Screen Door Letters

American Pickers is a favorite show at our house. The day that I found these letters I had a definite American Pickers’ moment. I was looking around in old, cluttered garage and spied the D attached to the top of a paint can. Then I found the W and E. I didn’t know what they were at first, but I knew I liked them. My mother told me that they were originally part of screen doors.

When I got the letters home, I stripped off the residual paint and cleaned them up. I originally intended to use the letters as trivets, so I painted and sealed them. The first time I put a hot pan on one, some of the paint came off. That was the end of the letters as trivets. Everyone has a DIY mishap now and then. I know now that I should have used a high heat spray paint, like those made by Rust-oleum. Maybe one day I’ll get them properly painted. For now the letters reside on a window sill in my kitchen as kitschy decorations.

In preparation for this post, I did some research about the history of the letters. They were part of the grill on mid-century, mill-finished aluminum doors. No Pattern Required has a post with Montgomery Ward’s old advertisement for them. Uncle Atom’s blog has a good deal of information about the letters and even helps people find the ones that they need. Apparently folks will pay upwards of $15 for them on eBay.  I had no idea. If I had, I might not have painted them…

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