[Women Entrepreneurs, Edith L. Snyder:] Demonstration Here. April. 13-14. With E. L. Snyder's Oil Water Colors and Stencils Anyone Can Be an Artist. Call Within [caption title on painted cloth banner]

[Likely Johnstown, Pennsylvania. c. 1917-1934.] 40½ x 24½ inches. Painted cotton banner with applied panels. Mild stains, a few loose threads at edges. Very good.

Colorful American advertising display banner announcing a public demonstration of E. L. Snyder's oil watercolors and stencils. Edith L. Snyder of Johnstown, Pennsylvania held the patent for these paints.

The free-painted and hand-lettered banner depicts a vibrant riverside view of an urban landscape with factories in the foreground and tall skyscrapers behind them. The whimsical addition of three white herons in the river is an artistic touch as well as an introduction of life into an architectural folk art cityscape.

The banner, easily rolled, could be used by a traveling demonstrator. The top section with the words "Demonstration Here" was painted on a separate piece of white cloth and stitched to the banner.

The date "April 13-14" has been painted onto another white cloth panel and affixed, cancel-like, to the top panel below the painted words. This date panel could, therefore, be easily changed as needed.

The multiple uses of the banner is also suggested by the inclusion of a large clock face without hands on a prominent tower within the cityscape. The appropriate time and date of a demonstration could be supplied by the traveling artist and the banner placed in an art supply store window to encourage future customers:

"With E. L. Snyder's Oil Water Colors and Stencils Any One Can Be an Artist. Call within. "

Edith L. Snyder filed a patent for oil watercolor paint on August 10, 1917. United States Patent No. 1,327,928, subsequently awarded to her on January 13, 1920.

If Snyder's April 13-14 dates were a Friday and a Saturday, 1917, 1923, 1928, or 1934 are likely dates for the banner. While the 1917 date was before she applied for her patent, it remains a possibility.

American folk art banner promoting the use of paint patented by a woman.

Ref. Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office Volume CCLXX. January 1920 (Washington, 1920).  zxc