A mid-century classic - this embossed, bottle cap shaped Pepsi-Cola enamel sign is an usual and striking piece of company's '50s advertising. Typically these shaped signs are American, but this example originates in France and has 'Marque Deposee' underneath the logo (trademark).

 

Pespi was originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898 which was then shortened to Pepsi in 1961 - meaning that this piece pre-dates the 1960s renaming. 

 

Shaped / embossed enamels signs are much harder / more expensive to produce... Your standard sign normally uses a rectangular sheet of steel, fancier versions would sometimes see this sheet cut into a specific shape or maybe formed with a 'pot belly' (curved surface). To produce this piece with it's 3D shape, embossed lettering and cut out crinkled edging involves a lot of work before the enamel layers are even applied! Shaping the base metal also makes the sign more vulnerable to damage; the enamel layers of a sign are formed of fired, coloured sands - very similar in nature to glass; hence they chip / fracture. The high spots created by the embossed base metal leave large areas of the enamel surface vulnerable to imapcts - as we see here. This sign has definitely lived a life; there are losses, creases and fracturing across the piece but in my opinion these add to the character of the piece without impacting it's overall lebibility. 

 

The sign can still be hung using it's original mounting hole, though a long screw / nail would be beneficial in order for it to stand off from the wall and to hang flat. 

 

The sign measures 46.5cm wide x 49.5cm high x 3cm deep

 

S/N: #1122