The Ghostsigns Blog
The Ghostsigns blog is where I write up my own and others’ research. I have been published here since 2007 and there are over 500 articles in total. I welcome submissions, and now do a digest of these and other things of interest via the newsletter.
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1001 London Ghost Signs, Mapped
The online map that accompanies the book, Ghost Signs: A London Story, now has over 1,000 pinned signs.
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Pawned for Good: The Partial Palimpsest in St James
The ghost sign for the J.A. & G.E. Smith pawnbrokers in east London has been painted over and now lost. RIP.
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The Mirrored Owl Cigars of San Francisco
Early twentieth century photos show an Owl Cigars sign in reverse on a huge San Francisco wall. But why was it painted like that?
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X Doesn’t Mark the Spot: Revisiting an Islington Ghost Sign
Correcting the record for the Popham Street ghost sign previously thought to advertise X-Zalia, but now known to be for Nazalia. Photo: Roy Reed.
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H. Newman & Sons (Have Removed), Melbourne
A surviving palimpsest in the centre of Melbourne reveals the legacy of the jeweller and watchmaker Henry Newman. Photo: Sean Reynolds.
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Brain’s Honest Ale: Lost But Not Forgotten in Cardiff
A wonderful pictorial ghost sign for Brain’s ‘honest’ ales, photographed in Cardiff in the late-1970s by John Jenkins.