Here's another picture of Mahaffeys with the new sign. I'm going to have to get back to Charm City sometime soonso I can drink here again. If you look at their site http://www.mahaffeyspub.com/ you'll see how desperately they needed a new sign.

And remember... the secret to succesful drinking is good nutrition. So while enjoying those delicious draught microbrews and Belgian ales, take a look at the menu... this place has some of the best pub food in Baltimore. Cheers...

This picture was supposed to load on the last post. Such are the vagaries of the blog site. If you are ever in the Canton section of Baltimore and find yourself developing the sort of powerful thirst that only beer can quench, this is your place. While you are at it, eat something - the food is outstanding. Tell Wayne you saw this here.

In December of 2005 I shipped this sign to a pub owner in Baltimore, Maryland. The owner didn't install the sign immediately; instead, he unpacked it and kept it in the bar for several months, where it suffered some damage. The price to ship it back to be repaired was prohibitive; consequently, it languished for over a year until last month, when I came in contact with a sign man in Maryland named Mark Kottwitz. Mark took on the task of repairing and installing the sign, and here it is at last.

I've been doing business with Bob Mercer and Bill Bertsche for years; so I was very pleased to do a new sign for their office in Old Mystic. This is a perfect example of a carved sign in the classic New England style; very traditional "tablet" design, with gold leaf on a deep green ground, framed in cottage red - nothing outrageous or unexpected, just the sort of sign that speaks of pride, quality and professionalism.
I've become quite fond of a typeface called "titus" for carved signs. It has the proportions of a classic Roman face with calligraphic details in the serifs and cross-bars that give it a warm, hand-rendered feel. It lends itself well to both hand-carving and computeried routing - the Mercer and Bertsce sign is incise hand carved, while the Weekapaug Golf Club sign is the same face, machine carved, raised with prismatic faces. Titus works equally well with in both.