LESTER CAREY’S HAND-PAINED SIGNAGE

Nearly 15 years have passed since PAEOI #3 was published in 2011 and included a photo essay about New Orleans sign painter Lester Carey. I have continued to document the vanishing culture of the art and profession of vernacular hand-painted signage in the commercial settings of the post-Katrina landscape of New Orleans.

In addition to Lester Carey, I met two other artists, Pam Collins and Tom White, whose hand-painted signs could be seen in the same neighborhoods as Lester’s work. In 2013, I gave a name, NOLA ‘Nacular, to my overarching project of documenting the work of these three artists and other unique aspects of the city taking inspiration from a similar project in Las Vegas called Vegas Vernacular.

In June 2014, local New Orleans paper Gambit Weekly did a cover story about the three artists and featured a photo of Lester on the cover. 

Unfortunately Lester passed in March 2017 and most of his signs around New Orleans are no longer there. I can probably count on just one hand (two hands at most) the number of his signs that remain around the city.

In tribute to Lester, I had my first solo art show in May 2017 titled Signs & Vines which featured photos of Lester and his works, including some seen in the background of videos of local bounce artists, and photos and prints of cat’s claw vine, a destructive invasive vine with a beautiful yellow bloom.

In 2018, with the help of a friend, Lester’s block letter style was converted to a computer typeface called Carey Regular. Later that year I created another typeface called By Pam using Pam Collin’s unique painting style. And I have since done the same with one of Tom’s styles called Tom the Sign Man. 

Anthony DelRosario, a.k.a anthonyturducken, is a cultural documentarian from the South. Born in Memphis and bloomed in New Orleans, he uses photography, printmaking, and digital design to capture and interpret the culture hidden in everyday life. Check out his projects nolanacular.com and his photos of Lester Care'y’s signage in Put A Egg On It #3, only available in our issue 1-10 bundle.