ACME WHITE LEAD AND COLOR WORKS.  COMBINATION OF COLORS OF NEW ERA HIGH-GRADE PREPARED PAINTS

(PAINTSALESMAN'S COUNTER DISPLAY SAMPLE)  ACME WHITE LEAD AND COLOR WORKS.  COMBINATION OF COLORS OF NEW ERA HIGH-GRADE PREPARED PAINTS.

Detroit: Acme White Lead and Color Works, (circa 1895). Oak wood display case (19 x 5 1/2 x 16 inches), w/ glass viewing window mounted in front containing a linen scroll with 22 color plates (each plate 14 1/2 x 12 inches) mounted and wound between two rollers each of which is controlled by an exterior nickel plated handle. Celluloid labels carefully mounted on all sides of the glass window with metal pins. First edition.

An exceedingly rare example of a salesman's counter display, advertising exterior color schemes of paints and trims for Victorian Era homes.  The houses illlustrated in this ingenious piece are composed primarily of Queen Anne Victorians (Queen Anne Revival).  Twenty-two paint schemes are presented in the piece, including two-tone Flesh tones & Gray upper & lower siding, with Dark Green trim and Red roof; French Gray siding with Bronze Green roof; Light Olive siding, and Forest Green lower two-tone siding with Victorian Red roof, and white trim, and many others.  There appear to be six main exterior architectural designs which are repeated with assorted paint color designs.  All of the paints are carefully labeled with tiny images of Acme White Lead & Color paint can, and product numbers.  There is a record of this work issued as a standard trade catalogue by the company using the same plates mounted on linen bound in an oblong folio, and the only known copy is at The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, but is incomplete having only fifteen of the twenty-two plates.

Acme White Lead and Color Works was incorporated in Detroit in December, 1884, by H. Kirke White, A.E.F. White, and W.L. Davies.  The manufacturing plant and offices were located at the corner of Grand River Ave. & Fourth St.  They originally specialized in the manufacture of dry colors, white leads, zincs, and putties, but quickly moved into manufacturing prepared paints.   They maintained a traveling sales staff of thirteen experienced salesmen, and Acme was especially known for their New Era high-grade prepared paints which had quick drying properties.  The plates were printed by Whitehead & Hoag, Newark, New Jersey.  A couple of the larger labels have minor splits at the ends by the pins, some minor scuffing and rubbing to fore-edges of the case, minor wear under the lower handle where it had been rolled for years.

$6,850.00