Before the change that took place in the general appearance of London,
soon after the accession of George III., the universal use of signs, not
only for taverns and ale-houses, but also for tradesmen, furnished no
small employment for the inferior rank of painters, and sometimes even
for the superior professors. Cotton painted several good ones; but among
the most celebrated practitioners in this branch, was a person of the
name of Lamb, who possessed a considerable degree of ability. His pencil
was bold and masterly, well adapted to the subjects on which it was
generally employed. Mr. Wale, who was one of the founders of the Royal
Academy, and appointed the first Professor of Perspective in that
institution, also painted some signs; the principal one was a
full-length of Shakspeare, about five feet high, which was executed for
and displayed before the door of a public-house at the corner of Little
Russel Street, Drury Lane. It was enclosed in a sumptuously carved gilt
frame, and suspended by rich iron-work. But this splendid object of
popular attraction did not stand long before it was taken down, in
consequence of an Act of Parliament that was passed for paving, and
removing the signs and other obstructions from, the streets of London.
Such was the total change of fashion, and the consequent disuse of
signs, that this representation of the immortal bard was sold for a
trifle to a broker, at whose door it stood for several years, until it
was totally destroyed by the weather and other accidents.