Above: This example of a unique form of advertising during the late 19th and early 20th centuries was once installed outside a Factory Street business in Canal Dover. Illiteracy and language barriers gave rise to trade signs in the United States during the country’s earliest days, and their use continued into the early 20th century. Patrons searching for a particular business needed look no further than the two- or three-dimensional sign depicting a trade, such as a pair of e

Sometimes auction results provide more information than just market values and buying trends. That was the case with the recent single-owner, online-only sale that concluded on August 8 and consisted of 330 lots of Americana from the collection of Deborah and Edward Dick of Kenton, Ohio. Garth’s Auctions of Columbus, Ohio, conducted the event. The top lot, an unusual sawbuck worktable in pine with old red paint, sold for $5625 (including buyer’s premium) against an estimate o