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Conservation

Restoration Period: My Monotype Recorder Article Now Available to Read Online

Extended article examining what to do about ghost signs in terms of conservation, restoration, and protection.

Categories Sign Preservation, Signs in Media

N.E. Signs Appreciation Society Wins Appreciation from Hackney Council

Update on work to document and protect Hackney’s surviving street signs with the now-defunct N.E. postal district, including successful Hackney Society lobbying.

Categories Sign Collections, Sign Preservation

Writing Off the Wall: The Wholesale Removal of a Viennese Ghost Sign

Last summer an extraordinary project took place in Vienna, Austria, with the aim of removing an early-20th Century ghost sign for Adolf Grünsfeld, in its … Read more

Categories Sign Preservation, Signs of Note

A Curtain Call for the Theatre Advertising of Old

Fading theater curtain with painted advertising discovered on former premises of Burr Theatre in Ludlow MA by Sean Hastings.

Categories Sign Preservation, Sign Stories, Signs of Note

Two Paris Beauties Under Wraps

A couple of years ago these two well-preserved ghost signs were revealed in Paris (see Streetview), presumably by the removal of billboards that covered and … Read more

Categories Sign Preservation, Signs of Note

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

Categories Sign Preservation

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 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

Categories Sign Preservation

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

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

Categories Sign Preservation

RIP: London Co-Op, Frederic Street

This ghost sign for the London Co-Operative Society on Frederic Street, London E17, has now been partially covered by new signage for the Still Bar … Read more

Categories Sign Stories, Signs in Media, Signs of Note

The Vacuum Shop and George Braun

Guests on my Stoke Newington Ghostsigns Walk in early 2015 were lucky to see a bonus fading fascia en route, advertising The Vacuum Shop. This … Read more

Categories Sign Making, Sign Stories

Tracing the Origins of ‘Ghost’ Signs

When did old painted signs on walls become known as ‘ghost’ signs, and who coined the phrase? These questions crop up often in my discussions … Read more

Categories Signs in Media
Restoration Period spread from Monotype Recorder

Restoration Period in the Monotype Recorder

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 … Read more

Categories Sign Preservation, Signs in Media
Painted sign on a wall advertising 'Hospital for Horses and Dogs'

Skirting the Edges of a Ghostsign in Washington DC

Here is a new (to me at least) approach to respecting ghostsigns while undertaking building renovations/property development. The host wall of this sign in Washington … Read more

Categories Signs of Note
Hand painted sign on a building in Australia advertising HMV

Conservation guidelines for ghostsigns in Australia

This report, Conserving Historic Signs, was written in 2002 and published by the Heritage Office, Department of Planning, State of New South Wales in 2006. I … Read more

Categories Sign Preservation

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

  • Signs of Note
  • Sign Stories
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  • Signs in Media
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