Sam Roberts

Unusual Hovis Ghost Sign in New TV Commercial

This new TV commercial features a ghostsign at around 00:56.  It is unusual because it is advertising the farm as a supplier to Hovis, rather than the well know bakers being supplied by Hovis.  To what extent this is authentic I can’t say.  It seems unlikely that Hovis would have used this as a form […]

5 Jul 2012

Declarations of Independence campaign from Jack Daniel’s

Today is Independence Day in the USA.  Last year, to celebrate, Jack Daniel’s worked with letter-press experts Yee-Haw Industries and the team at Colossal Media to first produce poster designs and then to scale these up into large scale pieces of hand painted advertising around New York.  The videos at the end of this post […]

4 Jul 2012

Signwriter Bruce Buckley profiled in 2007 Signcraft magazine

This article about signwriter Bruce Buckley of the Chicago Sign Company is worth a read.  (Thanks Andrew Cordani for this link to this page which led me to the article.)  More press about the Chicago Sign Company can be found on their website and here is the home page of Signcraft magazine.

3 Jul 2012

Faux ghostsigns

Sometimes hand painted signs on buildings are created to look old and weathered intentionally.  The example pictured (original photo on Flickr) was produced in 2003 for the Disney film, ‘Miracle’.  (Does anyone have a clip showing where and how it features in the film?)  Another Disney example is this sign for the ‘New Orleans Trading […]

1 Jul 2012

Ghostsign building wrap from the culture+typography blog

I’ve just started following the culture+typography blog which is a regular source of interesting observations on lettering and signage in the public sphere.  Above is an image from blog author Nikki Villagomez from this post about an entire building wrapped in a ghostsign for Liberty Tire.  It is a great discovery from Cincinnati, and could […]

30 Jun 2012

Melbourne’s Milk Bars and the signs that adorned them

This is one of the shop signs found in this article which profiles the decline in Melbourne’s Milk Bars, retail outlets that once dotted the streets.  The article features a collection of 22 other shop signs and fascias and was spotted by Stef on the investigatory Finding the Radio Book blog.  The comments suggest that […]

28 Jun 2012

Joseph’s Hat Shop sign threatened in Austin, Texas

This great hand painted sign for Joseph’s Hat Shop in Austin Texas is set for demolition ahead of the construction of a new Marriott hotel.  Another photo showing the entire sign can be found here on the Glyn Lowe Photoworks website.

27 Jun 2012

Lead lettering from Caroline’s Miscellany

Photo: Caroline Derry A fascinating new form of public lettering (at least for me) on this blog post from Caroline’s Miscellany.

26 Jun 2012

Mural walks in Brixton and East London

The London Mural Preservation Society has organised two walking tours showcasing some of London’s most iconic murals.  Check the PDFs below for full details and contact information for the society. East London Line Mural Walk, Saturday 30th June (download PDF with details of East London Line Mural Walk) Brixton Mural Walk, Sunday, 15th July (download PDF with details […]

25 Jun 2012

Astronomical charts and calculations on 9th Century Mayan wall paintings

This article discusses the recent discovery of these wall paintings in Guatemala dating from AD814.  More images in this guided tour of the site.  See also this past post on the walls of Pompeii.

24 Jun 2012

Childrens Hairdressers revealed in Greenwich Village

This sign was discovered here on the Greenwich Village Daily Photo blog.  It is a recent reveal soon to be covered up again, fittingly described by Ken Mac as “reverting to its time capsule status”.  This development has also been picked up on Frank Jump’s Fading Ad blog and Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York blog.

23 Jun 2012

What signs say in Cambodia, a selection from Kratie

I’m planning a book to profile a collection of photos of hand painted signs that I’ve taken in my current hometown of Kratie in Cambodia.  As part of this I’m working with a local called Chhay to translate the text from the signs from Khmer to English.  It is proving a worthwhile exercise, both for […]

21 Jun 2012

Spirit (Ouija) Board lettering from Ira Coyne

This is one of a collection of brightly coloured Ouija boards from Ira Coyne on Faythe Levine’s blog.  It appears that even spirits can swear when they want to…

20 Jun 2012

Keepers of the Craft film profiles Starr Studios in Dallas

Also, forthcoming, are the Signpainter Movie and another called Faded Paint. I really enjoy these films and the things I learn from them.  They evidence pockets of activity around the world and how the craft is indeed being ‘kept’ by these protagonists.  Keep it up! [Thanks to Traditional Sign Maker Magazine for the link.]

18 Jun 2012

Ghostsigns of Butte, Montana, book in the pipeline

News of another ghostsigns title in the USA, this time from Jeanne Elliott focused on Butte, Montana.  I’ll post a review as soon as I get a copy.  For more books, browse these posts and the bookshop.

17 Jun 2012

Five years of Ghostsigns and a new website

Today is the 5th birthday of this blog following the first ever post on 16th June 2007.  In that time, including my stints on blogger, google sites and posterous, I have uploaded 415 posts, an average of seven per month. As a birthday present I have upgraded the site to a hosted WordPress content management […]

16 Jun 2012

Ukrainian Ghostsigns: Shadows of a Forgotten Past

Areta Kovalska just added a link to this post about ghostsigns from Lviv in Ukraine to the Ghostsigns Facebook page.  It not only has some fascinating images but also some insightful observations on the meaning of these pieces of painted advertising from the former Soviet Union.  See more from Areta on the Shadows from a […]

14 Jun 2012

The ‘Books of Clio’ is a great blog for ghostsigns in France

I’ve just started to follow this blog which is regularly throwing up interesting material.  Above and below are three of my favourites from the last couple of months (from here, here and here), the first for the interesting arrow shape, the Zanussi one because I’ve never seen a washing machine brand advertised in this way […]

12 Jun 2012

The Partial Repainting of F.C. Dyson Provisions & Groceries, Stoke Newington

While back in the UK recently I spotted this while strolling around in my old Stoke Newington stomping ground.  Those familiar with the site as it once was will have some sense of what they’re trying to do here.  I’m guessing the primary motivation is the removal of the graffiti covering the old ghostsign that […]

9 Jun 2012

Film director Danny Cooke profiles David A Smith, an artist and master craftsman of exceptional talent

This fantastic short documentary by Danny Cooke pays homage to the extraordinary work of David A Smith who plies his trade in Torquay on the Devon coast.  David’s website refers to him as a “traditional ornamental glass artist”but it is clear from this film that his talents extend far beyond glass work.I caught up with the […]

8 Jun 2012

1970s London graffiti profiled in (sadly) out of print book

Check this out and don’t forget to eat your prunes! If you know a place to buy the book please let me know.

7 Jun 2012

The stories behind some of the intriguing ghostsigns of Clapham and Battersea

A few years ago I spoke with Russell Norris who, at the time, was writing an article on ghostsigns for  a local free circular publication in South London.  Like him I was waiting for its eventual publication which never came until this week when Russell took matters into his own hands and published it on […]

6 Jun 2012

Then and now: shopfronts 1988 revisited

Via this review of the East End shopfronts exhibition happening now in Tower Hamlets, I came across this incredible site which is the work of Lady Lamo and her colleague Alabama.  It retraces the steps that Alan Dein took in 1988 and documents what has become of the shops he photographed.  The result is absolutely […]

3 Jun 2012

The 100 best typefaces of all time (apparently) via @typotalks and @FontShop

Pictured are the top ten from this list.  More about the judging here.  Found via Typo London.

2 Jun 2012