Igol, Prignac-et-Marcamps

In spite of the fading paint and the creeper, it is still possible to identify the two signs that were painted on the side wall of this house, near the Café du Centre in Prignac.

The original ghost sign advertised the Atlantic brand of washing machines. Only the last part of the name, written diagonally in lower case in yellow on a black background, and part of the slogan "La machine à bien laver", on a red background, have survived. The origins of Atlantic go back to 1945, the year Jean Esswein began manfacturing spare parts for the automobile industry in La Roche-sur-Yon, Vendée. Ten years later he launched the Atlantic brand of washing machines to tap into the expanding household appliances market. A few years later the company began producing fridges as well. However in the late 1960s, under new leadership, it was decided the company should specialize in electrical heaters and water boilers. For that reason Atlantic sold in 1969 its washing machine and other domestic appliances branches to Thomson-Brandt.

The Atlantic ghost sign has largely disappeared under a second ghost sign for the Igol brand of oil and lubricants.

Machine
à bien laver
Atlantic
Igol

Its design has very little to do with the Igol sign from Saint-Porchaire posted previously. Painted here is the first version of the Igol logo. It featured the brand's name painted in white inside a blue rectangle with the head of a red cockerel above. This particular design was used between 1950, when the brand was launched, and 1970.

Location: Avenue des Côtes de Bourg, Prignac-et-Marcamps, Gironde / Pictures taken in May 2012