Honest Ed’s Sign

Honest Ed’s — the last of Toronto’s old timey department stores — is scheduled to close in December 2016, but it’s already downsizing its operations. Last weekend they were selling off examples of their collection of hand painted signage. I decided to stop by to see if I could get a souvenir of the discount shop. The signage was advertised as costing $1 and up, but in reality, even the most pedestrian examples were north of $12 — especially if they had the word’s Ed’s Special on them (provenance I guess). The classic poster-sized ephemera was in the three-digits.

Still,there were plenty of takers (myself included). I battled the eBay resellers to discover this placard advertising $3.99 cords. Even though it’s plain, it fits in with my collection of fashion- and typography-themed wall hangings. And it’s a nice piece of Toronto history. They even stamped it with Ed’s guarantee of authenticity.