Ever been in one of those tire shops or auto repair garages where the walls are full of those cool, old tire advertisements? I have, and I always wondered if there was one convenient place one could go to obtain all of these goodies.
EBay, if you have spent any time there, can be frustrating. Can you trust the seller? Is the item as advertised or is it something far less? What is it really worth? And can you win a bidding war against some grandma in Idaho?
But there is another way, and not too far away.
“I’ve always loved the old method of advertising, especially wall signs and posters, for their directness and their beauty,” said Ted Littler, founder of Advertising Art, a Canadian company that recreates old tire posters, usually onto aluminum.
With original steel signs or paper posters selling for thousands of dollars at auctions, Littler offers a more price-sensitive option. During his working life, he collected hundreds of posters and signs, and photographed hundreds more. Now retired, he replicates some of that collection in full-color onto metal, “because that was often their original substrate.”
Today, Littler’s customers run automotive service shops, tire dealerships or restaurants, or decorate home garages, corporate board rooms or clubs.
“They are recreated onto no fade, rustproof aluminum, in several sizes. They don’t need any frames, and there’s no glass to break, but if the customer decides to frame them, they all fit standard store bought frames. We also image onto canvas,” he said.
If you are interested, you can check out his stuff at advertisingart.ca, or you can contact Littler at: Advertising Art, Suite 100, 37 Burbank Dr., Oakville, ON, L6J 4Z1, or call him at 905-842-9723, r email him at HYPERLINK "mailto:[email protected]" [email protected].
