To which the answer must unfortunately be 'no'!
We had been so excited to hear that the 'iconic' Adam and Eve pub sign that I thought I remembered distinctly from my days as a school kid passing by on the top deck of the 240 bus, might still be stashed away in the property somewhere. Excitement hit fever pitch when we heard from the previous landlord that in fact the rather ordinary black pub sign that swung from the post outside the pub was in fact the original that had simply been painted over.
The sign was brought down and wrapped in cotton wool awaiting the arrival of the restoration team (alright, perhaps a bit of an exaggeration).
Anyway, the guys let loose with the watered-down paintstripper, and as carefully as possible removed the black paint and gold lettering that had been rather clumsily applied, only to find that perhaps my memory isn't quite as good as I thought, either that or the mists of time had severly distorted the image in our minds.
Bit of a disappointment, really, and we were about to assign the "artwork" to the skip when we decided to dismantle the sign, and in so doing uncovered the even older Taylor Walker 'Adam and Eve' sign on the reverse side of the later "effort".
Whilst this little gem might not be fit for use or relevant for display outside the pub anymore, it will be framed and hung neatly inside at a later date.
Does anyone remember this sign, or when it might have been displayed outside the Adam and Eve? Does anyone know when it came down to be replaced by the later version (above)? Does anyone know a GOOD artist who might be able to create a new pub sign?
***UPDATE***
An intriguing email from the son of a former landlord, who now lives in California, suggestes that the sign was handed to a friend of the family when his dad finally handed over the reigns in approx 1987. The search goes on!
