Hudson used cars "Personally Indorsed" dealer sign

railknight

I was at the recent "Indy Ad, Gas & Oil, Antique Show" at Lebanon, Indiana and found this "Personally Indorsed" porcelain enamel sign for sale.  Hudson used the "Personally Indorsed" signage to sell used cars much like Chevrolet used "OK Used Cars" signage at one time.  The sign had a $2000.00 price tag on it.  It didn't sell at the show and consequently, it's still for sale.  If anyone's interested in this sign, the owner, John, can be reached at jmancino@aol.comhet (drop the het) and (315) 427-50 nine, four.  Bouckville, NY.  

RichardD

$2.00 is more like it !!!

bull_islander

I've seen so much stuff turn up as fake on sign forums, I'd be scared to buy something without knowledgeable eyes verifying it as a real deal.  Not that I'd drop anywhere close to that amount on a 'generic' sign (no brand identification).

railknight

Too be sure, there are a fair amount of porcelain enamel signs being reproduced and then "aged" to make them appear original.  I know of someone who got taken for around five thousand bucks on what he thought was an original Sinclair (gasoline) aviation sign.  Turns out it was recently made in India when he purchased it.  In fact, I've even seen on eBay a made in India "tear drop" postwar, one sided, porcelain enamel, Hudson Sales Service sign about 3-4 feet across that looked surprisingly original (it sold for around $400.00).  By the way, there was a Hudson two sided sales service teardrop sign for sale at the Indy show.  The asking price, $9000.00.  Yeah, admittedly, that person was dreaming.   

 I do feel, however, that this Hudson "Personally Indorsed" sign is an original.  For one, it's an unusual sign that not many sign collectors are aware of let alone Hudson owners.  Why go through the trouble to make and then age a 4 foot across porcelain enamel sign only to try to find someone who knows anything about it?  Fakes tend to still have a shine to them (like the fake Sinclair sign), but will have rusted chipping on the sides and maybe some chips within the sign itself.  Fakes are generally flat.  This sign, I seem to recall, had a very slight bend in it.  Could it still be a fake?  Sure.  But, I'm pretty confident its the real thing.  I would have loved to have bought it myself, but for me it came down to lack of display space, the price and would I at least break even if I sold it at some point in the future.  

trdrew

There is no such word as "indorsed" The correct spelling is "endorsed". Hard to believe that this sign would be original with this misspelling!

railknight

I thought so too about "indorsed" but, https://writingexplained.org/indorsement-vs-endorsement-difference  I also have that 1954 Hudson dealer sign catalog with illustrations of this exact sign not to mention a 1948 Hudson car sales book that shows how to display these "Personally Indorsed" signs on a used car lot.  

railknight

bull_islander

Now that's verification right there!  Did the person who had it know exactly what it was?  Still seems like a lot of money for something that didn't have a 'brand' identification on it.

railknight

Yes, the person selling the "Personally Indorsed" sign knew of its relationship to Hudson dealers.  

25truck

I picked this porcelain repop from the local junk dealer for $ 125 
 
I thought that was sorta reasonably priced 

bull_islander

@25truck I think your sign is one made recently by Vintage Concepts.  Most of what he does is reproductions of originals.  Great signs...reasonably priced.  Usually only makes 100-150 of each, I believe.