Featured Slate signs

I've been collecting breweriana, here and there, for a little while but had never heard of slate signage until I picked up this piece today. It measures 24x12 and is about 3/4" thick (incredibly heavy). The letters are engraved and its covered with a piece of glass. Does anyone have an idea of when it might date to. I looked at the company history but it was confusing.

 

That thing must weigh a ton......very nice !!

 

It's EXTREMELY heavy for it's size. So much so, that I'm not sure how to go about hanging it. I think it was originally recessed into a wall. The four corner holes are backed with wood plugs that look original to the piece so I dont think it was hung through those and the edges have some kind of gasket made of fabric or canvas.

 

inlay would make sense...

 

This may also have been a fantasy piece; I'm not seeing any wear on the front the way you'd expect with an old one.

 

I don't believe it's a fantasy piece. Based purely on the fact that the amount of time it would take to carve the slate letters, gild them, then reverse paint the glass and take the time to make it look like it was previously installed would make little sense financially considering the cost and time involved. And as far as wear. I think if something was inset into a wall, as this appears to have been judging by the way it was constructed, it should survive fairly intact unless it took some sort of impact that would crack the glass. Much in the same way windows in old buildings survive for decades.

 

I probably shoulda thought of that. Instead of spending so much time playing Google sleuth it probably makes more sense just to go to the source for answers (less fun....but definitely more sensible). I'll give it a go!