Fading painted signs

Chemist

Back in 2016 I gave a short talk about my archiving work at the annual conference of the Business Archives Council, where one of the organisers was a project archivist for Boots chemists. Afterwards I shared the above image and forwarded her the archival photo […]

Tracking Down Boots in Stoke-on-Trent

This entry was posted in Sign Stories and tagged Archival Photos Archive Boots Business Archives Council Chemist Chris Morris HAT Horace Dudley Middlesbrough Stoke Stoke-on-Trent UK Wigan on March 30, 2018 by Sam Roberts

The Cat & Mutton pub on Broadway Market in East London has a remarkable array of Victorian glasswork on display in the main bar (see samples below). However, on a recent visit for a family Christmas meal, my uncle and I discovered the above two […]

Gardiner & Lacey at the Cat & Mutton

This entry was posted in Sign Destinations Sign Stories Signs of Note and tagged Architectural Salvage Broadway Market Cat & Mutton Chemist Gardiner Gardiner & Lacey George Plunkett Glasswork Keith Roberts Lacey London London Fields Norwich Opticians Pharmacy Raven pub Salvage St Giles Street UK Victorian Youngs Crawshay & Youngs on January 26, 2018 by Sam Roberts

Fading painted sign on wall for Inch & Co Chemists — Coming back from my visit to South London I also spotted this ghostsign advertising Inch & Co Cash Chemists on Kennington Park Road. As I was trying to recall the location I searched for the company name and found a couple of references to it […]

Inch & Co Chemists Inspires Poetry

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Signs of Note and tagged Art Chemist Formerly Inch & Co Kennington Kennington Park Road London Medical Poem Poetry Tamar Yoseloff UK on October 20, 2013 by Sam Roberts

Hand-painted lettering on a wall saying 'Furniture Bought, Sold Or' — This is a detail from one of my all-time favourite ghostsigns. It’s on Dulwich Road in South London and already features in the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive. I had never actually seen it ‘in the flesh’ so it was a great surprise addition […]

S Errington and some other South London Ghostsigns

This entry was posted in Individual Signs and tagged Alcohol Beer Bovril Brixton Chemist Cigarettes Clothing Craven A Dulwich Road Food Furniture Ghostsigns Inch & Co John Lovibond London Mari Boman Our Sons Menswear S Errington Sam Roberts Tobacco on September 22, 2013 by Sam Roberts

The Circulating Library sign from Bath is certainly one of the most popular and regularly photographed ghostsigns in the UK [See comments on this post for some more on this sign]. However, this is the first time I’ve seen it appear in watercolour. This painting […]

Lyndsey Smith and the signs of Bath and Lewes

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Folk and tagged Art Bath Boots Chemist Circulating Library Lewes Lyndsey Smith Shop Signs UK Watercolours on September 5, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Enhanced image of hand painted sign on building in Bath — I was recently interviewed by Kirsten Elliott of Akeman Press for an article in a forthcoming magazine launch scheduled for later this year. We’ve since been in email contact as a result of our shared interest in ghostsigns and those from Bath in particular. (Regular […]

Two brilliant ghostsigns from Bath

This entry was posted in Individual Signs and tagged Akeman Press Bath Chemist History Kirsten Elliott Porter R. Boseley Research Signwriter UK on August 5, 2012 by Sam Roberts

Boots Camden High Street — This sign is clearly visible from Camden Town tube station as you look up Camden High Street towards Mornington Crescent. You wouldn’t see it if you were in a car or on a bike because of the one way streets, but on foot it catches […]

Boots

This entry was posted in Individual Signs and tagged Boots Camden Chemist London UK on June 18, 2007 by Sam Roberts