Preserving, protecting and restoring ghost signs.
Previously covered by billboards, this wonderful ghostsign advertising Yager’s has just been revealed in Stamford Hill. Following many tweets (via @ghostsigns) and emails concerning the sign, I had to go and have a look for myself. Thank you to everyone that got in touch, here it is back in 2009, with the billboards still in …
This elegant painted sign adorning the stonework above the entrance to 154 Bishopsgate, London EC2, is no more, recently replaced by mounted metal letters (see picture below). Although it isn’t what most would refer to as a ghostsign (see my chapter, What is a Ghost Sign?, in this forthcoming book), it was a striking and …
The H. Callcut & Son sign that once adorned this house front has now been whitewashed (see below). It was on Blackstock Road in North London, close to my old primary school, so I was quite sad to see this familiar landmark lost to property development. The photo above, and the details below were taken …
[28 July 2015 – This post updated with new images and comments below] This stunning reveal in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex features three ghostsigns. In sequence these are for Ambrosia, Black Cat Cigarettes and a tea rooms, captured here by Ed Loach. Their appearance has caught the eye of many locals, with calls for their protection …
The Cat gets the Cream in this Clacton-on-Sea Reveal Read More »
This beautiful gilded script once marked the home of Ambridge Signs. When they left the premises the sign didn’t come with them and, until last month, it provided a reminder of the area’s signwriting heritage. It was situated on this unassuming building at the end of a terrace on Southgate Road, De Beauvoir, but has now …
I’d always noticed number 77 Shacklewell Lane because of the ghostsign below. Although very faint, it appears to advertise a business called/run by Grime. Below this was a blacked out shop fascia, overlooking the bus stop. Back in January I was cycling past and had to stop to take a closer look at some brightly …
Back in 2011 an old 1920s shop fascia was revealed on Kentish Town High Street. The nature of the E.Mono business remains a mystery but the new occupants, a kebab shop, decided the sign was worth keeping and named their shop after the historic proprietors. (Andrew Whitehead has written detailed pieces on the reveal on …
When I give talks on the history of signs painted on walls I often refer to their ancient history, going back at least as far as Roman times. Evidence for this comes from the ruins at Pompeii and Herculaneum as seen before on these photos shared with me by Will Collin five years ago. (Ancient …
Last year I was invited to contribute an article on ghostsigns to the reincarnation of the Monotype Recorder periodical. It focused on issues of protection and restoration which I have covered regularly on this blog and continue to maintain an active interest in. A couple of weeks ago I brought these issues to my first …
This ghostsign for Peters Ice Cream in Sydney was photographed and shared by Mike Meyer while in Australia running signwriting workshops with Better Letters. It has been covered by a perspex sheet, presumably to protect it from vandalism and, to a degree, the elements. It is not a new approach but one that I think …
Perspex Protecting Ghostsigns from Barcelona to Sydney Read More »