Vintage Wall Street & Broad NYC Porcelain Street Sign Start Price USD 125,000.00 Current Price USD 125,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Friday, August 22, 2008 End Time Monday, September 01, 2008 Location Brooklyn, New York See more about 'Vintage Wall Street & Broad NYC Porcelain Street Sign' Description As a former Merrill Lynch broker I have been collecting antique Wall Street memorabilia for about twenty five years. This is by far my most interesting item. This early porcelain enamel street sign most likely dates to around the turn of the century and is perhaps from the most famous and important street corner in the world! *Please note that I have spoken with Steven Wheeler, the archivist of the New York Stock Exchange regarding this sign. Mr. Wheeler has examined the sign and compared it to vintage photographs from the NYSE's archives and Mr. Wheeler has said, "the photos look generally consistant with the street sign you own". *For those who have asked... I also believe I have found photographic proof of the authenticity of this sign. I have added some photographs of the corner of Wall & Broad taken in 1923. This is the timeframe that NYC changed its street signs from the rectangular shaped porcelain signs as the one I have to the humpback signs which were used from approx the 1920's into the 1960's. My sign predates the humpbacks which puts it somewhere in the 1900-1920 timeframe. An interesting thing about the photograph is that on the corner of Nassau & Wall (left side of photo) you can see the new humpback sign but at the corner of Wall & Broad (right side of photo) you can clearly see that the older rectangular sign is still there. I believe that the photo at the bottom is a photograph of the actual sign in 1923 that I am offering for sale today! This amazing piece of history measures 15 1/2 inches tall and each double-sided sign measures 19 3/8ths of an inch wide. The sign frame has a cap at the bottom which bolted onto a street pole (or perhaps onto a bracket attached to a wooden telegraph pole) and today also serves as a stand allowing the sign to sit upright on its own. The overall condition is excellent considering that it is approximately 100 years old. Though it is in great shape, it is not new so there are lots of chips, wear, dirt and character. Of course the sign is sold as is. I have never attempted to clean or polish the sign, I have chosen to keep it completely original as found. Each sign is cobalt blue with white-beige lettering. Scroll down for twelve large close up photos. I purchased the sign in NYC quite some time ago and I believe that this museum worthy item spent its life near the New York Stock Exchange sometime around the turn of the century. While I of course cannot be certain as to that time, based on many factors I believe that the sign dates to around the turn of the century. If anyone out there has any early photographs showing this street corner with a view of this sign, I would greatly appreciate it if they would email it to me. I purchased the sign from an antique dealer in NYC who was selling a few of these street corner signs from various NYC corners. He said that they were all from NYC and having lived in Brooklyn my entire life I recognized all of the corners. At that time I was a stockbroker and of course Wall & Broad was of great interest to me and it was the only one that I bought from him. The dealer said it was a NYC sign, it was in a group of other NYC signs and using tools such as Mapquest, I have not been able to find another US city that has an intersection of Wall & Broad so I believe this sign to be from NYC, but I do not know how I can be 100% certain of that. I say that to be overly upfront and as honest as I possibly can be. My feedback rating, speaks for itself... Payment Terms. Due to the price of this item, buyer agrees to make payment in certified funds or a wire transfer. Paypal is not acceptable on this item due to the three percent Paypal fee. Shipping & Insurance. If the buyer is local to NYC, if the buyer wants, I will make arrangements to deliver the sign in person. Otherwise, if the buyer is not local to NYC insurance will of course be required and will be based on the final selling price and location of the buyer. Perhaps one of the most significant and important pieces of American financial history, this incredible item should be on display in the corporate offices of a major financial firm or even on display in a museum.     Place a Bid!