The Sealkies Hide

[Silkie McDonough]

I have been researching tavern signs. Often the signs did not have writing but pictures and symbols. The tavern called "The Cross Keys" would have a sign of two keys crossed. "The Kings Head" would have a painting of the kings head on the sign. Well, I am gong about this backwards ...I gave the place a name before researching. I like the name it is now known. With that said I now need something like this drying seal hide, not a harp seal but a seal from the seas north of Scotland, the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and the common, or harbour, seal (Phoca vitulina). Now we all know I wouldn't want to kill a seal just for a sign. That is where all your creative minds come in. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Silkie

[Mission]

Weren't the signs wooden? If you want to make a faux seal skin, you might buy a piece of leather in the appropriate color and stipple it with paint to give it a pebbly appearance. (Stippling is dipping the paint brush into the paint and then holding the brush perpendicular to the surface jamming it down repeatedly with a little bit of force.) If not overdone, it creates a nice textured finish like that picture appears to me to have. Well, that's my suggestion, anyhow.

[Bos'n Cross]

Missions correctt, they were wooden. Strangly enough i once meet a man who collected olde tavern signs......... are you sure you want to use an actuall seal "hide" look, i think its more traditional to at least paint on what ever emblem you want...though i admit that may take some thinking....i kind of like the idea of a seal head with a knife and fork on either side....though that might imply that the dish you serve is...........

[hurricane]

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Edited November 9, 2009 by hurricane

[Silkie McDonough]

The actual signs were wooden and I do have a wooden sign.

I don't have time to do this now but I will share the links of my research. It isn't a necessity but I just thought it would add interest to the "story" of the hide.

[Red-Handed Jill]

If memory serves, weren't a lot of pub names meant to be a sly play on words? What about painting a sign with seals peeking around rocks, as if they were hiding?

[Mission]

If memory serves, weren't a lot of pub names meant to be a sly play on words? What about painting a sign with seals peeking around rocks, as if they were hiding?

That would be SOOO cool! You should do that Silkie!

[Silkie McDonough]

I have a wooden sign. It has a picture of food & drink on it because the illiterate need a picture to know that we serve food. Maybe I don't need the seal hide, I am just thinking about it, looking for options.