|
|
|
More on the mystery of the Route 66 motor court/gas station/bar-and-grill detailed below and here.
In the fourth photo, one can see a painted sign or ad that I guessed read "Colony" -- but Colony what? Colony Motor Courts? Cigars? Beer?
Flo gave the photo a look and ascertained that it doesn't read "Colony" at all, but "Colonial." You can even see a damsel in 18th century attire curtsying in the oval just above the lettering.
I phoned my dad and asked him if the name Colonial Motor Courts (or Motor Inn or Tourist Courts or...) rang a bell, and he said no.
"But," he offered, "there used to be a brand of bread in Oklahoma City called Colonial Bread. Maybe that's what the ad was touting."
And sure enough, I found some images that suggest he might be right.
Here's a blow-up of the Colonial ad from the aforementioned photo:
And here's a cardboard display ad for Colonial Bread that dates, I believe, from the 1930s:
As you can see, the font is the same, especially the G where "good bread" would be, which even has that dash on the upper circle (I learned from Flo that it's called an "ear") -- you can just make it out through the bushes.
So I'm now reasonably convinced it's an ad for Colonial Bread (though I've yet to find an image that includes the curtsying damsel).
Posted by brett at 12:13 PMActually, the nit-picky art director in me has to point out that no, the font is not the same - but I'm willing to bet that it's still an ad for the bread.
Posted by: jackie on January 21, 2009 1:24 PMYou're right, even I noticed subtle differences. But it's close (which is really what I meant to say, but didn't).
I think that's a hand-painted sign (see the sign painter's signature to the lower left below the sign), and I'll bet those guys didn't always manage to exactly match all fonts when painting by hand.
Or it might be that the Colonial Bread logo was slightly different then -- I wish I could find an old image that has the curtsying woman in it.
Posted by: Brett on January 21, 2009 1:29 PM