LJW Decorative & Antiques

LJW Decorative & Antiques Vintage & antique; bold graphics, vibrant colours, beautiful wear, perfect fading, wonderfully tatty

As is frequently pointed out to me in the shop, it wasn’t all that long ago that enamel signage was worthless. I’ve foun...
14/08/2026

As is frequently pointed out to me in the shop, it wasn’t all that long ago that enamel signage was worthless. I’ve found examples that were used for shed roofs, allotment edging etc etc. This is the first example I’ve encountered that’s been turned into a coal shovel!

Originally this would have been a double-sided enamel sign advertising Wills’s Woodbine Ci******es c.1930s. A competent conversion that’s still usable in its new guise or it displays well as a piece of folk art.

In the shop and on the website.

Still not booked a summer holiday? These enticing sounding Motor Coach Holidays may no longer be available but these gor...
13/08/2026

Still not booked a summer holiday? These enticing sounding Motor Coach Holidays may no longer be available but these gorgeous, mid-century advertising posters for them are…
With their vibrant colours and quirky graphics, they’re simple, eye catching and just fun.
They’re listed on the website and hanging in the shop…

Perhaps it’s just me, but I find something rather joyous about oversized shop display items and this giant sized match b...
12/08/2026

Perhaps it’s just me, but I find something rather joyous about oversized shop display items and this giant sized match box with equally large matches is no exception... Union Matches are a Belgian brand; easily recognisable with their vibrant pink matchstick and contrasting yellow head. The smaller packets (pictured for scale) still turn up occasionally amongst old shop stock... These giant sized display boxes are likely to date to the 1950s/‘60s and are far less common.
As I’m lacking in mantlepieces to place this on, it’s available through the website or in the shop.

Here we have a fantastically original pair of antique armorial achievements, each finely hand-painted on paper and prese...
09/08/2026

Here we have a fantastically original pair of antique armorial achievements, each finely hand-painted on paper and presented behind a decorative verre églomisé mount, within their original gilded frames.

Dating to the first half of the 19th century, these two have clearly spent a lifetime together, the frames are showing signs of wear, the bottom edge of each has darkened with time but I love the faded-grandeur look and feel that they have; original, untouched and very striking.

On the website and glowing away in a corner of the shop…

We’ve all been sweltering for what feels like months now and I’ve not posted a single Ice Cream related piece of signage...
05/08/2026

We’ve all been sweltering for what feels like months now and I’ve not posted a single Ice Cream related piece of signage? How remiss of me!

This beauty is hanging in the shop and listed on the website. A simple, printed tin sign for Eldorado Ice Cream; a company that started in Liverpool in 1925 and grew to be one of the country’s major Ice Cream brands alongside Walls and Lyons. The sign dates to the 1930s/‘40s and has aged wonderfully - a sun-burned, lightly rusted surface that gives this piece the sort of warmth that makes you want it’s advertised product! No points for guessing what I’ll be popping across to the shop to buy shortly…

Remember the Raleigh “Doublit” light box from the other day? Well, when I collected it from the bicycle shop it had spen...
30/07/2026

Remember the Raleigh “Doublit” light box from the other day? Well, when I collected it from the bicycle shop it had spent it’s life in, the retiring shop keeper told me it was designed so that you saw one image when it was unlit and another when lit. It was true, you did… However always niggled me that when lit up, it displayed a bus stop scene that didn’t have a whole lot to do with bicycles. After my post someone sent me a photo of their version and the cyclist was illuminated too - appearing like a hologram in front of the background scene.
Although mine had already sold, it was still awaiting collection so I carefully opened it up and realised that the back bulb was much dimmer than the upper bulb; on it’s last legs. Found and ordered a replacement in the depths of the internet which arrived today and WOW. Fully illuminated it’s an incredibly effective piece of advertising that now makes a whole lot more sense, with the cyclist whizzing past the queue for the bus.
It’s still sold - a deal’s a deal but delighted to be handing it over in its full glory.

The Bicycle Union was established in 1878, after amalgamating with the Tricycle Association in 1882 the more broadly ter...
25/07/2026

The Bicycle Union was established in 1878, after amalgamating with the Tricycle Association in 1882 the more broadly termed National Cyclists Union (NCU) was officially formed in 1883. Its purpose was to defend cyclists and to organise and regulate bicycle racing in Great Britain - it ran through until 1959.

This striking, double-sided enamel sign would have hung in front of one of the Union’s quarters - located throughout the country. An earlier example than some, it’s likely to date to around the 1930s.

On the website and in the shop, though I’ve yet to find somewhere to hang it…

Here we have a rare survivor in fantastically original condition - a Raleigh Bicycles lightbox by Acme Showcard & Sign C...
17/07/2026

Here we have a rare survivor in fantastically original condition - a Raleigh Bicycles lightbox by Acme Showcard & Sign Co Ltd. The design being their patented “Doublit” sign - cleverly two different designs are displayed depending on whether or not the sign is illuminated.
When unlit the “cheaper, quicker, healthier” advert with the man on the bicycle can be seen - this is printed on a mesh that sits vertically at the back of the sign, behind an angled sheet of glass. When illuminated there are bulbs at the back and at the top of the lightbox; the bulb at the back helps make the mesh disappear and the one at the top illuminates a horizontal glass panel, printed with the bus stop scene which reflects in the angled glass. It’s tricky to explain, even tricker to photograph but I’ve done my best to demonstrate ... Even in person it takes a minute or two of looking to work out exactly what’s going on.

Full details are on the website.

Here’s one of those pieces you have to take a close look at to fully appreciate… Upon first inspection it’d be easy to a...
16/07/2026

Here’s one of those pieces you have to take a close look at to fully appreciate… Upon first inspection it’d be easy to assume that you were just looking at a small scale printed advertisement, but this is something a whole lot more special; a watercolour painting produced as an artists proof / concept for a full sized Melotte Separators advertising poster dating to c.1920s.

The painting has been very competently done with remarkably clear, crisp lettering; a heavily worked design, not just a rough sketch.
“A child can work any size” - a particularly of-the-period claim!

A lovely little survivor, presented in a simple, period oak frame.

Can be appreciated in person in the shop or I’ve tried my best to show in photographs here and on the website.

Produced in 1937, this Camp Coffee sign is a fine example of enamel advertising from the period. Vibrant colours, great ...
10/07/2026

Produced in 1937, this Camp Coffee sign is a fine example of enamel advertising from the period. Vibrant colours, great surface gloss, shapely letters and that bugle motif positively shouts at you!
It’s a properly punchy piece and measuring just over 1m wide it definitely becomes a focal point of a wall.
Perfect for a kitchen / cafe etc.
It’s listed on the website and hanging in the shop…

Address

48-50 Northdown Road
Margate
CT92RW

Opening Hours

Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+447703104788

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