The Goof I Took Two Years
to Notice

EVERYTHING must be researched
and reresearched without end…

The photo on the left shows a panel sign hanging above the door of the hotel-restaurant. I worked an entire day on that tiny variation of the grand-ducal coat-of-arms, painting it identically on both sides. Those shields and griffins rewarded me with a headache from eyestrain because the panel is only 17 millimeters high. For two years I congratulated myself on a fine job. Then, one day, I noticed the sign as though for the first time and suddenly realized that in Germany dimensional signs are used to announce the names and specialties of restaurants and shops. Panel signs are common in France and Britain, but hardly ever seen in Germany. And so I removed the panel; it had to be replaced for the inn to appear authentic.

In this picture, the three-dimensional golden griffin’s head above the flag tells us that long traditions of cooking and service are continuing inside. An ancient idea, far older than Rome, the “representational” sign was born of the widespread illiteracy of bygone ages.

It was a somewhat painful lesson, reminding me that EVERYTHING in as detail-rich an undertaking as my collection must be researched and reresearched without end; that it’s foolish ever to allow myself an assumption.