Sam Roberts

Larkspur Restoration by Brian the Brush

This is the second of a series of three posts on current ghostsigns restorations in the UK, following last week’s piece on the Palladium Cinema sign in Morecambe. (See this This sign for Larkspur Soft Drinks is on King Street in Drighlington, West Yorkshire. The building it is positioned on was once home to Scott’s […]

16 Jul 2014

Restoration of Palladium Cinema Ghostsign in Morecambe

This is the first in a series of three blog posts documenting current activities in the UK to repaint and restore ghostsigns. It is worth referring to my general discussion of the issues and debates connected to this practice, a previous blog post titled ‘A Fresh Lick of Paint‘. See also ‘Restoration Period‘ for a […]

9 Jul 2014

London’s Lonely Ampersand

Today I visited D&AD’s New Blood exhibit and got chatting to Craig Palmer who had created a ‘zine’ all about the humble ampersand. It was a little lesson in the history of type with Craig telling me that the word is a conjunction (or ‘mondegreen‘ to give it its technical name) of four words. These […]

3 Jul 2014

Faux Ghostsigns for Coca-Cola’s London HQ

Ghostsigns for Coca-Cola are found all over the USA and other parts of the world, although I know of only one in the UK. However, there’s now a few inside the company’s London head quarters, although these are strictly in the ‘faux’ category. I was involved in advising on its creation and finding the team […]

2 Jul 2014

Fairground Lettering at Carters Steam Fair

Not ghostsigns, but I thought that readers of this blog would also appreciate some of the fantastic lettering at Carters Steam Fair that was recently posted to the Better Letters site. Staggering work and a wonderful example of traditional styles and techniques thriving in the modern era.

27 Jun 2014

Ghostsigns on Londonist Out Loud

I took N Quentin Woolf of Londonist Out Loud on a portion of my Ghostsigns Walking Tour in Stoke Newington. The result is this podcast (here on itunes, and here on Londonist) which we managed to record despite the myriad noises and distractions on the street. Thanks Quentin for putting it together.

14 Jun 2014

Ghost Signs and Public Lettering in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter

On 21 May, before my Type Talk at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, I helped lead a walk through the city’s historic Jewellery Quarter. This was in collaboration with Geraldine Marshall of the Birmingham Graphic DNA Project, and focused on the ghostsigns and public lettering that can be found in the quarter. It was […]

4 Jun 2014

I Love It: Marmite Ghostsign Revealed

John Hunter, one of Australia’s prolific prolific collectors of ghostsigns, sent me these images of a recent reveal in Caulfield, Victoria. They were captured by Tony Mead, local signwriter, and are for a brand that I’ve never seen advertised in this form before. Tony and Stefan have added some research to the discovery which dates […]

28 May 2014

W.A.Higgs & Co: A Stoke Newington Beauty

Walking past Tatreez, the Palestinian restaurant, I spotted this beautiful Victorian sign on the inside. It is clearly a shop fascia which got me wondering why it isn’t on the front? I did some digging at the Hackney Archives and found out that W.A.Higgs & Co. was an importer of tea. They had premises at […]

21 May 2014

Sign Painters’ Online Release

After touring the world, including the London run hosted by Ghostsigns, Sign Painters is now available to watch online and as an HD download. You can save $1.00 on the list price by using the code GHOSTSIGNS when you order it from www.signpaintersfilm.com.

13 May 2014

F.C. Osborn and the Fading Fascias

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 the premises from the mid-1920s to at least 1950. Prior […]

2 May 2014

Time Travel with Google Streetview

This fragment of a ghostsign for Daren Bread in Stoke Newington is one of the stops on my walking tour in the area. Now, thanks to Google Streetview’s new ‘timelapse’ feature, we are able to visit the location as it was in 2008, prior to the removal of the mounted sign for Lemongrass. This clearly […]

29 Apr 2014

A Book About Ghost Signs

I am on the editorial panel for a book due for publication next year. Although it will be too late to find a place on the shelf at Bath’s Circulating Library (above), the topic for the book is ghost signs with the working title of ‘Ghost Signs: Historical, Social and Cultural Perspectives on Fading Advertising’. […]

22 Apr 2014

Five Amazing Egyptian Ghost Signs from Iman Abdulfattah

If you don’t already follow Frank Jump’s Fading Ad blog then I’d highly recommend you do so. Frank is a long-time friend and author of the book about New York’s widespread collection of fading ads. His ‘Uptown Correspondent‘ is Iman Abdulfattah and recently he has been posting her material from Cairo, Egypt, where she spends […]

9 Apr 2014

Fading Ads of St. Louis by Wm. Stage

This stunning photograph is from the cover of Wm. Stage‘s latest addition to the ghostsigns literature, ‘Fading Ads of St. Louis‘. Stage’s first book, ‘Ghost Signs‘, remains the definitive text on the topic and so it is no surprise to find his latest work full of fantastic photography and meticulous research. In this case Stage […]

3 Apr 2014

Scotland in Detail: Vintage Signs from Dave Cowan

This fabulous montage of Scottish ghostsigns was created by Dave Cowan of Scotland in Detail. It is available as a print from his store and he says the following of his work and this creation [Links expired]. I’ve been fascinated by these old signs for a few years now. They’re glimpses into the past and […]

26 Mar 2014

Ghostsigns of Minnesota and the Mid-West

Earlier this month I went on my first ever trip to the USA. This was to attend ‘Mazeppa Mardi Gras’, a meeting of the Letterheads in sub-zero Minnesota. It was a fantastic week of sign making and painting and you can read a full blown account of the week over on the Better Letters site. […]

19 Mar 2014

Moving Walls to Save a Ghost Sign

In an effort to save this fading and rusting shop front, Beth and Tony Walls moved the entire building 150ft to allow for a highway widening project. Martin Garfinkel of Roadside Gallery has captured it beautifully in this fine art print, available to buy here. Martin tells the story as follows. RE Ringer General Merchandise, […]

14 Mar 2014

Introducing Better Letters

In the course of my research into painted signs over the last eight years I have become increasingly aware of the brilliant work that is being done by contemporary signwriters (sign painters in the USA). This started with the early profiling of the Shop Local campaign by Bob & Roberta Smith and was swiftly followed […]

27 Feb 2014

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

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 ripped the Roti Stop sign off this corner building, leaving […]

19 Feb 2014

Photos and Reactions from the Sign Painters & Horn Please Double Bill

Click the picture below for a review of the London screenings of Sign Painters and Horn Please, February 2014.

14 Feb 2014

Danish Ghostsigns in Copenhagen

Ghostsigns are a truly global phenomenon and the latest installment on my virtual travels comes courtesy of Hanne Andersen from Copenhagen, Denmark. She says that it’s her ‘hobby to find them’ and the evidence here is that the Danish were no slouches when it came to producing large-scale painted wall advertisements. As in the UK, […]

5 Feb 2014

History Repeating: A Stunning Reveal on Bethnal Green Road

While creating this beautiful new signage for Casa Blue, Ash Bishop of The Brilliant Sign Co. alerted me to an astonishing discovery inside the premises of this newly converted bar. It is a fragment of some Victorian painted lettering, which Ash proposes dates from the 1880s or possibly 1890s. Check it out below or, even […]

29 Jan 2014

Rediscovering Club Labrynth on a Type Safari

This is my creation following Sunday’s Type Safari in Dalston with Type Tasting. It is a composite of various pieces of public lettering and signage that I photographed while on ‘safari’ with Type Tasting’s Sarah Hyndman. The brief was to bring a phrase that represents Dalston for me, and then to seek out its letters […]

21 Jan 2014