Project-a-sign

Project-a-sign

As a fundraiser in the 1970s, Lionel invented Project-a-sign. 


This was a resource for enabling sign-writing, making stage scenery, cycloramas, murals, plywood Christmas displays, posters and banners etc. without the actual user having the need for any artistic skill. 

The hand-drawn illustrations, mounted in projection-slides were simply projected onto the posterboard, plywood sheet, canvas flat etc., the user then traced around the outline and painted the article as appropriate.

The Project-a-sign project consisted of 2,650 hand drawn original pen-and-ink illustrations that were photo-reduced to the size of a 35mm film slide, printed on transparency film, cut and mounted onto plastic slide mounts.

These were then sold in sets of 20 (Sign lettering, traffic signs and subjects such as hobbies, transport, cartoons, music, religious graphics, people, occupations, seasonal illustrations, etc.)

The sign lettering slides had the full alphabet on each slide in a different calligraphic or plain font.


The photos show the sampler display book he used for promoting these.


After several years of successful sales, the demise of slide projectors and the advent of data-projectors made Project-a-sign redundant.

Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley.

Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley.

Postscript: The poster of this entry bought a several sets and used them occasionally (every few months, sometimes more often) until the bulb in the school's projector burnt out and a replacement bulb was not available.


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