Coca-Cola

Chasing Ghosts for the Coca-Cola Company

I was recently invited by the Coca-Cola Company to write a piece about ghost signs for their website. It turned into something of a summary of my journey over the last 11 years since noticing my first ever fading painted advertisement. Read it here [Link expired], and see more of my writing on signs and […]

19 Jan 2018

Restoration & Regeneration

The restoration of ghostsigns is a topic that causes much debate among enthusiasts and members of the public alike. I have covered many projects on this blog, and explored the themes in articles here and elsewhere. There are also pieces in the book looking at the issue in the context of particular projects. My personal […]

22 Dec 2017

Photo Album of Painted Coca-Cola Signs (1914)

Earlier this year I came across this project to restore a photo album of painted Coca-Cola signs, dating from 1913-14. The album is a fascinating survey of signs that were painted across New England over 100 years ago, some of which survive today as ghost signs. The team at The Coca-Cola Company kindly shared the […]

24 Nov 2017

Hidden Coca-Cola Ghostsign in Portland’s Witherspoon Building

Building work hems in two ghost signs, one for Coca-Cola and one for Dodson’s Whiskey, in Portland, Oregon.

1 Apr 2017

Faux Ghostsigns for Coca-Cola’s London HQ

Ghostsigns for Coca-Cola are found all over the USA and other parts of the world, although I know of only one in the UK. However, there’s now a few inside the company’s London head quarters, although these are strictly in the ‘faux’ category. I was involved in advising on its creation and finding the team […]

2 Jul 2014

Ghostsigns of Minnesota and the Mid-West

Earlier this month I went on my first ever trip to the USA. This was to attend ‘Mazeppa Mardi Gras’, a meeting of the Letterheads in sub-zero Minnesota. It was a fantastic week of sign making and painting and you can read a full blown account of the week over on the Better Letters site. […]

19 Mar 2014

Moving Walls to Save a Ghost Sign

In an effort to save this fading and rusting shop front, Beth and Tony Walls moved the entire building 150ft to allow for a highway widening project. Martin Garfinkel of Roadside Gallery has captured it beautifully in this fine art print, available to buy here. Martin tells the story as follows. RE Ringer General Merchandise, […]

14 Mar 2014

Mirrored Ghostsign from Portland, Oregon

Following the talk at St Bride, a chain of events led to Ash at Brilliant Signs, via Stewart at McLaren Signs, sending me a copy of Letterheads Magazine from 1998. I’d expressed an interest because of the big centre spread showing lots of ghostsigns. However, on page 10 was something even better, namely this amazing […]

1 Dec 2013

Perfectly preserved Coca-Cola sign revealed in restaurant renovations

This is an amazing reveal inside a restaurant in Suffolk, Virginia, showing a vintage Coca-Cola almost perfectly preserved as it would have looked when first painted. This article offers some evidence that the sign could date from the 1890s, I wonder if they’ll do something with the top portion which is presumably on the second […]

2 Aug 2012

Salisbury Ghost Sign Restoration Project

The Salisbury Ghost Sign Restoration Project is an initiative of three enthusiasts in North Carolina. They have recently unveiled their first two restorations, both for Coca-Cola signs, so I thought it was time to catch up with one of the trio, Justin Dionne to find out more about the project. Can you tell me a […]

21 Jul 2012

The price of Coke in America remained unchanged for over 70 years

Photo: MOLLYBLOCK The 5c price shown in the picture above only helps to place this sign in the 1886-1959 bracket.  This research attempts to explain why this happened, with the resulting difficulty of using price as a dating tool for Coca-Cola ghostsigns in the USA.

19 May 2012

Restoration Project for Ghost Signs in Salisbury, North Carolina

Details of the process for a specific restoration project, with a facebook page to accompany it.  More posts on restoration projects and issues here.

18 Apr 2012

49 New Signs

Since handing over day-to-day responsibility for the archive to the History of Advertising Trust there has been a steady influx of new material. 49 new signs have been uploaded to the online galleries and this means that c.750 are now documented through the collective efforts of photographers across the country. I’ve listed the codes for […]

5 Aug 2011

Landmarks Commission Hearing

Debate over this site for a new painted wall advertisement Frank Jump over in NYC, USA recently presented the case, on behalf of Colossal Media, for the ‘overwriting’ of an old fading ghost sign with a new Colossal production.  Presumably an application to do so is under consideration and the Landmarks Commission are deciding whether […]

25 Dec 2007