Bread

22 Hovis Ghost Signs Across the Capital

Documentation of Hovis ghost signs across London, including archival photos and contextual research.

21 Dec 2020

East End Shops from Spitalfields Life

Spitalfields Life has published a series of pieces documenting East End shop fronts, in support of the campaign against the forthcoming rise in business rates across the area. I have picked one photo from each piece and would encourage a proper browse of all of them. Fascinating stuff! Alan Dein’s East End Shops John Claridge’s […]

4 Mar 2017

When Daren Became Hovis: A Bizarre Ghostsigns ‘Restoration’

‘Ask for Daren Bread’ was once the simple slogan on this ghostsign on Avignon Road, London, SE4. The above image was taken by Lisa Edwards in 2007, sourced here in the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive. The site was likely a former bakery, sourcing its flour from the mills on the river Darent in […]

7 Jan 2017

Eddy’s Bread ghostsign restoration in Helena

A preview of the planned restoration of this Helena ghostsign later this year with some interesting debate on preservation issues and the history of the sign itself.

30 Jul 2012

Unusual Hovis Ghost Sign in New TV Commercial

This new TV commercial features a ghostsign at around 00:56.  It is unusual because it is advertising the farm as a supplier to Hovis, rather than the well know bakers being supplied by Hovis.  To what extent this is authentic I can’t say.  It seems unlikely that Hovis would have used this as a form […]

5 Jul 2012

Fresh lick of paint

I received an email this morning from a mural artist with an interest in working to restore/repaint Ghostsigns in the UK. She found me via a great project being run by the London Mural Preservation Society. I started drafting a response and then realised I’ve never written specifically about this topic and thought a blog […]

7 May 2011

Whitton’s Bread

Andrew Hughes, who is writing his dissertation on the protection of Ghost Signs, sent me this well preserved sign from Lincoln.  The bread would most probably have been made at Whitton’s Mill in nearby Whitton, perhaps an early competitor to Hovis as this sign is actually for the shop but probably paid for by Whitton’s. […]

25 Jun 2007

Hovis (Haringey)

Further to the previous post on the Hovis sign in Islington, here’s another example of this style from along Stroud Green Road in Haringey. The Hovis logo is different but the principle of Hovis sponsoring the painting of the sign in return for it being featured is the same.

21 Jun 2007

Hovis (Islington)

I discovered this sign at night on 3rd April this year and only got round to photographing it on Tuesday this week. I’ll have to go back to take another picture once the estate agent’s sign is removed but have put it up today because of the story behind it. On Tuesday I asked the […]

21 Jun 2007

Hovis Process

Also on my visit to HAT I found this nice example of how big companies got the consistency of style across the country.  It is some directions issued by Hovis as to how the back of a bread van should be painted. In a 1952 Association of National Advertisers (USA) book there is a reference […]

18 Jun 2007