Sandwich Board Collection

Advert / Sandwich Man 19C
Sandwichman advertising a pantomime - Babes in the Wood at Drury Lane Theatre, London

A woman wearing a sandwich-board
5310305 A woman wearing a sandwich-board; (add.info.: Engraving depicting a woman wearing a sandwich-board advertising Hovis bread. Dated 19th century.); Universal History Archive/UIG.

The National Gallery and St. Martin's Church (London), c1878. Creator: Giuseppe de Nittis
The National Gallery and St. Martin's Church (London), c1878

The Grocer's Shop at Christmas - drawn by Foster, 1850. Creator: Edmund Evans
The Grocer's Shop at Christmas - drawn by Foster, 1850. Shoppers queuing to buy dried fruit to make plum puddings. Illustration to a story by John Oxenford

Street hawker selling Consumer s... 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, New York City, 1939. Creator: Dorothea Lange
42nd Street and Madison Avenue. Street hawker selling Consumers Bureau Guide. New York City

The London Boardmen, 1881. Creator: John Thomson
The London Boardmen, 1881. A work made of woodburytype, plate 10 in the book " street incidents" (1881)

The London Boardmen, 1877. Creator: John Thomson
The London Boardmen, 1877. A work made of woodburytype, from the album " street life in london"

The London Boardmen, from Street Life in London, by J
659985 The London Boardmen, from Street Life in London, by J. Thomson and Adolphe Smith, 1877 (b/w photo) by Thomson, John (1837-1921); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; Scottish

Obesity: sure cure for reducing fat - work harder (chromolitho)
5996013 Obesity: sure cure for reducing fat - work harder (chromolitho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Obesity: sure cure for reducing fat - work harder)

Punch cartoon: Puritans Penance (engraving)
6034705 Punch cartoon: Puritans Penance (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Punch cartoon: Puritans Penance)

Promotional calendar for 1887 advertising Canavy Freres
CHT170950 Promotional calendar for 1887 advertising Canavy Freres tailors and haberdashery, c.1886 (colour litho) by French School, (19th century); Bibliotheque des Arts Decoratifs, Paris

Suffragettes, 1913 (b / w photo)
STC444596 Suffragettes, 1913 (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; English, out of copyright

Church of St Ethelburga, Bishopsgate Street, London (colour litho)
733591 Church of St Ethelburga, Bishopsgate Street, London (colour litho) by Flower, Charles Edwin (1871-1910); Private Collection; (add.info.: Church of St Ethelburga, Bishopsgate Street, London)

Sandwich Boy advertising Old Santa Clause, Christmas Card (chromolitho)
730808 Sandwich Boy advertising Old Santa Clause, Christmas Card (chromolitho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Sandwich Boy advertising Old Santa Claus)

The First Dinner, 1904 (w / c on board)
SAV329244 The First Dinner, 1904 (w/c on board) by Lewis, Lowry (1850-1913); 13.4x9.5 cm; Bristol Savages, Bristol, UK; (add.info)

Vintage View of Broadway in New York City, c. 1880 (chromolithograph)
3036428 Vintage View of Broadway in New York City, c.1880 (chromolithograph) by American School, (19th century); (add.info)

Men with sandwich boards, London (colour litho)
3104129 Men with sandwich boards, London (colour litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Men with sandwich boards, London)

The Sandwich Mans Speech (engraving)
587529 The Sandwich Mans Speech (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Sandwich Mans Speech.); Look and Learn / Peter Jackson Collection

Sandwich board man and newspaper seller, London (b / w photo)
5996671 Sandwich board man and newspaper seller, London (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Sandwich board man and newspaper seller, London)

Sandwich Board men in Oxford Street, 15th February 1964

A resident of Soweto seen here on his way to the Soccer City stadium to see, hear and celebrate the release of African National Congress vice president (ANC) Nelson Mandela. 13th February 1990

Spike Milligan & wife Paddy use a Sandwich board - borrowed from British Rail Lost Property - to advertise their upcoming charity performance in aid of Beauty Without Cruelty at the Mermaid Theatre

Petticoat Lane Market. Crowds milling around the market stalls in the run up to Christmas 1960, trying to pick up the odd bargain

Petticoat Lane Market. Crowds milling around the market stalls in the run up to Christmas 1960, trying to pick up the odd bargain

A man adverting an American Valet service walks down the road wearing a knotted hankerchief on his head April 1945

Advertising Board - Man, 1872. Creator: Gustave Doré
Advertising Board-Man, 1872. A man earns his living by advertising with a sandwich board. From, " LONDON. A Pilgrimage" by Gustave Dore and Blanchard Jerrold. [Grant and Co

The Animated Sandwich, 1872. Creator: Gustave Doré
The Animated Sandwich, 1872. A man advertises a performance by the Swedish soprano, Christine Nilsson, at Drury Lane by sandwich board. From, " LONDON

Suffragettes demonstrate outside a prison, London, 1914, (1947). Creator: Unknown
Suffragettes demonstrate outside a prison, London, 1914, (1947). Campaigners for womens suffrage wearing sandwich boards criticising the then British government

Highbury Grove in 1846 - Dedicated by permission to the inhabitants, 1846. Artist
Highbury Grove in 1846 - Dedicated by permission to the inhabitants, 1846. View showing the Megatherium Mansion, Dinotherium Dining Room, Fossil Oyster Rooms, and Fossil Highbury Barn

Janet M Cole and Hazel Philip campaigning for Votes for Women, Chicago, USA, 1905
Mrs Janet M Cole and Miss Hazel Philip campaigning for Votes for Women, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1905. Women finally secured the right to vote throughout the United States in 1920 with the passing of

An Unpleasant Neighbour, 1859. Mr Bull, Here have I got to pay double insurance, all along of your confounded fireworks!. John Bull presenting a bill to Napoleon III for the 9d in the pound income

Illustration of smiling man wearing banana costume pointing at glass of juice held in hand, next to table of drinks and sandwich board

GAS STATION, 1942. Sign announcing Now Out of Gas, placed outside a gas station on upper Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, D.C. Photographed by Marjory Collins, July 1942

Covent Garden Market (w / c on paper)
XCF282044 Covent Garden Market (w/c on paper) by English School; Private Collection; English, out of copyright

DORE: LONDON, 1872. The Sandwich Man. A man wearing a sandwich board advertising the Drury Lane Opera in London. Wood engraving after Gustave Dore, from the series London: A Pilgrimage, 1872

The Strand
1894: Sandwichboard men in the Strand advertise theatre seats. Horse drawn buses fill the road and the church of St Mary-le-Strand is in the background

ADVERTISER, 1880. A street advertiser wearing a sandwich board. Engraving, American, 1880

KEENs MUSTARD AD, 1892. English advertisement, 1892

Sandwich Men
1908: Sandwich-board men advertising the Clement stand at an Olympia exhibition in London. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Votes For Women
23rd November 1907: The Womens Freedom League demonstrate against Man-Made Laws, UK. (Photo by N. Miller/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Petticoat Lane Sunday morning market. A doom monger moves amongst the crowd spreading the word of the bible Flee from the Wrath to Come

Sandwichboard men proclaiming advent of the ILN
Lines of men holding up placards proclaiming the advent of the first issue of the Illustrated London News, 30 engravings, price 6d

Advert / Sandwich Man 1828
Sandwichman advertising a ham and beef shop in Pudding Lane: A man of intelligence - useful knowledge to the people

All Professionally Made to Order for Quick Shipping

"Unveiling the History of Sandwich Boards: From 19th-century Street Hawkers to Modern Adverts" Step back in time to the bustling streets of New York City in 1939, where a sandwich man adorned with an eye-catching sandwich board captures the attention of passersby on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue. This iconic image, captured by Dorothea Lange, showcases the early days of advertising through human billboards. But this form of promotion didn't start there - it dates back even further. Travel across the Atlantic to London in 1881, as John Thomson's lens immortalizes "The London Boardmen. " These street hawkers selling consumer goods were pioneers in using sandwich boards as a means to attract customers and spread awareness about their products. Thomson's earlier work from 1877 also sheds light on these London boardmen who roamed the city streets. Their presence was so significant that they became synonymous with street life itself. In fact, images from "Street Life in London" by J capture their daily struggles and triumphs. Fast forward to more recent times when sandwich boards took on a different role - advocating for social causes or delivering humorous messages. A chromolitho print titled "Obesity: sure cure for reducing fat - work harder" humorously highlights how these walking advertisements could tackle weight loss while promoting businesses simultaneously. Even satirical cartoons like Punch's "Puritans Penance" used sandwich boards as props to poke fun at societal norms and beliefs during those times. The versatility of this advertising medium knew no bounds. Beyond just commerce, sandwich boards played a part in cultural events too. Promotional calendars from 1887 advertised Canavy Freres' products while suffragettes proudly displayed their cause through bold placards strapped onto their bodies in a black-and-white photograph taken in 1913. Religious institutions also embraced this unique form of communication.