Vintage New York Subway Signs - Photos from our Clients

The only place in the world specializing in vintage subway signs and custom
canvases used as art and unique, antique and chiq office and home decor.
Ten years strong and counting ...

Vintage New York Subway Signs
Midland, GA 31820
jr@SubwaySigns.com

Photos from our Clients

Some customer comments:

MAN, OH MAN!! WHAT AN OUTSTANDING ADDITION TO MY COLLECTION!! ...
Love the sign! Just as it was described! Thanks!!
I love this sign!
JR is GREAT to do business with - I got exactly what I expected.
easy to deal with and accommodating...would buy from him again
Easy to communiate with. Shipped quickly! Very good condition.
all about customer satisfaction, a gentleman
Wonderful condition just as advertised! Mailed very carefully! Very pleased!
Quick, easy and very fair price! Item was described clearly and accurately!
Signs were exactly as pictured.....best seller to deal with. Great communicator
looks great and is in really good condition for a 80+ year old subway sign. Thx!
unbelievable sign! absolutely amazing... seller is fabulous
Thank you so much, LOVE the sign! Thanks for the very quick shipping.
I got exactly what I was promised and I love it.
Exactly as expected and thanks for the extra packaging. Perfect on the wall!
This is better than I imagined! Amazing service and great packaging. A+

I have a 100% positive 475+ eBay feedback score

F.A.Q.:

1. Are all of your signs marked as vintage original?
Absolutely. I only sell original, vintage subway signs. Many are over 80 years old. You'll never find a reproduction for sale in my store unless it's described as such.

2. How old are your signs?
The oldest I have come across dates to the 1920's (1923 Brooklyn Trolley). The R9 signs are from 40 to 77 years old. The mylar signs are no more that 35 years old. If I know the exact dates or date range I'll post them in the listing.

3. What did the cars that the signs were used on look like?

R1 car, photo from the collection of Joe Testagrose

Brooklyn Trolley car, photo from google images

BMT Standard car, photo from the collection of Joe Testagrose

4. How do you date your signs?
Many of my signs have the date of manufacture (contract date) printed on them. Others have a date handwritten on them. That date could be the manufacture, installation, or retirement date. There's really no way to know for sure. Others can be dated by looking at the lifetime of the particular car type they were made for.

5. From an customer: I vaguely remember these (in operation) as a kid and they had every other printed stop upside-down so that there would be showing on each side of the subway car. But yours are all rightside-up in the same direction. Do you know why?
I sure do.

Most of the signs I currently have in stock were printed to be exclusively used as front destination/route signs. These hung above the operators cabin and were visible from the outside front of the first and last train cars only. The Monster-in-Law, Spiderman III, and Chuck and Larry movie signs were all front destination signs. They contain printing on one side of the sign only, each reading once and in the same vertical direction. Same thing can be said for the front route signs I have in the store.

Every once in a while I'll run across a sign that has the printing on one side of the sign only with the printing, as you describe, right-side up then the same reading upside down. These signs were used as side signs and were readable from the inside and outside of the car at the same time. They were 'folded' in the middle above the sign window so both readings showed at once and aligned the proper way.

There's also a third type of sign, like the AB Standard signs I have in the store. Unlike the others, they have printing on both sides of the sign. The readings all face the same top-bottom direction and both sides of the sign have the same readings. These were used as side signs but instead of being 'folded', the sign windows showed both sides of the sign at the same time.

6. Where do you get your signs?
I purchase my signs from collector friends who have legally obtained the signs over the past several decades.

7. Why do some of your signs say 'Rare'. Aren't they all rare?
True that all vintage signs are rare, however, some signs, and some readings on particular signs, are much rarer than others.

All the 1923 Brooklyn Trolley signs are extremely rare as only a handful exist today, mostly due to their age.

All numbered R11 signs are extremely rare as only a few were ever made.

Additionally, the panels on the R9 route signs that say "Houston" are rare. While virtually all R9 route signs have the A/AA thru F/FF and S/GG panels, only a few say "Houston".

Finally, while virtually all R9 destination signs have the Washighton Heights, Fulton, Houston, Rockaway and Concourse panels, very few have Broad Channel Canal Street, Chambers Street, West 4th Street Bay Parkway, Fulton East NY, and Jay Street Boro Hall. Even fewer, very few in fact, have Wavecrest, Brighton Beach, and Queens Kew Gardens.

7a. Whats' the rarest R9 destination sign?
The rarest R9 destination reading says WORLD'S FAIR. I've only seen one picture of the sign on a train from 1939 and never actually seen a sign with WORLD'S FAIR on it myself. None may exist anymore. If they do they would be worth several thousand dollars each. Roosevelt Av is another thought to be extinct sign reading.

(Left) R1-9 class car on Worlds Fair spur, note the incredibly rare rollsign reading, photo from google images (Right) Another incredibly rare Roosevelt Av sign

7b. What would a complete R9 destination rollsign look like?
A complete R9 destination sign that contained all panels, in order, I've never seen one, should look like the following:
(Color coding - Panel present on all standard rollsigns, Panel present on the vast majority of standard rollsigns, Panel rarely on a rollsign, Panel almost never on a rollsign, Panel so rare only a handful, if any exist today.)

WORLD'S FAIR
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CANAL / STREET / BROAD / CHANNEL
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WHITEHALL / STREET
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36TH ST. / 4TH AVE. / 57TH / STREET
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WEST / 4TH ST. / BAY / PARKWAY
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WASH. HTS / 207TH ST / WASH. HTS / 168TH ST
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CONCOURSE / 205TH ST / CONCOURSE / BEDFORD PK
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JAMAICA / 179TH ST
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JAMAICA / PARSONS BLVD or JAMAICA / 169TH ST / JAMAICA / PARSONS BLVD
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QUEENS / FOREST HILLS / COURT ST / BORO HALL or QUEENS / FOREST H’LS / COURT ST / BORO HALL
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QUEENS / KEW GARDENS / SIXTH AVE / 34TH ST. or SIXTH AVE / 34TH ST. / HOUSTON / LAFAYETTE ST
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QUEENS / ROOSEVELT Av
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NO / PASSENGERS / SPECIAL
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HOUSTON / 2ND AVE / HUDSON / TERMINAL or HOUSTON / LAFAYETTE ST / CHAMBERS / ST
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JAY ST / BORO HALL / BROOKLYN / HOYT ST
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FULTON / ROCKAWAY AV / FULTON / EAST N.Y.
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FULTON / EUCLID AV / FULTON / LEFFERTS BLVD
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AQUEDUCT / FAR ROCKAWAY / MOTT AV
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WAVECREST / ROCKAWAY PK or ROCKAWAY PK
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SMITH / 9TH ST / BROOKLYN / CHURCH AVE
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KINGS / HIGHWAY / CONEY / ISLAND

8. How do you restore (clean) your signs prior to framing?
Unless otherwise specified, antique oilcloth signs are cleaned in a four step time-consuming process. Raildust, grime, and some stains are painstakingly removed by a 'wet' and 'dry cleaning' process of my own design. This process can take several hours for larger signs but makes a huge difference in the signs appearance. No further cleaning by the buyer should be necessary.

Before (left) and after (right) cleaning an antique sign. The black on the paper towel is surface grime that simply wipes off. After that, I use a special 'dry cleaning' process to clean the lettering. The process has no effect on the sign other than to remove almost 100% of surface grime from years on the rails.

9. What if I have a custom request?
Just email me and I'll see what I can do.

10. Do you offer shipping discounts on multiple items?
Yes, I offer shipping discounts when I am able to combine several items into one package. Two similar signs fit nicely in one box.

11. What's your return policy?
I work very hard to make sure every client is 100% satisfied. That's why I have a perfect eBay feedback rating and many, many repeat clients. If a client did not receive what was described and they let me know within 3 days of receipt, I will gladly refund their money when I receive the item back in the condition in which I shipped it out. A happy client is a repeat client.

12. What does your shipping charge cover?
Actual shipping cost, insurance, packing materials. Usually the packing materials for a large sign can be approximately $15 to $20. This is because large signs are boxed in mirror boxes costing approx 8 dollars each, and also wrapped in approximately 8 dollars worth of bubble wrap.

13. Who are your vendors?

Our custom shirts come from:

One 12 Apparel & Custom Screen Printing, Inc.