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Fading painted signs with Sam Roberts

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Sign Initiatives

Ghost sign projects and events.

Ghost Signs & Light Capsules in Winnipeg

Ghost signs & light capsules in Winnipeg are the focus of Writing on the Wall, a short film about the city and the work that has been done to document and preserve them.

Categories Inspired by Signs, Sign Destinations, Sign Folk, Sign Initiatives, Sign Making, Sign Preservation, Signs in Media

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

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

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

Roy Reed’s Reconstructions

Roy Reed is a prolific collector and researcher of ghost signs, and uses his skills as a designer to decipher them. I’ve featured his work … Read more

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

Michelle Heron’s Fantastic Fascias

Michelle Heron is a London-based painter with a paticular fascination for old shops and shop fronts. Her paintings depict iconic fascias, many of which have … Read more

Categories Inspired by Signs, Sign Collections, Sign Initiatives

NE Signs Scavenger Hunt

Following a series of discussions on Twitter myself and a handful of others have decided to run a scavenger hunt to locate, photograph and map … Read more

Categories Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives, Signs of Note

Ghostsigns of Clapham, a Forthcoming Walk

Following my talk to the Clapham Society last summer we are joining forces, with Roy Reed, to develop a walk exploring the many ghost signs … Read more

Categories Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives

London Street Signs with Alistair Hall

Alistair Hall of We Made This has spent the last couple of years documenting and researching the various forms taken by London’s Street Signs. He … Read more

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Initiatives

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 4

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations … Read more

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives, Sign Preservation, Signs in Media

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 3

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations … Read more

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives, Sign Preservation, Signs in Media

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 2

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations … Read more

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives, Sign Preservation, Signs in Media

The Future of Ghostsigns’ Walking Tours

After much deliberation I have taken the decision to cease leading my public walking tours after the last one in May this year. That means … Read more

Categories Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives

Photo Album of Painted Coca-Cola Signs (1914)

Earlier this year I came across this project to restore a photo album of painted Coca-Cola signs, dating from 1913-14. The album is a fascinating … Read more

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Initiatives

Cookie Cutter Shops on Walthamstow High Street

Simon Memel sent me a link to this article on Dezeen by Owen Hatherley about an odd thing that has just happened on Walthamstow High … Read more

Categories Sign Initiatives, Sign Making, Sign Preservation, Signs in Media

When Better Letters Met Cliff Headford

This is a reposting of the article that originally appeared here on the Better Letters blog. On 4th July 2016 I received the following email … Read more

Categories Sign Folk, Sign Initiatives, Sign Making, Signs in Media

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 1

I am conducting a small investigation into the ghostsigns of Islington and am appealing for help from readers of this blog. The map below (view … Read more

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives, Sign Preservation, Sign Stories, Signs in Media

Ken Jones’ Butte Palimpsests

Dr Ken Jones has been doing an incredible job documenting the ghostsigns of America via his American Ghosts project. Not only does this involve detailed … Read more

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

Advertising & Public Memory: Social, Cultural and Historical Perspectives on Ghost Signs

Advertising & Public Memory is the first scholarly book focused on ghostsigns. It was a labour of love across much of 2015, work that included … Read more

Categories Sign Initiatives, Signs in Media

The Ghostsigns Tours App is Out Now

The Ghostsigns Tours App, and the Bankside Ghostsigns Walk within it, are now available from iTunes and Google Play (for Android). The app brings the … Read more

Categories Sign Destinations, Sign Initiatives

Light Capsules from Craig Winslow

Craig Winslow is an experiential designer who has recently turned his gaze towards ghostsigns, and the creative possibilities offered by applying his expertise in light … Read more

Categories Inspired by Signs, Sign Folk, Sign Initiatives, Sign Preservation

Ghost Letters of Vienna

Ghost Letters of Vienna is a project to photographically document the wide range of fading fascias, and other forms of redundant lettering, on buildings in … Read more

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Initiatives, Signs in Media
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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

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Around the World with Ghostsigns

Around the World with Ghostsigns...  Australia |  Austria |  Bangladesh |  Belgium |  Cambodia |  Canada |  China |  Denmark |  Egypt |  El Salvador |  France |  Gambia |  Germany |  Guatemala |  Hong Kong |  Hungary |  India |  Ireland |  Italy |  Jamaica |  Kenya |  Mexico |  Netherlands |  New Zealand |  Nicaragua |  Norway |  Poland |  Portugal |  Scotland |  Singapore |  South Africa |  Spain |  UK |  Ukraine |  USA |  Wales

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