Signs of Note
Beautiful, unusual, lost and found ghost signs.
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The Mirrored Owl Cigars of San Francisco
Early twentieth century photos show an Owl Cigars sign in reverse on a huge San Francisco wall. But why was it painted like that?
26 Jul 2024
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Brain’s Honest Ale: Lost But Not Forgotten in Cardiff
A wonderful pictorial ghost sign for Brain’s ‘honest’ ales, photographed in Cardiff in the late-1970s by John Jenkins.
10 Jun 2024
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A Halesworth Ghost Sign with a Celebrity Connection
A surviving ghost sign for William Frost, the ironmonger grandfather of the late television star Sir David Frost. Photo: Wayne Tanswell.
22 Apr 2024
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A Curious Palimpsest: Foster Ltd in Bristol
Small lettering emerging beneath a recently revealed ghost sign for Foster Ltd in Bristol. Photographed by Tobias Newbigin.
10 Feb 2024
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The Shifting Sands of London’s Ghost Signs Landscape
Ghost signs lost, partially destroyed, and ‘brought back’ from the dead in the shifting sands of London’s ghost signs landscape.
15 Jan 2024
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New Brands on Holborn’s Gillette Palimpsest
New brands on Holborn’s Gillette palimpsest revealed during building works next door.
23 Oct 2022
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Chicago Ghost Signs and the Beverly Sign Co.
Fundraising to save two Chicago ghost signs with a connection to the Beverly Sign Co.
6 Aug 2022
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Ice Cream for Health, says J. Boni in Edinburgh
Ice Cream for Health, says J. Boni in Edinburgh, as the 1930s ghost sign is revealed, preserved, and partially covered.
20 Apr 2022
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The Donovan Bros Sign at 46 Crispin Street
The Donovan Bros sign at 46 Crispin Street has a fascinating story to tell, and here’s more about proprietor Patrick Donovan and signwriter Alfred Keil.
22 Feb 2022
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Redfern’s Rubber Heels Make Walking a Pleasure Again in Islington
Between a Redfern’s Rubber Heels ghost sign and its partial whitewash in Islington was a mystery layer with pink background. Until now…
14 Dec 2021
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Back to Back Beecham’s Pills in Leeds
Tracking down a series of gable end ghost signs advertising Beecham’s Pills, presumed to be in Leeds, but with a detour to Shotton in Wales.
7 Sep 2021
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London’s Best Ghost Sign (And a New Book Cover)
Announcing the winner of the competition to be crowned London’s best ghost sign, and an exclusive kickstarter only cover for ‘Ghost Signs: A London Story’
5 Jun 2021
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London’s Best Ghost Sign? You Decide!
Twitter competition to decide London’s best ghost sign, in support of the publication of ‘Ghost Signs: A London Story’
28 May 2021
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The Curious Case of Two French Milliners
Two almost identical painted shopfronts for French Milliners, just two miles about, raise questions about chronology and authenticity.
3 May 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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22 Hovis Ghost Signs Across the Capital
Documentation of Hovis ghost signs across London, including archival photos and contextual research.
21 Dec 2020
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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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Writing Off the Wall: The Wholesale Removal of a Viennese Ghost Sign
Last summer an extraordinary project took place in Vienna, Austria, with the aim of removing an early-20th Century ghost sign for Adolf Grünsfeld, in its entirety, from its host wall. It’s end destination would be the permanent display at the city’s Wien Museum. Tom Koch, who produced this film documenting the project, has written about […]
12 Oct 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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Two Paris Beauties Under Wraps
A couple of years ago these two well-preserved ghost signs were revealed in Paris (see Streetview), presumably by the removal of billboards that covered and protected them. [Update via Caroline’s Miscelleny: The uncovering was in 2012, and the works can be seen underway in the legacy Streetview.] The first adverises Ripolin, a paint brand, which […]
7 Dec 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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Scorched Earth Reveals Historic Eire Signs
A fire at Bray Head, County Wicklow, in Ireland, has revealed this fascinating relic of the second world war. This large-format Eire sign was one of over 80 located around the coast of Ireland to indicate the country’s neutrality in the war to bombers flying overhead. Many others survive, including some which have been maintained/restored, […]
21 Sep 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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64,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Cave Paintings
Continuing the occassional exploration of ‘ancient’ signs, I was thrilled to hear of this evidence that Neanderthals were busy painting the walls of caves across Spain. This species, almost dubbed Homo Stupidus (yes, stupid man!), were not previously known for this type of cultural activity, and this remarkable work has discarded that prejudice for good. […]
27 Jul 2018
