Signs in Media

Books, articles and video relating to ghost signs.

Faux ghostsigns

Sometimes hand painted signs on buildings are created to look old and weathered intentionally. The example pictured (original photo on Flickr) was produced in 2003 for the Disney film, ‘Miracle’. (Does anyone have a clip showing where and how it features in the film?) Another Disney example is this sign for the ‘New Orleans Trading […]

1 Jul 2012
Melbourne’s Milk Bars and the signs that adorned them

This is one of the shop signs found in this article which profiles the decline in Melbourne’s Milk Bars, retail outlets that once dotted the streets. The article features a collection of 22 other shop signs and fascias and was spotted by Stef on the investigatory Finding the Radio Book blog. The comments suggest that […]

28 Jun 2012
Keepers of the Craft film profiles Starr Studios in Dallas

Also, forthcoming, are the Signpainter Movie and another called Faded Paint. I really enjoy these films and the things I learn from them. They evidence pockets of activity around the world and how the craft is indeed being ‘kept’ by these protagonists. Keep it up! [Thanks to Traditional Sign Maker Magazine for the link.]

18 Jun 2012
Ghostsigns of Butte, Montana, book in the pipeline

News of another ghostsigns title in the USA, this time from Jeanne Elliott focused on Butte, Montana. I’ll post a review as soon as I get a copy. For more books, browse these posts and the bookshop.

17 Jun 2012
Film director Danny Cooke profiles David A Smith, an artist and master craftsman of exceptional talent

This fantastic short documentary by Danny Cooke pays homage to the extraordinary work of David A Smith who plies his trade in Torquay on the Devon coast. David’s website refers to him as a “traditional ornamental glass artist”but it is clear from this film that his talents extend far beyond glass work.I caught up with the […]

8 Jun 2012
1970s London graffiti profiled in (sadly) out of print book

Check this out and don’t forget to eat your prunes! If you know a place to buy the book please let me know.

7 Jun 2012
William Stage investigates some of the ghostsigns of St Louis ahead of forthcoming book

Photo: William Stage This article offers a preview of some of the material that is lined up for the forthcoming book, Ghost Signs of St Louis. I’m very honoured to have been invited by William Stage to write a forward to this follow up to the definitive ghostsigns book and the postcard book from last […]

22 May 2012
New book charting hand painted advertising on walls in the Netherlands

Writing on the Wall (my article about them here) are publishing a book which I’m very excited about. Details on the pdf below for those who read Dutch, otherwise try Google Translate with a copy and paste of the text for an approximate translation. It is priced at 29.95euros and order enquiries should be sent […]

13 May 2012
Melbourne’s signage in beautiful book form

Characters by Stephen Banham looks to be one of the must have new books on signage and public lettering. It is high on my want list after reading this review sent to me by Geraldine of Birmingham Graphic DNA and this review picked up by Faythe of The Sign Painter Movie. There is an accompanying […]

12 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
Short film about Syracuse’s ‘Love Letter’

Via the Noon-Gun blog I came across this short film by Signpainter Movie directors Faythe Levine and Sam Macon. It is part of the ‘Love Letter for You’ project, using large scale signpainting for artistic expression and community development. Reminds me of the Ferodo bridges in the UK, albeit much more colourful and not selling brake […]

25 Apr 2012
Walls by Deidi von Schaewen

Deidi von Schaewen’s ‘Walls’ is a lovely hardback book that documents hand painted advertising on walls in the 1960s and 1970s. It’s geographical coverage is noteworthy with examples from Berlin, London, New York, Paris and elsewhere in France. Most of the photography is in black and white with a handful of colour images, all of […]

11 Apr 2012
Is this the easiest hand lettering technique possible?

Geraldine discovered this lovely little film from British Pathe, a ‘how to’ guide for a simple block lettering form. It even doubles as a secret code…

10 Apr 2012
Vancouver Arts Profile the Grandma’s Boy Reveal

This sign continues to win affections, and now there is this new material and analysis from Vancouver Arts. See the story so far on this post and this one.

9 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
April and the fascinating world of fresco

A headline that started “Where there’s a wall” led me to this page (fittingly for today’s date the image is called ‘April’) and subsequently to the wikipedia entry for fresco. This is clearly an area that I will have to do more research into, especially given the global nature of the art form and the […]

1 Apr 2012
The Swear: ‘Ghost Signs’

My web crawlers sometimes throw up completely unexpected references to ghostsigns, this one being a song by gothic rockers, The Swear. I contacted singer/songwriter Elizabeth Elkins to ask if there was any connection to Ghostsigns of the painted form and sure enough there was… “Ghost Signs takes the idea of physical ghost signs and turns […]

5 Mar 2012
Faded Paint: Trailer for forthcoming signpainting documentary

The Colossal Media Facebook page recently alerted me to this trailer (see below) uploaded by Rick Janzen about a film he’s making about the declining art and craft of signwriting. This will add to the work done by the Signpainter Movie team. Faded Paint – The Vanishing Sign Painter from Rick janzen on Vimeo. You can see some of the […]

4 Mar 2012
Signs and more in Dickens’ London

Picture: ‘Dickens’s Victorian London‘ by Alex Werner and Tony William Collection of 19th Century photography in London, some inadvertently capturing the advertising and signage of the age. Original photo here, book available here.

2 Mar 2012
Article charting the history and early photography of advertising painted on walls

Daniel Lohmann posted an article he’s written to the ghostsigns Facebook group. It is in german and the original can be found here [Link expired] with links to full size copies of the diverse set of images referenced. The pdf of the original as it appeared in published form is also available here. I’ve run the […]

26 Feb 2012
Mid-20th Century photos of King’s Cross featuring some painted ads

This set of photos shows what King’s Cross was like 60 years ago with the odd painted ad caught inadvertently by what appears to have been a bus enthusiast. The one above features a shop sign for Freeman, Hardy & Willis, and there’s this one too. The full set here.

19 Feb 2012
Frank Jump on 90.7 WFUD

Great radio interview with Frank talking about his work, his book and the topic in general. (A brief mention of this blog shortly after 12 minutes – thanks Frank!)

19 Feb 2012
Posters coming to life in 1906

A funny little film depicting an increasingly aggressive poster coming to life in Paris. Made by George Melies, sent to me by Joe Thompson.

11 Feb 2012
On Air: Colossal Media Radio Interview

Following Frank’s more recent appearance I came across this radio interview with Colossal Media which I missed in February last year. The slideshow above accompanies the full story and audio download on the WNYC website. More posts from the Ghostsigns blog about Colossal Media here, it’s great to see them going from strength to strength.

15 Jan 2012