Painted bamboo shop blinds & the 'Five Foot Way'

These blinds are a total throwback to my early childhood, when we lived in a medium-sized town in Malaysia. The main streets were festooned with illustrative blinds, painted in a slightly naive style I really love now. The purpose of the blinds was purely practical, however. Firstly they were to provide shade for shoppers along the 'Five Foot Way', and keep the shops themselves cooler. Secondly they doubled as advertising hoardings - for the vendor's name, or a full ad for a sponsoring brand. I clearly remember jolly, painted, toothpaste ads - complete with the product, toothbrush and a smiling lady (wearing a slight beehive and appropriately retro fashion). But the paintings could depict - usually packaged - products of any variety. 

In the old 'Chinese shophouse' style of architecture (which you can see even now throughout South East Asia) each street had rows of ground-level shops, separated from the road by both a deep storm-drain, and a covered walkway, which allowed people to move to-and-fro without expiring in the scorching heat. The walkway was roughly Five Feet wide, hence the name. When I was little, additional vendors would set up tiny stools or stalls selling trinkets and other items in the Five Foot Way itself. I used to love these - there was bling galore, a huge attraction for a small child! 

So anyway, the bamboo blinds hung on the outside of the Five Foot Way, thus shielding people from both tropical sun and rain. Some blinds had 'gaps' cut in them, so that shoppers could pass into the street at intervals. I can't find much information about these features, and so I have no idea when the blinds became popular, or the corresponding painted ads. But I'd make a guess at early-mid 20th century for the ads at least, and judging by the fashions depicted, there are still a few in existence from the 60s and 70s. (If anyone knows more - please comment!) 

It's rare to see originals of these delightful commercials now. I am sure they existed in Singapore as well, but have yet to see one after three years living in the city! You can still find a few in the smaller towns of Malaysia, however. And today's modern 'hipster' movement in places like Penang and Ipoh is also restoring and emulating them in a contemporary context. And although I agree that every city needs to develop and keep economically sound, I still have a great fondness for the old originals that remind me of childhood!

I found these examples on a recent trip to Ipoh in Malaysia. Most are originals, and there's even a sign-maker advertised in one of the photos - I wonder if he, or someone in his family, was once a painter of these lovely old ads?  [You can click on the photos for a larger slideshow - picture formatting is a disaster on Blogger, as usual, sorry!]