This original, Chromolithograph Advertising Cigar Sign measures approx. 20” by 15" and is printed on a very heavy weight, paperboard stock. It is framed for display in a period, wooden frame (overall size of framed display is 25” by 20”).

    The Sign features a simply fantastic image of the United States Supreme Court seated on the bench and hearing arguments. An advocate can be seen standing before the Justices gesturing with his hand as he makes a point. At the lower right hand corner of the Image two clerks / recorders are seen writing in copy books with an open cigar box on the table with their papers. It is a box of “Judge Day Cigars”!

    Text at the top of the Sign above the heads of the Justices reads “Judge Day Cigars” and text on the bottom of the railing surrounding the bench reads “United States Supreme Court. The only other text appears at the lower left hand corner of the Sign which identifies the Binghamton, New York makers of Judge Day Cigars – “Hull, Grummond & Co. Makers”.

    Visible and easily identifiable on the Sign are all 9 Justices of the United States Supreme Court as constituted in 1904 including Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller and Associate Justices John Marshall Harlan, David Josiah Brewer, Henry Billings Brown, Edward Douglass White, Rufus W. Peckham, Joseph McKenna, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and William R. Day. While the Sign is not dated, our best guess is that Judge Day Cigars likely debuted around the time that Judge William R. Day was appointed to the Court in 1903.

    We have been buying and selling Antique Advertising Signs for 46+ years and in all that time we have only seen one other example of this fantastic Sign. It is also the only Sign that we have ever seen which pictured identifiable members of the United States Supreme Court making it a simply outstanding cross-over item!!

    This very rare original, ca1903 Chromolithograph Advertising Sign displays nicely in very good condition. The colors are bright and vibrant – rich and warm and the graphics are beautiful. The surface is quite clean with a tiny water stain at the right hand side of the very bottom edge but no other soiling, staining, foxing or discoloration. There are tiny scattered surface nicks to thew chromolithography most of which are at the edges of the Sign as can be seen in the scans below. We contemplated having these tiny nicks touched up by a professional restorer (it would be a rather easy job) but decided to leave the decision up to the next owner. There appears to be a very small crease at the upper left hand corner. The Sign has not been trimmed and it displays beautifully as framed for display. Please see the scans below for a good representation of the form and the condition of this beautiful, early 20th century Chromolithograph, Paperboard Cigar Advertising Sign.

    A very rare and original, ca1903 Chromolithograph Advertising Sign for “Judge Day Cigars” featuring a fantastic image of the United States Supreme Court sitting in session and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!