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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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