Events

Sign Painting a Festive Farewell to the Fair

The Letterheads were out in force for the last ever Signwriting Festival at Carters Steam Fair.

Better Letters

Jul 12, 2022 • 7 min read

Dan Luckin's paella dish in a Looney Toons style to mark the end of an era for Carters Steam Fair on the road.

Last weekend the Letterheads returned to Carters Steam Fair, and marked its final tour with a meet to remember. (The fair is currently up for sale.) Around 100 painters turned up for the panel jam and auction, with most camping on site. This put everything in close proximity to the fair itself, which was in operation for all to enjoy on a sun-soaked weekend in West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

It was fairground owner Joby Carter's fifth Letterheads meet, rebranded for the wider public as a 'Signwriting Festival'. I'd previously been to (and made a film about) the Abnormal and Collective meets, but these were held in the fair's winter hideaway, the yard near Maidenhead. I missed the first one on the fair itself while moving abroad in 2019, and after the pandemic-enforced break had to get to this one, almost certainly the last of its kind.

Thank you to Joby and all the Carters Steam Fair team for another outstanding event. Here are some highlights from this festive farewell to the fair.

Come to the Fair

The Alphabetics Anonymous team arrived first and got to work on pieces for the vehicle used the transport the Octopus ride.

Painted vehicle panel saying 'come to the fair' — The finished piece, a mobile advertisement for Carters Steam Fair as it makes its last tour.

Fairground ride with elaborate painted decoration and lettering. — The Octopus ride that the vehicle carries when the fair is on the move.

Panel Jamming

The heartbeat of any meet is the panel jam, which consists of grabbing a spot on an easel and working on a project, usually connected to the event in some way. Lots had brought along finished, or almost finished, panels, so that they could make the deadline of the auction at the end of the first day. This was helped by the sun and heat which made for good drying speeds.

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Finished panels and work-in-progress at the signwriting festival. From left to right, top to bottom: Dapper Signs helping to sell the fair; Pekka Mannermaa's tribute to one of the rides; Ginny Barlow's canal boat-inspired panel; Christin Clement Louth behind work from Phil Agnew; Peter Anthony gilding; Stuart Duncumb; Pekka Mannermaa adding to Helen Ingham's work on the guitar; Bevelled Letterheads (I can't recall who did it, please let me know); and John May.

All for a Good Cause

Joby's events have previously raised thousands of pounds for the Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, and this one was no different. Lots of the panels were auctioned off, with one painting fetching £1,400.

Panels on display ahead of the main event, and then shown off by an elite team of glamourous assistants.

Bitter Sweet History

On his way to the event, David Kynaston visited John Leeson's surviving family to collect a variety of his tools, materials and other sign painting paraphernalia. (John Leeson was a sign painter and committed Letterhead who died in October last year while the meet in Norwich was taking place.) Lots of this was passed onto younger painters who will now continue John's legacy armed with his tools.

Also among the items filling the back of David's van were a number of pieces from the Midland Medieval Mayhem meet that John hosted in Leicester in 1997. One of these was a vinyl circle, tablemat size, that had been grained and signed by those that attended the event. There were also a host of panels that John kept from the meet.

Signatures on the vinyl circle created during John Leeson's Midland Medieval Mayhem meet in Leicester, 1997.

Panels by David Kynaston and Neil Melliard, and just one of the cool bits from John Leeson's various tools and materials.

Kits and Vans

With the event in full swing, I took a walk around with the camera to capture some of the sign kits and sign painter vans on show.

Sign kits at the meet. From left to right, top to bottom: Archie Salandin, Irregular Signs; Amy Goodwin; Tomos, Momo Signs; David Kynaston; Ged Palmer, Luminor Sign Company, George Metcalf; Mia Warner; Mick Pollard; Stuart Duncumb.

If you like sign kits then check out these vintage and antique ones at the American Sign Museum, and this collection of contemporary boxes from Alphabetics Anonymous.

Vans from David Kynaston, Mick Pollard, James Cooper (Dapper Signs), and Dan Luckin (Painted by Dan) with a cheeky bit of trompe-l'œil on the back of his.

All the Fun of the Fair

It'll be sad to no longer see the fair set up on greens and commons across Southeast England. However, it is going out with a bang, and the Letterheads certainly joined in with this last hurrah.