Posted 13 years ago
mjgervais
(1 item)
I'm hoping some of you avid sign collectors can tell me a little bit about these two signs. They are metal, single-sided BF Goodrich Tires advertising signs that are written in French. The first sign says ÉCHANGEZ MAINTENANT POUR Smileage! PLAISIRS DE LA ROUTE (Exchange now for Smileage! Pleasures of the road). The second sign says TRAILMAKERS - CONSTRUIT POUR ROULER! (Trialmakers - Built to Roll).
My grandfather owned and operated an auto parts store from 1946 until his retirement in 2000. After hearing my grandfather speaking Cajun French to one of his customers, a visiting BF Goodrich salesman gave my grandfather these signs. My grandfather recalls that he received them sometime between the late 50s or early 60s. During that time in south Louisiana, speaking Cajun French in public, or advertising that you spoke French, was considered taboo, so the signs were never displayed and ended up in the storage room. I found these forgotten signs buried among old car parts and boxes while cleaning out the building in preparation for it being sold. The signs are still as I found them with a little bit of dust and grime. There are a few minor scratches and some minute rust.
I've been searching since last summer and haven't been able to find anything like them on the Internet, so any information would be appreciated.