Fake Underground 'This Way To The Air Raid Shelter' Enamel Sign

As many visitors to this blog will know, original wartime enamel signage relating to ARP and Civil Defence are avidly collected and becoming very valuable. As prices rise, the opportunity to fleece punters with reproductions becomes more problematic.

The below enamel sign recently sold on the tat bazaar for almost £125 (incl. shipping). Most serious London Underground collectors know their history and will point out that the style of Underground roundel didn't appear until 30 years after the war ended. Also, not a single period photograph shows any enamel signage like this. The font isn't quite correct and the arrow isn't the right style used.

This particular example has also had some spurious additional crap added to the rear. We now have a label from the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) with 'Harringay' added. Obviously, the LNER has nothing to do with London Underground (Harringay doesn't have an Underground station).

The modern reproductions are getting scarily close to originals, though. If they put in the research, they'd be almost impossible to tell apart...

Fake Underground 'This Way To The Air Raid Shelter' Enamel Sign

Fake LNER label on fake Underground enamel sign