This sign is dated on the back. I think I painted it around 1993. The letters are called Italian five-line pica and were first issued by Caslon and Catherwood in 1821. Samples of the typeface can be seen in Wood Type by Rob Roy Kelly and in Nineteenth Century Ornamented Typefaces by Nicolete Gray. Serifs are flipped from their normal orientation and horizontal strokes are thicker than vertical strokes, also a reversal of letter design convention.