A bit of a mystery, at least to me, but to my eye a wonderful and evocative one--and the inked lettering spelling out Shut Open Open just makes me swoon. At first look it seemed perhaps to be a shop sign, indicating open or closed hours, but with a heavy lead weight covering almost the entirety of the back, and an eye hook at top, it must have pulled up or down, perhaps functioning as a gate or door weight, with the shut not referring to closed hours but rather to the position of the door! Or maybe it signaled both simultaneously, giving double fullness to the term "shut." Whatever the case, an unusual and beautiful thing, with the inked lettering making me believe earlier 19th century than later.
10 7/8" x 2 1/4" x 1/2". General wear, toning, and a few small tears and corner creases to the paper, mounted to wood.
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