Chris M. Jones’ analysis: | The Nurser Family and Braunston Dockyard

Signwriting (4)

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 21:25:51 +0100

Chris M. Jones:

‘Nursers had several letter forms for houseboat or butty name panels; one of the most attractive is that depicted here for Samuel Barlow’s butty Forget Me Not. This particular Ionic lettering appeared on a number of Barlow boats but goes beyond the usual depiction of this letter form by transforming it into an eccentric freehand representation of shaded letters that appears to be unique to Frank Nurser during the mid-20th century. This is what happens when an expert craftsman painting throughout his working life can apply the same freedom when writing letters as he did to his roses and landscapes and is a joy to see.'

Signwriting (3)

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 21:25:46 +0100

Chris M. Jones:

‘Barlow’s Warwick was originally named Ethiopia in the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company fleet before being bought from them in 1945. With both shadows added to embellish the letters, the decorative effect becomes apparent and it all works together. Notice how the shadow of ‘Coal Contractors’ falls to the left whilst on the other lettering it falls to the right. This subtle jarring of the eyes draws the viewer’s attention to the lettering.

Sign Writing (2)

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 21:25:39 +0100

Chris M. Jones:

‘This is what Samuel Barlow cabin side lettering looks like with the shadow removed, this reveals the lettering without any other distraction to the eye. Some signwriters would be horrified at the result with not only the shape of the letters, but the unbalanced spacing between each letter.

Signwriting (1)

Wed, 02 Sep 2015 21:25:32 +0100

Chris M. Jones:

‘As well as heavy shadows, Nurser Brothers of Braunston sometimes added an extra highlight to the opposite side of each letter from the shading to give the impression of light falling from the left. In this case it is important that the highlight colour is a mid-tone between the lightest colour of the shading and the white of the letter. This gives an attractive extra lift to the freehand writing on the engine-room cabin side of Samuel Barlow’s The Rocket.'