Sam Roberts

Derelict London

Derelict London is quite a well known site run by Paul Talling covering lots of aspects of the decaying crumbling city that we don’t always consider or think about. There is a specific section on signs and murals which features a couple of brickads (see above). The Brymay matches one is in New Cross and […]

20 Jun 2007

Colossal Media

The art of large scale sign writing lives on in New York, USA through the work of Colossal Media  A full gallery of their work is available on their site but here are a couple of highlights, one more old school and one much more modern in terms of both product and design. These ads […]

20 Jun 2007

Happy Feet

I came across this on another Ghost Sign blog from USA.  I wonder if the music notes imply that there was some sort of jingle to go with the slogan ‘happy feet for all the family’, perhaps from a local radio commercial? Also, was this store run by a distant relative of mine? Visit the […]

20 Jun 2007

Peterkin’s Custard

Further to the post on Louis Sheldon-Williams, here’s my photo of the full Peterkin’s Custard sign (featured in the Time Out piece). The little boy looks to be of Dutch origin (look at the clogs) but information on the company is thin on the ground.

19 Jun 2007

Louis Sheldon-Williams

  Louis Sheldon-Williams is a fellow Ghost Sign enthusiast and held an exhibition of his photos in 2003. He refers to them as “commercial archeaology” and makes reference to advertising being the second oldest profession.  He has also campaigned for the protection of these signs but with much resistance. Shown here [Update: Image expired] is a […]

19 Jun 2007

Black Cat Cigarettes

One of my personal favourites, this one is on Dingley Road, EC1. It is for an old brand of cigarettes that no longer exists.  There used to be a factory located on this site but more interesting is that Greater London House in Mornington Crescent was originally built as a factory for these cigarettes by […]

19 Jun 2007

Blooms Pianos

I photographed this fantastic sign today after going past it so many times on the bus. It’s just by the Geoffrey Museum in Shoreditch and is covered at this time of year by a big tree.   I had to do a bit of monkey-style climbing to get onto the roof underneath, hence the odd angle. […]

19 Jun 2007

True Ghost

This sign is certainly on it’s last legs, so much so that you’d miss it if you weren’t looking. It’s for John Hirst Builders and can be seen just round the corner from the Dartmouth Arms pub, NW5.

19 Jun 2007

Vortex (RIP)

This sign and former Stoke Newington landmark were both destroyed in favour of a new development on Church Street.  The Jazz bar moved to Dalston in 2005, but 2007 saw an ongoing squat protest to stop the developers moving in. Despite some shocking luminous grafitti protesting against the possibility of Starbucks I was pleased to […]

18 Jun 2007

BP (British Petrol) Revealed

This sign was partially covered for a long time but, just the other day, the modern poster was taken down revealing an old ad for British Petrol (BP) and some other ads faded behind but in a similar colour. The history of the logo indicates that this sign may well date from pre-1930.

18 Jun 2007

Shop Local

Not all Brickads are Ghost Signs and the most recent examples I know of are from artist Bob and Roberta Smith as part of his ‘Shop Local’ campaign at Peer Gallery.  This involved bringing together artists and sign writers to recreate the old style of advertising on behalf of local Hoxton businesses. This photo is […]

18 Jun 2007

Hovis Process

Also on my visit to HAT I found this nice example of how big companies got the consistency of style across the country.  It is some directions issued by Hovis as to how the back of a bread van should be painted. In a 1952 Association of National Advertisers (USA) book there is a reference […]

18 Jun 2007

Boots

This sign is clearly visible from Camden Town tube station as you look up Camden High Street towards Mornington Crescent. You wouldn’t see it if you were in a car or on a bike because of the one way streets, but on foot it catches your eye immediately. I spotted it while I was with […]

18 Jun 2007

Watneys Competition

Further to the post on Watneys Wall here are a couple of pictures showing how the competition was run. Above is the sign that was displayed in bars to encourage entries for a prize of £50, and below a picture from the article in the January 1938 ‘The Poster’ showing the 40,000 entires being dealt […]

17 Jun 2007

Ghost Signs in Time Out

Two weeks after their feature on disappearing London, Time Out published three of my pictures in their magazine (8-15th November 2006). Thanks to Gabriel who took the scan of the page for me. My three pictures are the three along the bottom, although I also have shoots of the Bovril one in Brixton and the […]

16 Jun 2007

Bile Beans

Speaking yesterday with a guy writing his dissertation on the preservation of Ghost Signs I heard about this iconic example from York for Bile Beans. According to my contact it was restored by the York Arts Forum in 1986 just at the same time as the product was being discontinued by the manufacturer. However, despite […]

16 Jun 2007

Watneys Wall

Yesterday I visited the History of Advertising Trust (HAT). I came across a funny old poster for Watney’s Ale.  It was a parody of the painted ad format and of painted political slogans and was done in 1938 by an advertising agency called Horrocks and Company. This picture from the October 1938 edition of ‘The […]

16 Jun 2007

Welcome to Ghost Signs

This is my first venture into blogging and so I thought an intro post might be worthwhile.I will be updating with new discoveries all the time but here’s a nice opener of the sign that inspired me. It is in Stoke Newington and from an age when people actually got their fountain pens repaired! December […]

16 Jun 2007