Month: August 2007

Redferns (RIP?)

These great brickads were protected for many years by a couple of billboards, although they weren’t entirely covered.  This meant that some of the outer edges were lost to weathering, cleaning and sandblasting. I must have got lucky that Chris told me about them as when I went to get a better photo on Saturday […]

7 Aug 2007

Ghost Signs World Record

This photo taken by Rick Lee in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA features the most ghost signs I’ve ever seen on a single wall, a world record perhaps? I’m now wondering if there are any other contenders out there? The building pictured on page four of Ben Passikoff’s book comes close and I think it is most […]

4 Aug 2007

Ghost Signs in Literature

Although not published until 7th August the following quote comes from chapter two of William Gibson’s Spook Country. “The old man reminded Tito of those ghost-signs, fading high on the windowless sides of blackened buildings, spelling out the names of products made meaningless by time.” William Gibson, from Chapter 2. Ants In The Water, Spook […]

3 Aug 2007

Gramophones Records (RIP)

I am informed by sarflondondunc that this ghost sign has been erased.  It was just by Clapham North Station and I used it in my recent presentation as an example of a plain text sign which has been designed to fit around the available wall space. It was visible from both the nearby train line […]

2 Aug 2007

Ghost Signs Book (Passikoff)

Ben Passikoff has written a great book on the signs of Manhattan, New York, called “The Writing on the Wall“. He describes walking the streets in order to compile an almost comprehensive survey of the area. This is probably more straight forward in New York with it’s grid-like street layout but, also in contrast to […]

1 Aug 2007