Weinthal & Co
Read More
Weinthal & Co., tobacconists, was founded ca 1867 in Rotterdam.
Weinthal & Co. manufactured their own cigars. By WW II, there were 20 stores in Holland.
There were five Weinthal & Co. stores in Rotterdam, including this one, and four in the Hague.
This store was in Hoofdsteeg, in Rotterdam.
The same view, after the bombardment of May 14, 1940.
The sign was hidden inside a wall, under five layers of wallpaper.
The bookstore owner was kind enough to arrange for shipping. On December 26, 2014, the sign arrived at its new 'Weinthal' home in California.
The crate weighed ~100 pounds.
We placed it in the garage.
To be continued...
That night, we each took a turn with the screwdriver. First, Alexander.
Then Becky.
Then Warren.
Then me.
We lifted the lid...
and found museum-quality packing, with the fragile glass sign safely in one piece.
We noticed that some gold leaf on the "W" was flaking off, so we decided to pause the unpacking, pending an expert opinion. (to be continued)
