One Show Piece Online

[Update: No longer available on BBC website, visit this page to see the piece.]

The One Show piece from last month has now been posted onto their page on the BBC website.

Design Week

Nice piece from David Bernstein published in Design Week, 22nd April 2010.

(Click image to see larger version or read full text below)



PRIVATE VIEW APRIL 2010

"'There stands the ghost of a great name' wrote Lucan, the Roman poet. He was referring to Pompey. Not the football club but the general who also lost regularly - to Julius Caesar. Lucan’s invocation came to mind after I attended, at the IPA, the launch last month of Ghostsigns, the new archive housed by the History of Advertising Trust (HAT). The progenitor is Sam Roberts who six years ago confronted fading advertisements painted directly on walls near his North London home. He captured them on camera and sought, via sites such as Flickr, others to assist him in photographing, researching and archiving what he terms as 'the last survivors of this fading advertising medium'.

His enthusiasm and energy were in evidence at the launch. The archive now comprises some 600 items, sufficient for Sam to construct a narrative and analysis of this forgotten craft. Supporting him are both HAT and sponsor Rank Hovis (whose artefacts are still visible on walls across the country).

Sam regards Ghostsigns as 'a neglected part of our cultural history'. The archive helps remedy that and fill in gaps in the history of not just signage but advertising and marketing, both local and national. For Ghostsigns provide more than just a window into a past age. The recent activity has enabled the medium (in his words) 'to question the present'. There is a paradox here: both continuity and discontinuity. Yes, the artefacts are faded and the window reveals dead brands (Bile Beans, Turog bread, Black Cat cigarettes) and 'a different time when smoking benefited your throat and people took their fountain pens to be repaired'.

But at the same time the collection breathes evidence of lasting brands: Hovis, Gillette, Twinings, Nestle, Boots. Great names indeed. The reasons for the durability of the remaining signs are varied: less exposure to weathering, re-emergence as a result of subsequent building work, being covered by a billboard, and the addition of white lead to the paint. Durability was an accepted fact: contracts were measured in years. New advertisers might, however, paint over out-of- contract signs providing an intriguing glimpse into a neverland of fused products. Gillette matches for instance is not a weird brand extension but the accidental collage of Gillette razors and Criterion matches.

Media buying of yesteryear questions the present. ‘Think National. Act local.’ could have been a strapline for the Hovis strategy. The name of the local baker would be associated with the brand on the wall by the bakery. The sign for the Waterman pen would be painted alongside one for the outlet, the fountain pen specialists Walker Brothers. With the growth of the railways key sites adjacent to stations were utilised, visible from platforms and carriage windows.

Another paradox has arisen, with a move originating in 2007 and prompted by public and media interest, to have Ghostsigns protected as with listed buildings. Archiving is one thing, reviving and refreshing is something else. As Sam writes in the current issue of The Ephemerist, ‘While the signs would have received fresh coats of paint when they served a genuine functional purpose, there is a superficiality reapplying the paint when the sign is devoid of this purpose.’ However, he can console himself with the fact his research has unearthed: when old designs are painted over, the later manifestation fades first, revealing the ghost.

With HAT’s co-operation the archive will be secure, professionally looked after and free to access online (www.hatads.org.uk). Sam Roberts meanwhile still seeks to enlist collectors with cameras to augment the Ghostsigns archive. Kindred spirits you might say."

BBC Radio Scotland

Interview with Clare English on The Culture Cafe program on BBC Radio Scotland, broadcast on Tuesday, 20th April.

Preserve

Fischer Strube, Luzern Switzerland (Photo: Erik Wallace)

While mine and the History of Advertising Trust's efforts have focused on hand painted advertising from the UK and Ireland it's always worth remembering that Ghostsigns are a global phenomenon. In fact there are others around the world attempting to capture them for posterity in much the same way as we've done with the archive.

In New Zealand you should check out the work of Mark Spurgeon, a typography enthusiast and graphic designer who has been inviting contributions to his website for over a year now. The majority of examples featured are from New Zealand and Australia but over time the photos have become increasingly global.

Here are some highlights from the site and each month a new set is added. Mark also kindly offered some commentary on his work which you can read below. I wonder if there might be an opportunity to collaborate and scale up the project/archive to similarly move it onto a more worldwide footing? I'm not volunteering yet but there's certainly enough content on Flickr etc to do this if there was an easier way of categorising and cataloguing the signs. More thoughts to follow...


Auckland, New Zealand (Photo: Mark Spurgeon)

What is Preserve?

"Preserve an attempt to produce a permanent photographic record of hand painted building signage. These old signs are being erased from our cities either being worn away by weather over time, covered as buildings have been repainted, disappearing as buildings are demolished or replaced with modern signage equivalents. The collection is mostly in New Zealand signage but there are also signs posted from other countries as people contribute to the collection."

When did you start the site and what motivated you to start it?

"Even as a kid I really old buildings, there seems to be charm about them that is not captured in todays modern structures. I can still remember in Wellington, where I grew up, seeing the large warehouses with advertising painted down the sides for various products from times past. These old buildings certainly then had a charm about them and as time has moved on even more so. I have a real love for old type and its many forms it comes in but there is something special when you see a building with a really well painted large weather worn sign, I guess its about the scale, size and hand crafted nature that attracts me.

I started photographing signs on buildings about 4 years ago, the first sign I took a photo of was in Sydney while I was there for work. It was just a simple sign thats says 'Beware of Traffic', I only saw it as it was at eye level and when I did see it I saw more than just a warning but a hand crafted creation, a work of art in itself. After taking that shot I began to build up a library of shots mostly from New Zealand. Initially I was keen to put them into a book of some kind but a website was the easier route to take and just over a year ago Preserve was launched."

Off George St, Sydney, Australia (Photo: Dan Davis)

What do you enjoy most about doing the site?

"I guess there are two aspects which are linked:

1. I really like the idea that Preserve is somehow capturing a fast disappearing craft. There are not too many signage guys out there that can hand paint a good sign now days although there are still a few around that can do an 'old school' sign. Most signs are now plastic computer generated type that have lost that old world aesthetic charm they once had and
2. In some small way Preserve is archiving some of New Zealand's signage heritage as it disappears before our eyes."

Where do take most of your photos/how do you find the material you shoot?

"Most material I have shot has been in Christchurch as it has plenty to shoot and also its where I live. Having said that it is getting harder to find as most of the obvious signs have been photographed and you really have to look to find the not so obvious ones. Usually to find the good ones you have to get out on the streets and walk around not looking straight a head but usually looking up as thats where most on them are. To find them I also normally head for the older parts of town that are a little run down where the owners haven't done any upkeep on the buildings. Over the years to get the shots I have had to hang out windows 3 stories up, manage to rip my pants climbing over barb wire fences and chased by guard dogs once over. All of the New Zealand shots I have taken are in large digital format and shortly I will releasing a limited edition range of posters on the site."

As you can probably tell there are lots of parallels between Mark's story and mine and it's good to know that the Ghostsign hunting experience is much the same the world over. You will also find some examples from the UK on Mark's site, for example the one below from Bob & Roberta Smith's 'Shop Local' campaign.


Hoxton Street, Shoreditch, London, England (Photo: E. Lombardi)

Thanks for sharing your work with us Mark and keep it up. If you want to get in touch then visit the Preserve site or email Mark on mark@preserve.co.nz.

Ghostsigns Indoors

English's Fancy Bazaar by Paul & Karen Rennie

What with launching the archive, getting married and travel plans impacted by the volcano I'm a little behind with blog posting. This means I've been sitting on this little discovery for a couple of months.

What you see above is the first and only example I've ever come across of a Ghostsign indoors. Clearly the wall was once outside and the building from which the photo has been taken was built afterwards, or at least the attic at the top which now keeps this piece of signwriting secret from the world.

The picture was sent to me by Paul & Karen Rennie and they say it was a key factor (perhaps even the key factor) in their decision to buy the house. They tell me, "It was advertising English's Fancy Bazaar which was a sort of gift shop back in the late 19C".

It's interesting that their line of work is running a shop specialising in 20th century british art and design, a fancy bazaar of their very own. Have a look at the shop here, and note Karen's print design for Captain Webb Matches, a brand which keen followers will recognise from the Bradford Ghostsign.

What a great find, thanks Paul and Karen for sending across.