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April 17, 2008

Birmingham author Tim Hollis has written several books about Birmingham on topics as varied as local television personality Cousin Cliff and Birmingham’s broadcasting industry. (Hollis has also written histories of Walt Disney Records and Panama City Beach’s Miracle Strip)

Hollis’ latest is Vintage Birmingham Signs, consisting of black-and-white photographs of landmark signage dating back to the 1940s. Most of the book’s images are from the collections of local sign companies such as Dixie Neon, Alabama Neon, and Ace Neon. Included are several of the defunct barbecue restaurants that once made Birmingham a pork haven, including the Pig Trails Inn in Homewood, Little Pigs of America Tennessee Pit Barbecue in Cahaba Heights, and Uncle Tom’s Bar-B-Q at 2200 Sixth Avenue South, (a plastic pig turning on a spit is the latter sign’s centerpiece).

Images of downtown Birmingham retail and skyscraper signs offer a glimpse of an era when downtown was bustling with activity. The section devoted to automobile dealers includes T’nT Safe Buy Cars and “Sorrowful” Jones, a used car dealer whose sign included a sad-faced character. Many long-forgotten products are featured, such as the short-lived Lime Cola from 1946 that featured Bob Hope and Bing Crosby as pitchmen.

Hollis will sign copies of Vintage Birmingham Signs at Alabama Booksmith on April 25 at 6 p.m. For further information visit www.alabamabooksmith.com or call 870-4242.