Canada

Sign for the Signs: Two Petitions from Canada and Wimbledon

Petitions to save a ghost sign for Super Servis Shoe Rebuilders in Hamilton Ontario, and a mosaic fascia sign for the Co-Op in Wimbledon, London, England.

21 Jun 2021

Ghost Signs & Light Capsules in Winnipeg

Ghost signs & light capsules in Winnipeg are the focus of Writing on the Wall, a short film about the city and the work that has been done to document and preserve them.

4 Jan 2021

Ghost Signs of Montreal & Ottawa from John Toohey

Ghost signs in Montreal, Canada, are an interesting category, due to the bilingual nature of the city and wider region of Quebec. This idiosyncracy has been covered in ‘Sur les murs‘ by Réjane Bougé. (Lovely photographs, contemporary and archival, but sadly the text is only in French!). John Toohey has been documenting some of the […]

24 Aug 2018

Tracing the Origins of ‘Ghost’ Signs

When did old painted signs on walls become known as ‘ghost’ signs, and who coined the phrase? These questions crop up often in my discussions with others, and on my tours, and I always have to hold my hand up and say I didn’t invent the term, but have just made use of it for […]

14 Jan 2017

‘Sur Les Murs’: Montréal’s Bilingual Ghostsigns

‘Sur les murs‘ (‘on the walls’) is the first book about ghostsigns to come out of Canada. It is a French language publication, as it is set in Montréal, but contains many English language signs. This reflects the bilingual history of the city and the country, which continues to this day. In fact, through the […]

8 Sep 2013

A novel approach to ghostsign conservation from Vancouver

This ghostsign for the Little Theatre in Vancouver is the subject of a unique preservation effort prompted by the efforts of the Grandview Heritage Group. In response to a letter sent to the developers currently at work on the building they have been told that two actions will be taken to preserve the sign. First […]

17 Nov 2012