Conservation
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The Vacuum Shop and George Braun
Guests on my Stoke Newington Ghostsigns Walk in early 2015 were lucky to see a bonus fading fascia en route, advertising The Vacuum Shop. This was revealed by works to the Anglo Asian restaurant, which now straddles numbers 60 and 62 Stoke Newington Church Street. Ben Selig was the proprietor of an “electrical appliances” shop […]
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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 […]
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Restoration Period in the Monotype Recorder
Last year I was invited to contribute an article on ghostsigns to the reincarnation of the Monotype Recorder periodical. It focused on issues of protection and restoration which I have covered regularly on this blog and continue to maintain an active interest in. A couple of weeks ago I brought these issues to my first […]
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Skirting the Edges of a Ghostsign in Washington DC
Here is a new (to me at least) approach to respecting ghostsigns while undertaking building renovations/property development. The host wall of this sign in Washington DC has been painted, with a careful distance left around the surviving lettering for this veterinary hospital. It could well be twinned with this one in London’s Belgravia and adds […]
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Conservation guidelines for ghostsigns in Australia
This report, Conserving Historic Signs, was written in 2002 and published by the Heritage Office, Department of Planning, State of New South Wales in 2006. I was alerted to it by Jos Peeters and it is a detailed and fascinating account of some of the considerations when conserving ghostsigns. The work on the HAT archive seems […]