Books

Bookish Good Luck at McLellan Signs in Nampa, Idaho

Jay Smith embraces serendipity to add to his library of sign painting and lettering books.

Better Letters

Jan 30, 2025 • 5 min read

Inside Elmore McLellan's copy of the Coast Manual of Lettering and Designs.

For the 'Book Club' section of BLAG 07, we'll be taking a look back at some of the publications that inspired the original Letterheads. And drained the toner in more than one photocopier! Some of these now grace the shelves of Jay Smith in Boise, Idaho, and here he tells the story of his recent good fortune.

McLellan Signs, Nampa, Idaho

On an otherwise innocuous Fall morning, I was making breakfast and boxed lunches for my daughters when I received a message from a good friend of mine who deals in estate sales. It contained a link to a Craigslist ad for a retirement sale at McLellan Signs, a local, generational sign shop; my interest was instantly piqued.

Then, as I was driving the girls to school, I got a call from a local number. It was Scott McLellan, the owner of the shop in Nampa, Idaho. Another friend of mine in the antique business had given him my details, suggesting that I might be interested in some of the sign painting tools and equipment.

I guess it was meant to be, and straight after the school run I drove the 35 km (20 miles) to Nampa to meet with Scott. He was the third generation to run the McLellan business, which was started by his grandfather Elmore 'Mac' McLellan in 1913 — there can't be many shops in the world that can claim over 110 years of heritage!

Three men posing for a portrait in front of a corner shop with white lettering on a red sign that read "McLellan Sign Co.". — Three generations of the McClellan Sign Co. in 1982. From left: Scott, Don, and Elmore, the firm's founder.

Scott and I spent hours discussing the history of signs in Idaho, techniques, tools, and every aspect of the trade. It's rare to meet someone with such a wealth of generational knowledge, and I soaked up everything I could from him.

Newspaper clipping with a photo of a man on a raised platform painting a sign. — 1950s press clipping, captioned: West Junior High School in Nampa is getting a new sign today — the first since it became a junior high school in the fall of 1955. Don McLellan is shown painting the school's new name on the north side of the building. The old "Nampa High School" sign was covered before the painting job started.

Large wall sign with a pictorial of a mounted cowboy and lettering that reads "In Person: Eddy Arnold, 'The Tennessee Plowboy" — 1957 billboard by Don McClellan, captioned: The sign was painted Monday at Stampede Stadium — announcing that Eddy Arnold will be star of this year's Snake River Stampede, July 16–20. Each year, name of the Stampede star is painted on the Highway 30 wall of the Stadium. Singer Arnold has sold more than 30,000,000 records in the past 10 years, which makes him one of the nation's leading recording artists, announced Stampede officials.

After purchasing all of his hand-built workbenches, remaining cans of 1 Shot, his Electro-Pounce, some shelves, and everything else I could get my hands on, Scott unveiled what could be considered our trade's equivalent of the 'Dead Sea Scrolls'.

In his hands were six tomes I had never before seen in-person, let alone touched. And, while I had electronic scans of some, downloaded from the Internet Archive, holding them was a mystical experience.

These treasures were: “Atkinson” Sign Painting by Frank Atkinson (1916, 2nd edition); Atkinson’s Last and Final Book on Sign Art (1950); Henderson’s Sign Painter by John G. Ohnimus (1906, 1st edition); Modern Signs and Show Cards by E.C. Matthews (1951, 1st edition); 35 New Alphabets for Modern Brush Lettering (1931, 1st edition); and the Coast Manual of Lettering and Designs by Fred Knopf and J. M. Mahaffey (1907).

Flamboyantly lettered cover of a well-worn book. — *"Atkinson" Sign Painting* is available digitally from archive.org and via the Lettering Library.

Another Atkinson classic among these extremely rare volumes. *Henderson's Sign Painter* is available online at the Library of Congress.

Cover of a book with numerous cracks and other signs of wear. — The well-used copy of E.C. Matthews' *Modern Signs and Show Cards*.

These books are well-worn, with personal inserts, clippings, and sketches inside, showing they were used daily in the shop by Scott's grandfather.

A hand-rendered McClellan Signs bookplate inside the Coast Manual of Lettering and Designs.

I couldn't afford them that day, having already bought nearly everything else. However, knowing how much I revered and cherished these books, Scott called me a couple days later with an offer I couldn't refuse. He knew they would be protected and respected in my hands, and wanted them to go to someone that truly appreciated these fountains of historical wisdom and technique.

Uppercase block alphabet and numerals with 45 degree corners used on curved characters. The lines are set on a squared grid, with the characters measuring five squares high. — Tucked inside one of the books was this 'Half Block' alphabet from The Detroit School of Lettering.

After a few weeks of saving client deposits and finishing jobs, I met with Scott and bought the books. To have them now in my collection is a dream come true.

I can't wait to dive in, and I'm sure I'll be reading these with white gloves for the rest of my sign painting career.

Thanks Scott, and wishing you a very happy retirement!

Written by Jay Smith

For more from Jay Smith, check out his recent 'Mural School' experience, just one of the projects in the 'On the Brush' section of BLAG 06.

Bookish Good Luck at McLellan Signs in Nampa, Idaho

Better Letters

McLellan Signs, Nampa, Idaho

More Books

More History

Sign up for more like this.