Glass gilding, or verre églomisé, was the most popular form of signage in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; elegant and surprisingly durable, gilding continues to be the optimum choice particularly for buildings of that period. New York-based decorative painter Sandra Spannan of See.Painting specializes in gilded surfaces; a painstaking process of applying tissue thin sheets of metal and carefully sealing them with varnish. House numbers are custom designed and available in silver, copper, white gold, 23-karat yellow gold, and palladium leaf. Go to See.Painting for pricing and more information.
Above: Palladium leaf on a brownstone in Brooklyn.
Above: The Ace Hotel entrance sign in New York City.
Above three photos: Gilded signage with green shadow on a Harlem brownstone.
Above: The See studio created signage for Centrico in Tribeca using 23-karat gold leaf on glass with a polished gelatine finish.
