11 Mar 2008
Ghost Signs Received (Europe)
Having been fairly busy over the last few months at work and on my course I’ve only been making the occasional posts of things that people have sent to me. What has resulted is a slight backlog of pictures and so these posts will pull these together along geographic lines (London, UK, Europe and USA).
All the pictures are creditted and thank you to everyone who has sent them to me. I’m always looking for new images, locations and bits of research so if you’d like to share your signs and stories just email them to me on sam@ghostsigns.co.uk.
So, next up are some signs from France and Germany sent to me by David, Lucia and Ian.
The French certainly have a flair for these signs. Something you really notice over there is the mixture of prolific regional or national campaigns but also the high number of shop/enterprise specific signs in small towns and villages. This one is for Creme Eclipse and was found in Aix.
This drinks brand had a campaign across France. This one is from Aix and I also saw one on last year’s visit to Beziers.
Here’s one for the shop that was located in the building, here specialising in beauty products. Again from Aix.
Another solo sign from aix, this one publicising a mens clothes shop. You can even get cravats there!
It looks like this shop in Contignac hasn’t been in business for some time but the old sign above the door lives on, just!
Another shop gone out of business in Contignac.
This is a painted sign on the entrance to the cellar of a building in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin. It was sent to me by Ian Tuck who is a former sign writer from London who produced the large Streets Cafe sign in Waterloo.
The sign writing tradition originated in Europe and was taken over to USA with the waves of immigrants in that direction. Each country has its own distinct style and you can see more at these sites:
- French & Belgian Signs
- My photos from France
- Observations from France
Related Posts
-
The origins of painting on walls
I’ve become increasingly intrigued by the origins of painting on walls, and the evolution of the form over time, up to the current vogue for street art. While the walls of caves were not made of brick, they did nonetheless provide people with an early canvass for their painting. The transition from these depictions of […]
11 Jul 2012
-
Alain Murzeau, Furniture Maker, Angers, France
The former home of this century-old business tells a story of its changing family ownership. Photos: Keith Roberts.
23 Mar 2024
-
French Connection
I’ve just recently returned from five weeks in the south of France, hence the lack of Ghost Sign news since late June. It looks like Frank Jump was also doing something similar recently and details of my trip last year are here. Just before I left Caroline tipped me off about a Ghost Signs ‘convention’ […]
10 Sep 2008
