Individual Signs

Blog posts about particular ghostsigns, including those which have been lost (RIPs), repainted or where some general research has been done about the sign.

Ghost Signs Live

Browsing Frank Jump‘s blog from USA I came across this great photo by Frank of some sign writer’s (Wall Dogs in USA) putting the finishing touches to a massive brickad. This is clearly for a current business (there’s a web address featured) and is part of the revival happening across the pond. There was also […]

16 Jul 2007
MOT Tyres (RIP)

This old landmark at the Regent’s Park end of Parkway in Camden has recently been pulled down to make way for a couple of new illuminated poster sites. I wouldn’t rate it as a classic sign but there was something about the slighty haphazard lettering that appealed. Even the lettering on the shop below was […]

11 Jul 2007
Boots (Past & Present)

Boots – Camden High Street. While browsing some of the excellent Ghost Signs on Flickr I came across this picture by 2WArmy. I think it’s great compared to my photo so wanted to share it. Look at how the detail in the brick has come out and also the detail of the lettering. Having another […]

10 Jul 2007
Gillette Palimpsest 2

Here’s another example from the Gillette campaign where there are three signs revealed on one site (palimpsest) in Dalston: Gillette across the middle; Cafe vertically on the right; Sunday… on the diagonal in the top left. There are probably even more but these are the most prominent.

2 Jul 2007
Gillette Palimpsest

Following the previous post on Gillette Razors I was looking again at this sign which I had always referred to as ‘Westminster Criterion Matches’. It is a rare example of two signs on different walls of the same building, sharing its home with my original post. On closer inspection it is possible to make out […]

2 Jul 2007
Gillette Razors

Frank Jump just posted this London sign he photographed while visiting in Spring 2001. It’s a classic Gillette ad with the characteristic blue background colour. The sign below is one I took on Clapham High Street and part of a an ongoing Campaign that Gillette ran in the Brickad format. You can see on the Clapham […]

2 Jul 2007
Panasonic (New York)

Lena found this one some time ago lurking on the Wikipedia entry for Panasonic [Update: It no longer appears there]. It’s a fantastically simple design and a really nice photo from Uris. See the full size image here [Update: Link no longer active]. The information on Wikipedia says that the company stopped selling bikes in USA […]

25 Jun 2007
Mister Furniture (France)

My mum just got back from France where there is a great tradition of painted sign writing. This one is from Beziers in the south of the country and says “Mister Furniture Sauvagnac”. See this website for more French examples.

25 Jun 2007
Vaneers

This is a huge sign for London and is tucked away round the back of Shoreditch High Street/Kingsland Road. It was painted in order to be highly visible from the nearby train line and has the old style way of writing phone numbers, SHO (Shoreditch) being 746. Out of view on this picture is the 7 […]

25 Jun 2007
Blue Star

Another picture from Andrew Hughes in Lincoln. He dates this c.1960 and says that Blue Star was a national chain of garages. Also, above the brightly coloured sign, you can see the chopped remains of another older sign on the same spot. The well preserved nature of both signs, the fact that the older one […]

25 Jun 2007
Dewars (New York)

Colossal Media I came across an old email from Faris that he sent me after he got back from New York. It had this picture attached with has been painted onto a concrete blocked out window. It was on North 6th, Williamsburg, New York City but I wonder if it’ll have the staying power of […]

23 Jun 2007
Thetford Warrens

This picture was sent to me by my uncle who lives in Norwich. I saw it for myself when I visited recently. It is advertising the rabbit warrens at Thetford and is part of a series of similar signs on this building between the windows on the first floor. The sign writer has picked a […]

23 Jun 2007
Hovis (Haringey)

Further to the previous post on the Hovis sign in Islington, here’s another example of this style from along Stroud Green Road in Haringey. The Hovis logo is different but the principle of Hovis sponsoring the painting of the sign in return for it being featured is the same.

21 Jun 2007
Hovis (Islington)

I discovered this sign at night on 3rd April this year and only got round to photographing it on Tuesday this week. I’ll have to go back to take another picture once the estate agent’s sign is removed but have put it up today because of the story behind it. On Tuesday I asked the […]

21 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
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
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