A Curtain Call for the Theatre Advertising of Old
Fading theater curtain with painted advertising discovered on former premises of Burr Theatre in Ludlow MA by Sean Hastings.
Stoke Newington Ghostsigns Walk: 28 December
Details of Christmas special Stoke Newington Ghostsigns Walk on Friday 28 December 2018.
Two Paris Beauties Under Wraps
A couple of years ago these two well-preserved ghost signs were revealed in Paris (see Streetview), presumably by the removal of billboards that covered and … Read more
F.W. Woolworth Co. and the Winston-Salem Sit-Ins
Absolutely fascinating investigation uncovering the historical connections between two glass signs for F.W. Woolworth Co. and the Winston-Salem sit-ins that played a major role in … Read more
Introducing the Pre-Vinylite Society Journal
There is one week left to back the printing of a brand new publication that will be of interest to all those interested in hand-painted … Read more
Singapore’s Historic Signs
I’ve never been to Singapore but have always believed it to be an ultra-modern city-state, and an unlikely place to find much in the way … Read more
London Street Level by Robert Brownjohn
I recently (28 October) hosted ‘Font Sunday’ on Twitter with the theme of ‘fading fonts’ to mark the changing of the clocks and the fading … Read more
Lancell Road’s Mystery Ghost Sign
[Download in high resolution] At 49 Stoke Newington Church Street, junction with Lancell Road, is this fragment of a ghost sign which, despite my best … Read more
Fonts Inspired by Ghost (and other) Signs
Earlier this year I was lucky to attend the launch of Lost & Foundry, a collection of fonts created and published by Fontsmith in collaboration … Read more
The Enduring Ephemera of J.M. Hill in Southwark
Although my Bankside Ghostsigns Walk ends further West along the road, it doesn’t spend any time on the Eastern end of Union Street. However, a … Read more
Follow the Tram Lines to the Mann Egerton Reveal in Norwich
Alex Clayton sent me photos of this recent reveal in Norwich. Located at Magdalen Road (opposite Whalebone Freehouse), it advertises the Mann Egerton & Co … Read more
Commit Some Nuisance for Bankside
One of the ‘bonus’ stops on my Bankside Ghostsigns Walk is a pair of signs on the back The Borough Welsh Congregational Chapel (Doyce Street … Read more
Scorched Earth Reveals Historic Eire Signs
A fire at Bray Head, County Wicklow, in Ireland, has revealed this fascinating relic of the second world war. This large-format Eire sign was one … Read more
It’s All Popping Off in Deptford Market Yard
In Deptford, South East London, the processes of development/gentrification are having an impact on the area’s walls, including ghost signs. The following is cribbed from … Read more
Recycling & Rearranging Ghost Signs
The above fragment of a ghost sign was revealed by the demolition of the adjascent building in Melbourne in 2014, as documented by Al Briggs … Read more
Shropshire Shop Fronts of the 1880s
My father-in-law discovered this astonishing collection of high quality photography showing the high street in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, in 1888. They were photographed by Joseph Lewis … Read more
Ghost Signs of Montreal & Ottawa from John Toohey
Ghost signs in Montreal, Canada, are an interesting category, due to the bilingual nature of the city and wider region of Quebec. This idiosyncracy has … Read more
Now Open: The Grand Exhibition of the Pre-Vinylite Society
The Grand Exhibition of the Pre-Vinylite Society is now showing for four days at the Bargehouse, behind the OXO Tower on London’s South Bank. Visitors … Read more
Light Capsules is Back (for one night only)
Tomorrow, Thursday 16 August, Craig Winslow is bringing his Light Capsules project back to London for a ‘one night only’ special reboot of the 100-year-old … Read more
Social Decay from Andrei Lacatusu
Digital artist Andrei Lacatusu has created Social Decay, a series of images depicting a possible future of washed-up digital companies and their derelict signs. They … Read more
Brilliant at Las Vegas’ Neon Museum
[This is a reposting of the original blog post on Better Letters.] Since 1996 Las Vegas’ Neon Museum has put the city’s decommissioned signage on … Read more
64,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Cave Paintings
Continuing the occassional exploration of ‘ancient’ signs, I was thrilled to hear of this evidence that Neanderthals were busy painting the walls of caves across … Read more
Bill-Poster: A London Type
Sadly we recently lost what was one of my all-time favourite ghost signs, in the shape of the Black Cat on Dingley Road. RIP. The … Read more
Los Angeles’ Reverse Palimpsest
This ‘reverse’ ghost sign was recently revealed in Los Angeles and provides a third example of concrete setting and holding back the paint that once … Read more