A few scant examples of some condensed Roman style water-applied decals inspired Sign Letters JNL.

The decals were once part of the gold and black “Signmaker” letters and numbers once manufactured by the Duro Decal Company of Chicago and were sold through hardware and variety stores across the country.

The condensed letters (which were eight inches in height) did not sell as well as Duro’s mainstay sizes of 1/2 inch to 3-1/2 inches and were discontinued long before the rest of the line was supplanted by self-adhesive lettering.