S&D Sign real or replica?

I see this is for auction https://www.bidspotter.co.uk/en-gb/auction-catalogues/gilbert-baitson/catalogue-id-ibgi10240/lot-5ca16d22-fefb-4e7b-ab64-a72000cddd53?utm_source=auction-alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=auction-alert&utm_content=lot-image-link

 

There is one of these signs in S&DJR trust museum at Washford.

 

you forgot the four !!!! after Washford.....

 

Even without the "joke"text as a giveaway one needs to be a bit careful with the values of railwayana being such as to tempt fakers. Anything Isle of Wight or, indeed, S&D needs especial care. Genuine stuff from these sources gets a good premium. Also I understand faked cast iron notices purporting to come from Irish lines have been turning up.

Another thread has dealt with fake railway clocks already. It is possible to buy replacement dials for Waltham watches (good things but made by the million) which will turn the timepiece into a railway watch (or at least a railroad one) and potentially boost its value dramatically.

PH

 

"Fantasy" items such as the "S&D" sign are common, but unlikely to catch-out anyone with the slightest knowledge of the subject. However, there are a number of items doing the rounds which are copies of original examples and are much more likely to mislead; examples are the Midland Railway "ponderous carriages" crossing notice, GWR trespass notices and GNR/LNER door notices, all of which should be looked at with suspicion. As @paulhitch notes, faking Irish cast iron signs appears to be a cottage industry over there and the number and variety of fakes is such that it has depressed the value of genuine items. Then, of course, there's the issue of shed-code plates- easy and cheap for any foundry to copy and very difficult to authenticate, yet they routinely make several hundred pounds at auction and examples have made over £1000. It's not a new problem; many reproductions were produced in the early days of preservation, over 40 years ago, as fund raisers, but are now naturally aged and weathered so that they are very difficult to distinguish from originals.

Again, as Paul says, high prices encourage quite sophisticated fakery. I am currently engaged in a legal dispute with someone who has passed-on a high-value handlamp which has been skillfully "enhanced" to increase its value. Fakes exist in all branches of railwayana and we all need to be increasingly careful. Exposure of a few fakers would also help!

 

there are indeed many Irish fakes around, usually the same basic signs with different company initials...I have one in my garden.

I sometimes see fake signs on antiques shows on the BBC....the other day one shop had on display one of the dreadful Flying Scotsman nameplates you see around

 

Out of interest how can you tell a fake from a genuine shed code plate if reproductions have been around for over 40 years.

Thanks

 

With great difficulty! The amount of soot, old rust and the texture of any remaining paint is a help, burn marks where the bolts have been gas-axed is another, but the most reliable factor is provenance- knowing (and trusting) the person who sold/ gave it to you. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to be really sure and the fact is that a fair proportion of the shed-code plates around now have never been anywhere near an engine!

 

Pity cast iron does not have hallmarks!

Paul H