Fred Palmer, South Wimbledon

Inspired by the amazing work of Peter Vogel at Nutmegger Workshop across the pond, this week is going to be about shop signage painted on wood.
The series starts with Fred Palmer the cash butcher. Sadly this very attractive example of Victorian shop signage, which had been hidden behind a more modern one, re-emerged for a few days only in early 2009, when the new owners of the shop converted it to office use. Then, instead of covering it again, Yelfy at Faded London tells us they removed it and certainly dumped it in some rubbish tip. Vandals!
In Victorian times many customers had accounts in the shops they visited regularly and only paid once a week, a fortnight, or a month. This system may have worked well in middle and upper middle-class areas, but in poorer parts of the country, where people struggled to make ends meet, shopkeepers didn't want to risk losing out and demanded each purchase was paid immediately. Fred Palmer was one of these, hence the "cash" added to the nature of his trade.


Fred Palmer's customers may not have been extremely wealthy but that did not prevent him from getting an elaborate signage. Click on the pictures below to check the complexity of the lettering, with its black and red shades. A close look also shows the sign painter had originally thought of a different design.


Location: Merton High Street / Picture taken on: 20/02/2009