themselves, looking for a job.

I don't think there were any tricks to be done with these signs. Just walking around.

Perhaps that was the appeal. It seemed like a simple task to carry out and, quite importantly, I could be the focus of attention as everyone looked my way.

Some guys used them to advertise their need for a job.

You can still buy a sandwich board to make a sign so someone, somewhere, must be doing it.

Labels: history