Sign Initiatives

Pandora Range McClary’s Stoves sign repainted in Cambridge, Ontario

The restoration of this ghostsign in Canada is part of an effort to reinvigorate the downtown area of Cambridge, Ontario.  Read some observations on the process of restoring this sign and also this article celebrating the completion of the piece.

16 Jul 2012

What signs say in Cambodia, a selection from Kratie

I’m planning a book to profile a collection of photos of hand painted signs that I’ve taken in my current hometown of Kratie in Cambodia.  As part of this I’m working with a local called Chhay to translate the text from the signs from Khmer to English.  It is proving a worthwhile exercise, both for […]

21 Jun 2012

Five years of Ghostsigns and a new website

Today is the 5th birthday of this blog following the first ever post on 16th June 2007.  In that time, including my stints on blogger, google sites and posterous, I have uploaded 415 posts, an average of seven per month. As a birthday present I have upgraded the site to a hosted WordPress content management […]

16 Jun 2012

Ukrainian Ghostsigns: Shadows of a Forgotten Past

Areta Kovalska just added a link to this post about ghostsigns from Lviv in Ukraine to the Ghostsigns Facebook page.  It not only has some fascinating images but also some insightful observations on the meaning of these pieces of painted advertising from the former Soviet Union.  See more from Areta on the Shadows from a […]

14 Jun 2012

Then and now: shopfronts 1988 revisited

Via this review of the East End shopfronts exhibition happening now in Tower Hamlets, I came across this incredible site which is the work of Lady Lamo and her colleague Alabama.  It retraces the steps that Alan Dein took in 1988 and documents what has become of the shops he photographed.  The result is absolutely […]

3 Jun 2012

Photographic exhibition of East End shop fronts opens today

I’m gutted I won’t be able to visit this exhibition (pdf flyer below) of Alan Dein‘s late 1980s images of shop fronts in Tower Hamlets. If anyone writes a review then let me know and I’ll link to it here. (Hat tip to Lorna at History Workshop Online for the discovery.) Download exhibition poster.

17 May 2012

Guided tour of hand painted advertising on walls in Utrecht, 11th May

It may be too late to book but for those in the Utrecht area this (pdf flyer) looks to be an informative tour of the city’s historic wall advertising.  (Organised by Writing on the Wall.)

10 May 2012

Will Bristol Ban Outdoor Advertising?

This article highlights a petition to ban outdoor advertising in Bristol which, if successful, would mean it joins Auckland and Sao Paolo among others.  This Howard Gossage article offers perhaps one of the most compelling critiques of the outdoor format

26 Apr 2012

Lost Type breaks new ground in linking type designers to buyers

This initiative is innovative to say the least.  If you’re feeling tight you can pay nothing, but if you do pay (what you want) for your font download then you can rest assured that every cent is going directly to the designer responsible.  Great find by the No Relavance blog, it’s also worth checking out […]

21 Apr 2012

Dr Ken Jones’ mosaic technique for ghostsigns photography

Dr Ken Jones is a former NASA imaging expert whose work in the 1970s included digitally photographing the surface of Mars. This required the use of image ‘mosaics’, a technique which he is now applying to the more terrestrial subject of ghostsigns.Dr Jones’ work starts from a fairly simple concept of what he wants from the […]

18 Apr 2012

Restoration Project for Ghost Signs in Salisbury, North Carolina

Details of the process for a specific restoration project, with a facebook page to accompany it.  More posts on restoration projects and issues here.

18 Apr 2012

Digital Engagement & the Ghostsigns Archive: History Workshop Article

Laura Carletti and I have written a short paper for History Workshop Online.  This builds on the survey and offers some reflections on the development of the archive in 2009-10.

4 Apr 2012

The history of the Johnston typeface: Sign Design Society event

HAT archive contributor Mike Ashworth is giving an illustrated talk about the London Underground Johnston typeface next week on Tuesday, 3rd April.  More details in the pdf below and on the Sign Design Society website.  Followers of this site are eligible for a small discount, just make sure you quote ‘ghostsigns’ when you email enquiries@signdesignsociety.co.uk […]

28 Mar 2012

Graphic DNA documents the visual language of the street

I’ve recently been in regular contact with Geraldine Marshall whose project, Graphic DNA, caught my attention.  It is the topic of her PhD thesis, under the supervision of Dr Caroline Archer.  I took the opportunity, before she gets too busy, to ask Geraldine some questions at her base in the Midlands, from mine in South […]

25 Mar 2012

Mapping San Francisco’s Ghostsigns

This project [Link expired] is seeking to create a comprehensive google map of ghostsigns in San Francisco.  It is run by Kasey Smith of the Perception Filter blog (recommended) and has already made significant progress. Many of the stories surrounding the documented signs are published on the blog, including the reveal of the one pictured […]

25 Mar 2012

Design agency OPX launches London Typographica

This site [Link expired] from OPX is aiming to build a map of lettering forms of all sorts from across the capital.  These include chisselled stone, hand painted signs, plaques, shop fronts, in fact just about anything that has letters and can be seen at street level in London.  It’s a bit of a lottery […]

19 Mar 2012

Chicago Ghostsigns mapped online and photographed for thesis

This website [Link expired] allows you to browse locations in Chicago and find the neighbourhood ghostsigns there.  It was created by Nicole Donohoe for her thesis and has some great examples from this city which I haven’t previously seen many signs from.  I’m not sure if the project is still active but there is a […]

17 Mar 2012

Spokane Students Hunt for Ghost Signs in ‘An Experiment in Public History Pedagogy’

The Public History students of Spokane have been set this brief which will get them out into the town to photograph the various ghost signs there. They’ll also have to use various historical sources to uncover the stories of the companies advertised by the signs and the people who painted them. It looks set to […]

13 Mar 2012

Vernacular Typography interviewed by Vanishing New York

Photo: Molly Woodward, Vernacular Typography Read the interview here.  Further good news is that this project is now fully funded so expect more news in the coming months…

12 Mar 2012

Writing on the Wall working to preserve and restore ghostsigns in the Netherlands

This organisation in the Netherlands was established in 1999 and has been working ever since to raise the profile of hand painted wall advertising in the country.  They also get involved with other outdoor forms such as hanging signs and neon advertisements, but the main focus is Ghostsigns, especially their restoration and protection.  A lot […]

9 Mar 2012

Can new Brickads Generate Income for Denver’s LoDo District? Discuss.

This popped up on twitter, considering the leasing of wall space as a means of generating income, community exposure and maintaining artistic heritage in LoDo, Denver.  Lots of Collosal Media featured in addition to some lovely archive photography.  I wonder if, with every new brickad that gets painted, something of the impact and novelty of […]

25 Feb 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