Antique Wooden Hand Painted Hovis Sign with Heel of Bread in Relief

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In 1886, Richard “Stoney” Smith began producing flour, yeast, and bread in his small mill in Stone, Staffordshire. Later that … Read more In 1886, Richard “Stoney” Smith began producing flour, yeast, and bread in his small mill in Stone, Staffordshire. Later that year, he partnered with the larger Fitton & Sons mill in Macclesfield, and they began mass producing bread. Smith enriched his whole meal flour with wheat germ, and he patented his process on October 6, 1887. According to Wikipedia, Fitton & Sons Ltd developed the brand, milling the flour and selling it along with Hovis-branded baking tins to other bakers. The Hovis name was coined in 1890 by a London student, Herbert Grime, in a national competition set by Fitton & Sons Ltd to find a trade name for their patented flour, Grime won £25 when he came up the word from the Latin phrase hominis vis, "the strength of man". The company became the Hovis Bread Flour Company Limited in 1898; they operated under that name until

The Hovis Co. was fiercely competitive and seized every possible opportunity to advertise. Any bakery that used their flour would have a Hovis sign displayed, as well as tea rooms who served pastries made with Hovis products. Hovis made resin coin banks in the shape of bread loaves and passed them out to children to encourage them to save money….and buy Hovis products. Hovis “ghost” signs can still be seen painted on the sides of buildings all over England. They had a marketing agreement with the London and Southwest Railway; the printed and distributed road maps for cyclists that were called Hovis Road Map of England, Wales and Scotland. In 1973 they hired famous movie and television producer, Sir Ridley Scott, to produce an advertisement for them. The ad has frequently been named one of Britain's most loved, and In 2006 it was voted the nation's favorite advertisement of all time. It was chosen as the best advertisement of the 1970s in a 2018 YouGov poll. In 2019 it was named the most iconic and heartwarming ad of the past 60 years to that point.

The advert's popularity has been attributed to its nostalgia for "wholesome images of village life" as well as Scott's visual direction.[9][10] Gold Hill, where the advert was filmed, has since become a popular location for films and merchandise. A memorial to Hovis now stands at the top of the hill.

There is no telling where this rare wooden Hovis sign used to hang – for decades it hung in my mother’s kitchen – but it was old when she bought it on one of her many antique travels. The 1” thick wood sign is cut in the shape of a slice of bread; it isn’t cut from one piece of wood, but is, instead, made of four boards that were probably glued together (there are separations now in places between the boards. See the repair on the back). Protruding 2” from the front of the sign is a resin or plaster heel end of a loaf of bread with the name Hovis faintly painted on the bread. Overall, the sign roughly measures 19" tall and 22" wide. Hovis is also boldly written above the bread and Sold Here is below. The sign is painted a warm golden orange with black trim. There are two hooks at the top for hanging; I’m pretty sure my mother put those in when she hung it over her kitchen sink. In spite of the separations, the sign is very secure – someone along with way added bracing to the back. It also looks like someone tried to paint one of the cracks. These repairs were made many, many years ago, because my mom bought this sign in its current condition. There are some cracks in the bread, but it is secure on the sign. The sign is substantial, weighing 6 lbs. 12 oz. and will take an oversize box to ship. It is just delightful in its rustic, handmade condition.

This would be a charming addition to your quaint kitchen decor. It was a conversation starter in mom’s house! See less