3 Sep 2014

Cars No Longer Wanted: RIP

This car dealership sign has been recently whitewashed, as discovered while cycling past today. However, was it ever a ghostsign, given that the dealership remains in business at the same location? The sign had clearly fallen into disrepair, but was not completely abandoned.

This has always been one of my London favourites, mainly due to the hand-painted Lord Kitchener character used to stir people towards flogging their cars. The original Lord Kitchener illustration first appeared 100 years ago this Friday in London Opinion magazine (now Men Only!) on 5 September 1914. It was then used to recruit soldiers for the first world war, currently the subject of numerous anniversaries and tributes. Well, here’s one from Ghostsigns, a collection of photos that I took back in January this year.

Farewell and RIP to the Clapton car dealership sign and its very own Lord Kitchener…