Sign Stories
Ghost sign histories and mysteries.
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Getting Closer to André Perot’s Faux Ghost Sign on Park Street
A ‘faux’ ghost sign for André Perot near Borough Market prompts an investigation of films and TV series using the location for sets.
5 Apr 2021
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A Sly Fox (& Sons) on Hither Green Lane
Unlocking the mystery of the Fox & Sons ghost sign on HIther Green Lane, Lewisham.
22 Mar 2021
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Brothers Butterworth & Beehive in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Brothers Butterworth & Beehive in Newcastle-under-Lyme, as revealed through their historic ghost sign.
8 Mar 2021
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Whitewashing History at Poland Street Car Park
Whitewashing History at Poland Street Car Park looks at a pair of Soho ghost signs for BP Energol and Regent Remoulds that were covered by graffiti before being whitewashed.
1 Mar 2021
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When Haig Finally Became Vague (RIP)
When Haig finally became vague, documents the one-time ghost sign at Milkwell Yard in Camberwell, which was cleaned to oblivion in 2017.
22 Feb 2021
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Are These London’s Most Elusive Trio of Ghost Signs?
Are These London’s Most Elusive Trio of Ghost Signs? Seeking clues for S. Louis & Co in Shoreditch, A.E. Cresswell (bakery), and a dairy in Shepherd’s Bush.
15 Feb 2021
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Waygoods’ Broken Glass, West Norwood
Waygoods’ Broken Glass, West Norwood, explores the ghost sign for this radio components shop on Chatsworth Way and its unusual form of decay over time.
8 Feb 2021
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The Enduring Mystery of the Peterkin Custard Ghost Sign
The Enduring Mystery of the Peterkin Custard Ghost Sign: Examining this iconic painted sign in Battersea, what’s known, and what questions remain unanswered.
18 Jan 2021
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Money Lent and The Mystery of Perry’s Son in Tooting
Perry & Son’s pawnbrokers sign in Tooting was painted by Frederick Benjamin Hall around the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries, but who was Perry’s mysterious son?
11 Jan 2021
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The Boro’ Bill Posting Company and Their Surviving Ghost Signs
Sharing research to date into what was once one of the major outdoor contractors leasing sites to advertisers for painted wall signs.
14 Dec 2020
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Exploring the Photography of the 1880s via a Greenwich Ghost Sign
Researching ghost signs is a very hit and miss affair, with dead ends fortunately offset by those that yield myriad clues and new paths to explore. This very faded piece on the wall of a residential property in South East London has been fascinating to investigate, taking me into the wonderful world of late-Victorian photography. […]
7 Dec 2020
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A Cluster of Ghost Signs Intrigue in Spitalfields’ Artillery Grounds
A cluster of ghost signs including advertising for a dairy, a boundary marker and a street sign offer some intrigue in Spitalfields’ former Artillery Grounds.
16 Nov 2020
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The Gileric Gowns of H.A. Howard & Sons, Ducie Street, Manchester
Research into H.A. Howard & Sons of Ducie Street, Manchester, manufacturers of Gileric Gowns.
26 Oct 2020
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Alf the Purse King
“Among the restaurants and cafes that dominate today’s Stoke Newington Church Street in North London is a ghost sign representing both the industrial and Jewish heritage of the area. The proud proclamation of ‘Alf the Purse King’ (the ‘man bags’ of their day?) is fading gracefully, high up on the bricks of its host building. […]
28 Sep 2020
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A Curtain Call for the Theatre Advertising of Old
Fading theater curtain with painted advertising discovered on former premises of Burr Theatre in Ludlow MA by Sean Hastings.
21 Dec 2018
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F.W. Woolworth Co. and the Winston-Salem Sit-Ins
Absolutely fascinating investigation uncovering the historical connections between two glass signs for F.W. Woolworth Co. and the Winston-Salem sit-ins that played a major role in the American Civil Rights movement. (Watch on www.pbs.org here.) Hat tip to Meredith at the Pre-Vinylite Society for spotting this, and to PBS for creating the documentary.
30 Nov 2018
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Lancell Road’s Mystery Ghost Sign
[Download in high resolution] At 49 Stoke Newington Church Street, junction with Lancell Road, is this fragment of a ghost sign which, despite my best efforts, has remained a mystery in terms of decyphering. It would once have extended further to the right to fill the chamfer, but this portion was left exposed and subsequently […]
2 Nov 2018
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The Enduring Ephemera of J.M. Hill in Southwark
Although my Bankside Ghostsigns Walk ends further West along the road, it doesn’t spend any time on the Eastern end of Union Street. However, a few buildings in, on the North side, I recently spotted this mounted sign and shared a photo on my Instagram and Facebook page, simply giving the broad location as supplementary […]
12 Oct 2018
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Follow the Tram Lines to the Mann Egerton Reveal in Norwich
Alex Clayton sent me photos of this recent reveal in Norwich. Located at Magdalen Road (opposite Whalebone Freehouse), it advertises the Mann Egerton & Co Garage, and is a classic gable-end ghost sign. It was covered, and partly protected, by a billboard as shown in the streetview capture below. However, at some other time, the […]
5 Oct 2018
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Recycling & Rearranging Ghost Signs
The above fragment of a ghost sign was revealed by the demolition of the adjascent building in Melbourne in 2014, as documented by Al Briggs at RMIT… “The majority of existing ghost signs that remain in suburban Melbourne are signs that were originally painted on the side walls of our Milk Bars – local shops […]
7 Sep 2018
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Now Open: The Grand Exhibition of the Pre-Vinylite Society
The Grand Exhibition of the Pre-Vinylite Society is now showing for four days at the Bargehouse, behind the OXO Tower on London’s South Bank. Visitors can take in the c.30 pieces from an international cast of contemporary sign and lettering artists, each inspired by entries in the catalogue of the 1762 Grand Exhibition of the […]
16 Aug 2018
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Bill-Poster: A London Type
Sadly we recently lost what was one of my all-time favourite ghost signs, in the shape of the Black Cat on Dingley Road. RIP. The brand was a pioneer of cigarette cards, and their power to foster increased sales through the parallel addictive properties of collecting, and nicotine. Recently the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life […]
20 Jul 2018
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Bovril’s Windrush Square Legacy
Windrush Square in Brixton is home to this, one of the most famous ghost signs in London. While the Bovril sign is still very prominent, less well known is that beneath it are the remains of what was once a painted advertisement for Butlin’s. While researching the Butlin’s sign, Roy Reed happened across this wonderful […]
29 Jun 2018
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The Grand Exhibition of the Society of Sign Painters
The following article is re-posted from the original on Better Letters. This August we’ll be opening a very special sign painting exhibition within the public-facing part of Letterheads 2018: London Calling. It is being curated by Meredith Kasabian of Best Dressed Signs and the Pre-Vinylite Society and builds on her research into an 18th Century […]
22 Jun 2018
