Every known Laundesigns title, in registration order. These are the cartoon laundromat signs Schorr Sign Service of Queens sold to coin laundries from 1960: DON’T DYE HERE, WE’RE NOT RESPONSIBLE, BE AN ANGEL and the rest. Registration numbers and the figure descriptions come from the Catalog of Copyright Entries and the Copyright Office card catalog. The wording is as read off surviving signs or the 1961 to 1963 trade ads.
Sixteen of the eighteen have a picture. Two have never been seen. Click any image for full size. Trade ad captions open the issue on the Internet Archive, which lends these scans only to print disabled readers. Every sign photograph in the file is on this page; the full photos, ads and records are in the Research Archive. Know one that isn’t pictured? Report it.
The signs
BE AN ANGEL
Registration: K58997, 15 Mar 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic angel holding harp, wearing halo
Rule on the sign: Help us keep this place clean and appealing. PLEASE PUT REFUSE IN WASTE BASKETS.
Seen: Brooklyn reference set; Rensselaer NY; Alabama home laundry (blue)
DID YOU SAY CHANGE?
Registration: K58993, 15 Mar 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic seated infant
Rule on the sign: CHANGE MAY BE OBTAINED HERE. Change machines are empty from midnight til 6 a.m.
Seen: Brooklyn reference set
DON’T DYE HERE
Registration: K58996, 15 Mar 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic Dracula wearing top hat
Rule on the sign: POSITIVELY NO TINTING OR DYEING PERMITTED IN THESE MACHINES!
Seen: Coin-Op ads May to Sep 1961; Brooklyn; Rensselaer; Felton CA; Alabama (blue); Park Slope 2019
TAKE IT EASY WITH THAT LOAD
No image yet. Seen this one? Report it.
Registration: K58992, 15 Mar 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic long-faced policeman
Rule on the sign: Not yet read
Seen: Never seen
WE’RE SORRY
Registration: K58995, 15 Mar 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic tearful character
Rule on the sign: IF YOUR MACHINE FAILS TO OPERATE place an out of order sign on machine. Leave your name and address for refund.
Seen: Trumansburg NY, 2011
YA BETTER WATCH OUT
Registration: K58994, 15 Mar 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic tough character with slingshot
Rule on the sign: Too much suds prevents proper washing and rinsing. NEVER USE MORE THAN 1/4 to 1/2 CUP OF DETERGENT FOR EACH LOAD.
Seen: Coin-Op ads Nov 1961, Jan 1962. Never seen in a photograph.
DRY? (poster)
Registration: K59631, 21 Apr 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic cowhand with empty flask; instructions for operating pay dryer
Rule on the sign: DRYING INSTRUCTIONS, three steps
Seen: Alabama home laundry
HERE’S HOW (poster)
Registration: K59632, 21 Apr 1960
Figure (catalog wording): Comic Indian with bow and right hand raised; instructions for operating pay automatic washer
Rule on the sign: OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS; 20 LBS. .75; 20 MIN. CYCLE
Seen: Alabama home laundry
EXTRACTING, ANYONE?
No image yet. Seen this one? Report it.
Registration: K63965, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Comic dentist holding extracted tooth in pair of pliers
Rule on the sign: Not yet read
Seen: Never seen
THIS COULD BE YOU
Registration: K63966, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Weeping prisoner, ball and chain on leg
Rule on the sign: Anyone who defaces, damages or destroys property on these premises will be prosecuted!
Seen: Brooklyn (yellow); marketplace listing (blue, framed)
THINKING OF YOU, ALWAYS
Registration: K63967, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Comic lovesick boy
Rule on the sign: For your convenience all necessary washing aids for a cleaner, brighter wash are available in vending machines.
Seen: Marketplace listing (blue, framed)
HOWDY, NEIGHBOR
Registration: K63968, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Comic smiling farmer with pitchfork
Rule on the sign: WELCOME TO YOUR FRIENDLY COIN-OP CENTER. Let our modern equipment save you time and money.
Seen: Brooklyn; Trumansburg NY 2011; Felton CA
SAVE YOUR MONEY
Registration: K63969, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Comic slick character, pockets stuffed with money
Rule on the sign: Not yet read (ad headline: HAVE YOU SEEN THE REST OF MY GANG?)
Seen: Coin-Op ads Mar and May 1962. Never seen in a photograph.
DON’T BE BASHFUL
Registration: K63970, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Comic character in coat, tie and undershorts
Rule on the sign: Our equipment is always at your disposal. USE AS MANY MACHINES AS YOU REQUIRE.
Seen: Marketplace listing (blue, framed)
WE’RE NOT RESPONSIBLE
Registration: K63971, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Comic wild-eyed man in strait jacket
Rule on the sign: We can assume no responsibility for damage, loss or theft of property. PLEASE BE HERE TO REMOVE ARTICLES WHEN FINISHED.
Blue version wording: We can assume no responsibility for damage, loss or theft of laundry. PLEASE BE HERE TO REMOVE LAUNDRY WHEN FINISHED.
Seen: Brooklyn; Long Island City 2009; Rensselaer; Alabama (blue)
WE NEVER SLEEP
Registration: K63972, 1 Nov 1961
Figure (catalog wording): Comic tired, unshaven character
Rule on the sign: Not yet read
Seen: Probably the Coin-Op ad figure of Sep 1962 (TIRED OF PAYING BILLS?), not confirmed
CAREFUL NOW!
Registration: Not located in the register
Figure (catalog wording): Stern bald man with a smoking beaker (description ours)
Rule on the sign: WASHER DOOR IS AUTOMATICALLY LOCKED. It cannot be opened until washing cycle is completed.
Seen: Brooklyn reference set
Uncle Sam, I’VE GOT YOUR NUMBER (ad mascot)
Registration: Not registered; © 1960 on the ad
Figure (catalog wording): Uncle Sam in a star top hat with cane (description ours)
Rule on the sign: Ad headline only
Seen: Coin-Op ad Jan 1963 (Scotchcal numbers)
Two colorways
Documented: surviving signs come in a yellow scheme (rounded white panels, yellow caption boxes, no metal frame in the photographs seen) and a pale blue scheme (thin bright metal edge frame, maker line Laundesigns, N.Y.C. © 1961). Inferred, not proven: two production runs, with the framed blue series matching the 1962 ads for silk-screened Marlite in stainless steel frames. The 1961 ads never mention a material or frame.
How to tell a real one
Glossy plastic-faced hardboard, screen-printed flat enamel, about 18 inches wide by 48 inches tall (measured with a tape in a marketplace photo of the blue series), often a thin stainless edge frame. Look for the small maker line in the caption area. A sign on paper, card or tin is a different product or a reproduction.
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