Vintage "Fixed Rates / Ek Daam" Tin Shop Sign

A vintage bilingual tin shop sign reading "FIXED RATES" in bold black English capitals, with "एक दाम" (Ek Daam, "one price") in Hindi beneath. The cream panel has a scalloped, dotted border and a cheerful cluster of orange and yellow flowers in the corner, all framed in a bright turquoise rim with folded edges. Two pre-punched holes at the top let it hang. The back is bare metal with honest rust spots and patina, and the front shows light age toning. It's a fun, conversation-starting piece of Indian shopfront history for a kitchen, studio, café or your own stall.

Signs like this were once everywhere in Indian bazaars, where they politely told customers that haggling wasn't on the menu. Their bold, cheerful lettering belongs to a street-signage tradition that's fast disappearing. Across Indian cities, painted and lettered shop boards have been replaced in recent decades by cheap digitally printed flex banners. In Ahmedabad, one painter estimated that only about 50 sign board painters were left.