then & now: norman rogul furs sign

Sometime last year I snapped this photo of a vintage and beautifully worn and weathered Norman Rogul Furs sign on the backside of 480 Adelaide St. W., Toronto. I was drawn to the retro, stylized models, wearing fashion from an era past and the fluid typeface, crafted in a time that a sign painter was truly an artist.

Unfortunately, the other day I walked by again to find this.

Now I’m all for white-washing and freshening when it’s needed, but it’s a shame that in this instance it is at the expense of a beautiful piece of graphic art that had made it through decades of weather and wear. To think of what that old sign would have fetched at an antique shop or vintage flea market! It would have made a gorgeous focal point in a lofty space.