Best antique and/or vintage dealers

Maybe head over to Portobello Road. I know there’s one antique store, Alice’s, that looked interesting but we didn’t go in.

London is pretty limited in terms of markets, particularly for the sort of things you're looking for, but in terms of books, I can rect one dealer in particular - Peter Harrington (https://www.peterharrington.co.uk/)

most towns have auction rooms, most of which have specialist sales from time to time. Virtually all have online catalogs and virtually all will allow international live bidding by phone or (usually) internet.

That's where I'd start. Where would you like to have the sign from, what part of the country? Again, start there. There are a number who specialise in antiquarian books and there are antiquarian book sellers, predominantly in the London area in Charing Cross Road before its continuation north as Tottenham Court Road... have a look in Google for Charing Cross Road bookshops or book dealers...

good luck

I appreciate that it's not on your visit list but if you're interested in antiques then Petworth is a major centre for antiques, https://discoverpetworth.uk/petworth-antiques.

Most antique businesses have moved online rather than have a bricks and mortar shop. Also, antiques have fallen out of favour, as people don’t want dark, old furniture.

Out of London, car boot sales and architectural salvage yards would be the places to look for old pub signs.

Portobello Road is always fun on a Saturday, but my recent trip there in late April showed some empty stalls in the shops--still worth checking out, go early to avoid the crowds that surge in around 11 am. I also like the Jubilee market at Covent Garden on Mondays when they feature antiques and collectibles. If you get to Greenwich, which I really loved spending an afternoon in, they have a very old market that features different things on different days--Tues, Thurs and Fri it's antiques--and some excellent food options.

I was in search of a vintage children's book shop called Marchpane, in Cecil Court which is near Charing Cross Road and the Covent Garden market area--it was wonderful, lots of rare and very charming books--and managed to find a really cool fine antiques shop across the pedestrianized court, Mark Sullivan Antiques--you might find something intriguing there, and if not, the proprietor is absolutely delightful, we had such a wonderful chat about all kinds of things.

Goodness knows, I love this forum. I can always count on a wide variety of suggestions and commentary and you have all delivered OUTSTANDINGLY. So much to investigate and find and I will run all of your suggestions down in short order. Well done, all - many thanks!