Month: November 2012

It’s Alive: Gilding with Ken Davis

Ken Davis – It’s Alive from Taylor Morgan on Vimeo. Hope you enjoy this short film about the gilder Ken Davis and his piece on glass for Empire 7 Studios in San Jose, California. Find more video content on Ghostsigns.

28 Nov 2012

Hand-painted Asahi beer sign at the Earl of Portobello

Regular correspondent Ross Corben sent me this newly painted sign for Asahi beer on the side of the Earl of Portobello pub in West London (close up below). It’s an unusual brand for a piece of hand-painted advertising in my opinion, at least in light of the synergy between other users of the medium such as Jack […]

24 Nov 2012

Vandalised frescoes with a twist in Valencia’s cathedral

This before and after of a fresco in Valencia cathedral shows that smutty humour will never grow old – the drawing on the angel’s wing will be familiar to anyone who has ever visited a school toilet. What is interesting about this one is that it was added by a workman in the 17th century […]

21 Nov 2012

A novel approach to ghostsign conservation from Vancouver

This ghostsign for the Little Theatre in Vancouver is the subject of a unique preservation effort prompted by the efforts of the Grandview Heritage Group. In response to a letter sent to the developers currently at work on the building they have been told that two actions will be taken to preserve the sign. First […]

17 Nov 2012

Liverpool Ghost Signs by Caroline and Phil Bunford

Today sees the publication of the UK’s first ghostsigns book. Liverpool Ghost Signs by Caroline and Phil Bunford is “a sideways look at the city’s advertising history” and features over 150 images of fading, crumbling and disused signage. Caroline and Phil were almost single-handedly responsible for the material from Liverpool in the History of Advertising […]

15 Nov 2012

Ghostsigns from Invisible Bordeaux

Tim Pike runs the Invisible Bordeaux blog. I recently helped him find some locations in the area for a new series of posts about ghostsigns. In addition to this first blog post about ghostsigns in Bordeaux, Tim has cleverly plotted them all on a Google map which he will add to as he makes more […]

3 Nov 2012