I'm pretty taken with this antique wooden sign decorated with pyrography, signed (burned) on the back with the initials of its maker (W.F.G) and the year 1906. It not only features a great rendering of a burning pipe and the text, “May all your troubles end in smoke,” but also a square of sandpaper adhered to the bottom left corner for striking matches, which is still rough and ready to do the job. I especially love the “o”s inside of “o”s, like smoke rings, and the rather manic decorative flourishes that animate every square inch of the piece, invoking a smoke-filled haze (or smoke-induced hallucination!)
9.25” x 5.5” x3/8" and overall in great vintage condition, excepting one fine split in the wood near the top that was at one point (I am guessing long ago) glued tightly back together and is barely noticeable. There are two holes burned through near the top of the sign for hanging it on the wall.
