Reveal

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 protected them. [Update via Caroline’s Miscelleny: The uncovering was in 2012, and the works can be seen underway in the […]

Two Paris Beauties Under Wraps

This entry was posted in Sign Preservation Signs of Note and tagged Alcohol Bénédictine Conservation Eugène Charles Paul Vavasseur France Grafitti liqueur Paint Paris Protection Restoration Reveal Ripolin Wim Dammers on by
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 I don’t document every instance, I thought that this one had an interesting back story, as shared by Stefan Lewis […]

Evans, Jones & Ricketts Restoration in Talgarth, Mid Wales

This entry was posted in Sign Initiatives Sign Preservation Sign Stories Signs of Note and tagged Conservation Evans Garage Jones MId Wales Restoration Reveal Ricketts Talgarth UK Wales World War 2 WW2 on by
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 not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a […]

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 4

This entry was posted in Sign Collections Sign Destinations Sign Initiatives Sign Preservation Signs in Media and tagged A. D. Harvey Islington London Painted Advertisements in Islington Research Reveal RIP UK on by
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 not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a […]

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 3

This entry was posted in Sign Collections Sign Destinations Sign Initiatives Sign Preservation Signs in Media and tagged A. D. Harvey Islington London Painted Advertisements in Islington Research Reveal RIP UK on by
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 not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a […]

Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 2

This entry was posted in Sign Collections Sign Destinations Sign Initiatives Sign Preservation Signs in Media and tagged A. D. Harvey Islington London Painted Advertisements in Islington Research Reveal RIP UK on by
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On one of my walking tours back in 2014 guests had the opportunity to see this reveal of a newsagent and tobacconists’ sign at No.5 Stoke Newington Church Street. Starlove, as it was known, occupied the premises from at least 1962 until the late 1970s […]

Numbers 3-7 Stoke Newington Church Street

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Stories and tagged A Nation of Shopkeepers Amir Dotan Art BEJ Smith Confectionery Hackney History of Stoke Newington Laurence George Shepherd London N16 Newsagent Player's Player's No.6 Privilege Reveal Rosa Sheppards Market Starlove Stoke Newington Stoke Newington Church Street Tobacco UK on by
Via Amanda Jacks on Twitter I was alerted to the reveal of this ghost sign near Columbia Road Market. It’s at the junction of Ravenscroft Street and Wellington Row. The text at the bottom is clearly ‘For Hire’ with the firm’s name being either O. […]

For Hire: Stunning Reveal near Columbia Road Market

This entry was posted in Signs of Note and tagged For Hire Illustration Jobmaster Leakin London Pictorial Princess Dry Cleaning Princess Launderette Ravenscroft Street Reveal Tower Hamlets Transport Transportation UK Valet Service Van Vehible Wellington Row on by
The above ghost sign was revealed a couple of years ago by the redevelopment of a site on the North side of the Eastern end of Oxford Street in London. It is a palimpsest, and advertises ‘Venos Lightning Cough/Cold Cure’. It wasn’t their only painted […]

Venos & Veglio Reveals on Oxford Street

This entry was posted in Signs of Note and tagged Local Listing London Music Roll Exchange Oxford Street Protection Reveal RIP Spitalfields Life UK Veglio Venos W1 West End William Whiffin on by
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This beautiful glass fascia was captured by Brian Heppell after being revealed briefly in 2014 during the fitting of new signage at 192 Brick Lane, London E1. I have looked for S. Sadler by name in the trades section of a number of Victorian and […]

S. Sadler, Brick Lane

This entry was posted in Signs of Note and tagged Brian Heppell Brick Lane E1 Fading Fascia Fascia Gilding Glasswork London London Shop Fronts Reveal S. Sadler Sadler Shop Fronts Shopfrontelegy Shoreditch Spitalfields Tower Hamlets UK on by
Peter Vogel runs the Nutmegger Workshop in Texas, and specialises in vintage and faux aged signs. Back in 2014 he sent me this collection of pictures of a genuine Coca-Cola ghostsign “trapped within a vestibule behind and between” the Witherspoon Building and its neighbour in […]

Hidden Coca-Cola Ghostsign in Portland’s Witherspoon Building

This entry was posted in Signs of Note and tagged 1890 Coca-Cola Coke Covering Nutmegger Workshop Oregon Peter Vogel Portland Relieves Fatigue Reveal USA Witherspoon Building on by
Fading painted advertisement on wall advertising Gold Dust Washing Powder
Lurking in my folders of blog post ideas I came across a photo that I’d forgotten about, of a ghostsign advertising Gold Dust Washing Powder. This is shown below and was quite small so I did a few searches and discovered the one above, used […]

Gold Dust Washing Powder: An Unsettling Reveal

This entry was posted in Sign Stories Signs of Note and tagged Atlanta Dustie FMCG Gold Dust Gold Dust Twins Gold Dust Washing Powder Goldie Race Reveal USA Washing Powder on by
Looking barely aged since it was painted in 1963, this fabulous ghostsign for Kotanyi Paprika has just been revealed in Vienna, Austria. The demolition of the adjacent building fortuitously precedes the publication of Ghost Letters of Vienna, and happened just in time to make it […]

Kotanyi Paprika: Stunning Vienna Reveal

This entry was posted in Signs of Note and tagged Austria Book Demolition Development Kotanyi Kotanyi Paprika Reveal Stern Schilder Siebdruck GmbH Tom Koch Vienna Wien Museum on by
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[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 Cat gets the Cream in this Clacton-on-Sea Reveal

This entry was posted in Sign Preservation Sign Stories and tagged Ambrosia Black Cat Carreras Clacton Clacton-on-Sea Cream Dairy Ed Loach Essex Protection Reveal Tea Tea Rooms UK on by
Part of shop fascia lettering showing through blackwash 2
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 […]

J.R.Brewer, the Butcher

This entry was posted in Sign Preservation Sign Stories and tagged Brewer Butcher Dalston E8 Fading Fascias Fascia George Sly Hackney J.R.Brewer London Peter Hardwicke Restoration Reveal Ron Barnes Shacklewell Lane Shop Fronts UK William Hazlewood on by
E.Mono Shop Front 2
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. […]

E.Mono in North London

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Preservation Sign Stories Signs of Note and tagged 1920s E.Mono Fading Fascias Fascia Finsbury Park Kentish Town Lettering London North London Protection Reveal Station Place UK on by
Painted sign on wall for Dr Bells
Rob Estes of Brushstroke Signs took the photograph below which reached me via Cornbread of the Walldogs. It’s of a recent ghostsign revealed in Paducah, Kentucky, and has elements that have survived in excellent condition, protected by an adjacent building that has now been demolished. […]

Dr Bells: A Stunning Ghostsign Reveal in Paducah

This entry was posted in Sign Stories Signs of Note and tagged Cough Syrup Dr Bells Kentucky Medical Medicine Paducah Reveal USA on by
Fading sign painted on a wall advertising Dr King 1
This Melbourne ghostsign is a recent reveal and was captured by Nick Gadd, the writer behind Melbourne Circle. Nick’s research into the sign was recently published in an anthology of papers titled ‘Melbourne Subjective‘. He investigates the sign and creates a tentative hypothesis about who […]

Dr King: The Story of a Melbourne Ghostsign by Nick ...

This entry was posted in Inspired by Signs Sign Stories Signs in Media Signs of Note and tagged Article Australia Dr King Medical Melbourne Melbourne Circle Melbourne Subjective Nick Gadd Reveal on by
Fading shop fascia for F.C.Osborn Bookseller 1
This beautiful shop fascia was recently revealed on Dalston Lane, Hackney, London, as part of renovations to the shop by a new tenant. (Thanks Bryce for tipping me off!). The following photos show some of the detail of this sign for F.C.Osborn, Bookseller, who occupied […]

F.C. Osborn and the Fading Fascias

This entry was posted in Individual Signs Painted Lettering Photo Essays and tagged C.W.Toop Dalston Lane E.Mono F.C.Osborn Fading Fascias Fascia Ghostsigns Hackney J.H.Pepperell London R.Lewis R.Sullivan Reveal Sam Roberts UK Von Leadfoot on by
Hand-painted shop fascia for D.Appell 2
Ghostsigns are regularly revealed by property development and the updating or removal of billboards. This is the first instance I’ve come across of the weather, in this case the wind, leading to a shop fascia becoming visible once again. The ‘Valentine’s Day Storm’ last Friday […]

D.Appell Fascia Revealed by the Valentine’s Day Storm

This entry was posted in Individual Signs Painted Lettering and tagged D.Appell Greengrocer Hackney Archives Hackney Society London N16 Peter Hardwicke Reveal Stoke Newington UK on by