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Fading painted signs with Sam Roberts

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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

Categories Sign Stories

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

Categories Inspired by Signs, Sign Preservation

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

Categories Sign Stories, Signs of Note

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

Categories Sign Stories

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

Categories Inspired by Signs

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

Categories Signs of Note

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

Categories Sign Preservation

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

Categories Sign Preservation, Sign Stories, Signs of Note

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

Categories Sign Collections, Signs in Media

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

Categories Sign Collections

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

Categories Inspired by Signs, Sign Collections, Sign Initiatives, Sign Stories

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

Categories Inspired by Signs

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

Categories Inspired by Signs, Sign Collections, Sign Initiatives

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

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives, Sign Preservation

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

Categories Sign Preservation, Signs in Media, Signs of Note

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

Categories Sign Stories

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

Categories Signs of Note

The Enduring Legacy of the Joshua Brothers Distillery

Pickles Street in Melbourne was once home to the Joshua Brothers Distillery, and later United Distillers. The latter adorned the building with a series of … Read more

Categories Sign Preservation

Bovril’s Windrush Square Legacy

Windrush Square in Brixton is home to this, one of the most famous ghost signs in London. While the Bovril sign is still very prominent, … Read more

Categories Sign Stories

The Grand Exhibition of the Society of Sign Painters

The following article is re-posted from the original on Better Letters. This August we’ll be opening a very special sign painting exhibition within the public-facing … Read more

Categories Inspired by Signs, Sign Collections, Sign Destinations, Sign Folk, Sign Initiatives, Sign Making, Sign Stories

Evans, Jones & Ricketts Restoration in Talgarth, Mid Wales

The restoration of ghost signs seems to be becoming more prevalent in the UK, or perhaps I’m just more conscious of them taking place. While … Read more

Categories Sign Initiatives, Sign Preservation, Sign Stories, Signs of Note

Ariel / Writers Revisited

This ghost sign for Ariel motorbikes, and the Writers shop that sold them in Kennington, is one of my London favourites, partly due to the … Read more

Categories Sign Preservation

The Dioramas of Northall by Job Weessies

Job Weessies is a Dutch model maker and, after some time working on railway models, he has moved into working with card and on creating … Read more

Categories Inspired by Signs

A 1984 Photo of the Spitalfields Gillette Ghost Sign

I first posted about this illustrated Gillette ghost sign on Commercial Street back in 2007 when I came across it on Frank Jump’s Fading Ads … Read more

Categories Signs of Note
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Welcome

Hi, I'm Sam. I hope you enjoy learning about fading painted signs on this site. Please get in touch (sam@ghostsigns.co.uk) with discoveries and questions.

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Blog Topics

  • Signs of Note
  • Sign Stories
  • Sign Collections
  • Sign Initiatives
  • Sign Preservation
  • Sign Destinations
  • Sign Folk
  • Sign Making
  • Signs in Media
  • Inspired by Signs

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