Sam Roberts

RIP: Pressman’s Army & Navy Store

The Hoxsie blog reports the loss of this great sign from Troy, New York. This photo from carljohnson in particular adds a lot of character to the sign which still remains in part following structural work to the building.  An ‘after’ photo is available here. See more ‘RIPs’ from this blog.

20 Jan 2012

The Devil is in the Detail: Emmanuel Nouaillier Masterclass

  Emmanuel Nouaillier is a French artist I admire for his attention to detail and his focus on Ghostsigns as subject matter. Below are some of his tools of the trade and a detailed exposition of his techniques can be found on this website. Absolutely fascinating as ever…

20 Jan 2012

‘It hasta be SHASTA’: Great slogan and preservation debate from San Francisco

Great collection of signs and a write up on the Perception Filter blog about this soft drink campaign in San Francisco.  More here.

15 Jan 2012

On Air: Colossal Media Radio Interview

Following Frank’s more recent appearance I came across this radio interview with Colossal Media which I missed in February last year. The slideshow above accompanies the full story and audio download on the WNYC website.  More posts from the Ghostsigns blog about Colossal Media here, it’s great to see them going from strength to strength.

15 Jan 2012

Destruction Awaits for Bull Durham in Plainfield, New Jersey…

…as the host building is about to be knocked down…

15 Jan 2012

Belgravia Ghost Sign Restored

Before (2006/7) After News in this week is that a restoration effort has been undertaken in the heart of London’s Belgravia.  It has been directed at what was once a very faded sign for a horse infirmary (see two more of my pictures from c.2006/7 below).  It was instigated by Belgravia Garage, as the infirmary sign […]

15 Jan 2012

Hemingway’s Ales (RIP)

This wonderful gable end sign for Hemingway’s Ales (Big Ben’s brand) ceased to exist as of 9th March 2011.  It was a truly remarkable ghostsign and featured as the backdrop for my interview with John Seargent in the piece broadcast on the One Show.  Incidentally I notice that it isn’t currently featured in the archive […]

15 Jan 2012

Frank Jump on the Leonard Lopate Show

Listen to Fading Ads on the Leonard Lopate Show by Wnyc, New York Public Radio.  A 15 minute interview discussing the ‘Fading Ads of New York City’.

11 Jan 2012

Stoke Newington Ghostsigns: History Pin Tour

After discovering the ‘Ghost Signs of Louisville’ Tour on History Pin I couldn’t resist having a go myself. The preliminary result is my first tour, ‘Stoke Newington Ghostsigns’.  I reckon the walk would take a couple of hours depending on how long you stop to photograph the 18 featured signs and former locations of signs. […]

18 Dec 2011

Ghost Signs of Louisville

Following last week’s post about Phil Baines’ London lettering tour I came across this ‘Ghost Signs of Louisville’ tour. It has been created by the University of Louisville Photographic Archive (in particular their Ghostsigns collection) using History Pin. I’m keeping a list of all the tours and trails I discover and these are listed in the […]

16 Dec 2011

The Signpainter Movie

Over the last couple of years I’ve been following developments at the Signpainter Movie project in the USA. It is an independently produced film that will chart the history and work of America’s remaining craftsmen (due for release next year). They have been diligently cataloguing their primary research interviews on their blog as they’ve journeyed […]

16 Dec 2011

Peter Hardwicke and Tracy Emin International

Videos of Peter Hardwicke painting the letters ‘N’ and ‘A’ from the Tracy Emin International shop in Spitalfields, London. Steady hand!

10 Dec 2011

Public Lettering in Central London: Phil Baines’ Walking Tour

This well know Kings Cross palimpsest features in Phil Baines‘ updated walking tour of public lettering in London (thanks to Geraldine Marshall for the link on the Facebook page). He’s now created this as a ‘Map Tale’ which can be viewed below or in full screen here [Links since expired]. This adds to a handful […]

10 Dec 2011

Signs of Cambodia

Over a year since I first wrote about hand painted signs in Cambodia I thought it was time for a brief update. First are some examples from my travels around the country, followed by some other pieces of signage that amused me in one way or another. First to Kep, a nice use of the […]

25 Nov 2011

Ghostsigns in The Biochemist

Press coverage for the project sometimes throws up surprises and I was delighted to see that the October 2011 edition of The Biochemist labelled my site as among the ‘Best of the Web’. Katy’s photo once again caught the editor’s eyes in this very nice write up. Thank you to Executive Editor Mark Burgess at […]

25 Nov 2011

Ghostsigns Research from Laura Carletti Scoops Award

Congratulations to Laura Carletti who took home an award for her presentation of the most recent paper on the Ghostsigns Project at the Digital Engagement conference in Newcastle.  The paper is available for download here, with the following note regarding copyright: “Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work […]

20 Nov 2011

Laura Carletti Abstract

Following the recent survey which is part of a larger research project, Laura Carletti has kindly given permission to publish the abstract of a paper she presented to the Digital Resources in the Humanities and Arts conference held back in September. The full title is: “Enhancement of niche cultural and social resources through crowd-contribution: the […]

12 Nov 2011

Fading Ads of New York City

The eagerly awaited release of Frank Jump’s ‘Fading Ads of New York City’ book is almost upon us. I was fortunate enough to be offered a sneak preview by Frank himself so here are some reflections on the book to whet your appetite and hopefully encourage you to get a copy as soon as it’s […]

4 Nov 2011

Love Local Landmarks and the Hackney Society

To protect or not to protect? As I’ve discussed before, my interest in Ghostsigns started in my home borough of Hackney in London. The concentration of specimens in Stoke Newington intrigued me and I had to learn more about them. I was soon finding and photographing great examples not only in Hackney but across the […]

29 Oct 2011

Painted Ad Site

Wm Stage is back and this time he is taking his work online with the launch of his new Painted Ad website/blog. For those unfamiliar with Stage’s work then you should read a bit about his latest book, and also know that he authored the single most comprehensive volume about hand painted wall advertising back […]

10 Sep 2011

Signpainters Don’t Read Signs

Via their Facebook page, The Sign Painter Movie project alerted me to this rare, out of print book by Syl Ehr. Signpainters Don’t Read Signs is a great read and recounts umpteen anecdotes from Syl’s life as a jobbing signpainter in the USA (signwriter to those in the UK). These include incidents directly relating to […]

25 Aug 2011

49 New Signs

Since handing over day-to-day responsibility for the archive to the History of Advertising Trust there has been a steady influx of new material. 49 new signs have been uploaded to the online galleries and this means that c.750 are now documented through the collective efforts of photographers across the country. I’ve listed the codes for […]

5 Aug 2011

Ghostsigns World Tour

Perhaps being in Cambodia has sensitised me to the world of Ghostsigns beyond my home shores. Or maybe awareness of the project has encouraged those from around the world to make contact. Whatever it is, I thought it was time for a round-up of what’s landed in my inbox and surfaced on my internet radar […]

21 Jul 2011

Ghostsigns Survey

[THIS SURVEY IS NOW CLOSED, see the results here] Just over a year ago we launched the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive. From start to finish the project took exactly one year and this was made possible largely due to the use of online tools such as Flickr, Youtube and Facebook. I always meant […]

8 Jul 2011