Sign Folk

Faded London

If you like the sort of stuff found on this blog you will certainly also be interested in the work of Yelfy over at Faded London.  This features some excellent examples of Ghost Signs, many from South London which is clearly my weak spot along with West London (funny that, living in North East!). The […]

4 Feb 2008

Living St Louis

This video from Jim Kirchherr from the Living St Louis series is a nice introduction to some of the signs from that city and touches on a number of the key aspect of the signs, their history and preservation. It also features a brief interview with William Stage, the athor of the most definitive book […]

19 Jan 2008

London Tonight

Last night (27th September) there was a feature on London Tonight all about Ghost Signs in London and how they should be protected. I was interviewed for the piece and Alistair Stewart commented that it was a “masterpiece”. High praise indeed!

27 Sep 2007

Ghost Signs Society/Club/Group

[Update: This idea has taken life in the various online locations for Ghostsigns.] I visited Louis Sheldon-Williams last night and saw some of his photographs which featured in his exhibition. There are some lovely shots including some that have since disappeared (this example can still be seen on the garage on this street). We talked […]

10 Jul 2007

Frank Jump

Frank Jump is a leading photographer of Ghost Signs in USA with quite a unique story as to how and why he got started.  I was in touch with him last year and he mentioned a visit to London where he saw one of the classic Gillette signs and also one for a tailor in […]

22 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

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

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