Saturday, July 12, 2008

Project Black: Take Three

Big Black Barn
Yesterday I was out on a long drive and came across some Mail Pouch barns across the river in the state of Ohio. I probably photographed four or five of them. Covered bridges was actually the reason for the day trip and I'll post about those later. It just so happened none of the bridges were black!

If you are a regular reader you know I've posted some of these barns before. They were originally painted by the tobacco company as advertisement. We have a lot here in West Virginia. Some are painted all black with the ad on two sides. Some are painted with red on two sides like this one. This was the first one I had ever seen with red sides. You can see a hint of the red on the right side of the barn. Many are in disrepair; but this one had been recently painted and was in excellent condition. A farmer sat on his tractor and waved at us as we stopped to take a look!

Project Black is hosted by Anna at Anna Carson Photography.

31 comments:

Raven said...

Nice shot. I always like the way those barns look, even though I don't like what they are selling.

Robert said...

I'd much prefer a plainly colored barn. It seems almost graffiti like to paint a tobacco add on the side. Great find for black however!

Willow said...

Carletta, I'm glad you liked my cathedral shots. I loved walking past there (tried to do it daily while I was in London) just to see the black flint stone. It's sort of tucked away with other buildings around it although you can see the top of it from the train.

I love your bear! And I've been thinking of black eyed susans all day and glad you posted a photo!

Janice Thomson said...

Well it certainly fits the black theme. Great photo Carletta.

Eve said...

That got set as my wallpaper so fast. That is a great pic.

Black theme? I want to play.

Anonymous said...

You know, I'd forgotten that it was common for the sides of old barns and warehouses to be used as billboards. A piece of history gone without me even noticing.

Speaking of history, if you go to Vermont and tour the covered bridges, you'll find one with my last name on it. Uhm, not painted though -- it's a sign, That's the name of the bridge, too. (Really, Officer, I didn't do it and I don't know how the can of spray paint in my hand came to be there.)

Anonymous said...

This is a great shot, while i too don't care much for what they are advertising it is however an eyecatcher - the whole point i guess!! Great for project black:0)

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Carletta: How I remember the Mail Pouch signs on the old unpaited barns. Great capture.

Anonymous said...

Love the barn. In today's pc society its hard to believe they had the courage to re-paint it. Bravo to the painters.

MaR said...

Love such country scenes, very beautiful find, Carletta!

Anonymous said...

Ha! What a fabulous find for project black. Good eye!!

Anonymous said...

Great find! Interesting, too... I thought tobacco advertising was banned...

I had to go look, lol... if anyone is interested:

Tobacco Advertising

judi/Gmj said...

Fun, I like these barns. I have been looking for black and the only thing that isn't green in this silly state is rocks. Well, the grass is turning brown... :)

Anil P said...

Advertising the old fashioned way.

juliana said...

the advertising seems a bit aggressive but i love the shot!

Unknown said...

That's so cool that the farmer has kept it in such good condition!

VaQueenBee said...

I think the old Mail Pouch barns started my love for old barns! How nice that they've kept this barn in good condition. Like you said, so many have gone into disrepair. I'm originally from Ohio and have travelled in KY and WV a lot...this is a real treasure!

Anonymous said...

Same here Raven I don't like tobacco. But it's beautiful shot. Perfect for black theme! Thanks for the comment.

brittaffeldt said...

great find!

JunieRose2005 said...

I like that !


Junie

Anonymous said...

Wow - all great shots. The sign is really funny, but I particularly like the bear.

Neal said...

That sign brings back memories. When I used to drive from IN to TN there were lots of those signs. Maybe there still is but I don't see them from the interstate.

George Townboy said...

Beautiful, looks like a painting!

George Townboy said...

BTW, my fond memory of "Black Is Black" is waking up in a flop house in Amsterdam in 1967 to it blaring in the streets. The original, of course. LOL

Rose said...

I always like barns--no matter if they are painted, old, new. And I like this one...

Also, got to tell you I had not thought of the song Black is Black in a zillion years! So thanks for the memory.

I finally got a post on both my blogs today...been having storms so been unplugging everything.

Jeanne Damoff said...

I love barns--especially old, crumbly ones out in the big middle of nowhere. So much scope for the imagination.

(No doubt it's fabulous, but I probably won't chew any mail pouch tobacco.)

Anonymous said...

Great for project black. These barns are just so American!

Mark said...

I always liked the look of these black barns, even if they are symbolic of (or still contributing to the trade of) tobacco.

Debbie said...

I loved the last barn and I love this one! I want to come and ride in your countryside!!

Maybe with the owner of the nice motorcycle?? ROFL

Rebecca (Ramblings by Reba) said...

I love barns.

I've looked at all your Project Black shots now, and I really like what you've done with them. I think "Blessings" and this one are my favorites. Really nice.

Anna said...

Oh I love this sign! Reminds me of road trips with my family.