Sign Stories
Ghost sign histories and mysteries.
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John Hawkins, Steeles & Chaney Signs
This ghostsign on Stoke Newington High Street comes at about the halfway point of my walking tour through the area. It is a palimpsest which has been well researched by Sébastien Ardouin. I recently took a couple of close-up photos, one of which has added to this information about the sign. Sébastien references this old […]
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William Walker & Sons, Tanners, Curriers
This very faint ghost sign on Snowfields in Bermondsey is close to the start of my Bankside Ghostsigns Walk. It may not be around much longer if the building is lost to demolition, or another goes up in front of it as part of the redevelopment of the area around it. Roy Reed shared this […]
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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 full screen) will form the basis for this, in the context of the following notes. Recently while going through old binders with some of my very early research into ghostsigns […]
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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 photographic documentation (see previous post on his process), but also pinning ghostsigns onto an ever-growing map. This now pinpoints thousands of examples and allows areas with high densities of signs […]
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NOTICE: An English Language Ghostsign in Paris
I heard about this ghostsign in Paris via an email from Ralph Adam. It caught my attention for the use of English language on an historic sign in France and reminded me of the British Legion sign in Ypres, Belgium. It was then photographed by Adam Roberts of Invisible Paris and some email correspondence between […]
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When Daren Became Hovis: A Bizarre Ghostsigns ‘Restoration’
‘Ask for Daren Bread’ was once the simple slogan on this ghostsign on Avignon Road, London, SE4. The above image was taken by Lisa Edwards in 2007, sourced here in the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive. The site was likely a former bakery, sourcing its flour from the mills on the river Darent in […]