People

Jo Tomkins

Earlier this year Jo Tomkins, then a student from Ravensbourne College, got in touch for some advice on her graphic design project focused on Stoke Newington ghostsigns.  I tried to help out as much as I could and so I was really happy when she sent through the final output of the project, a folding […]

18 Nov 2009

Stuart Free

For my birthday earlier this week my girlfriend bought me a limited edition print from north London artist Stuart Free. It is a painting depicting the distinctive Donovan Bros. shopfront in Spitalfields which has always been one of my favourite sites in London. [Update here.] Stuart clearly produced this painting before the sign was recently […]

11 Sep 2008

Frank Jump Interview

Just came across this on youtube, an interview with Frank Jump about his work in New York. Great to see some of his pictures full size and to hear some of the background to his fascination with the Ghost Signs or Fading Ads. I still need to schedule my trip over there, everyone who comes […]

2 Jun 2008

Bile Beans Part 2

Although I’ve been aware of this Bile Beans sign for some time I was struck by Andy Johnson‘s picture seen here as it really highlights the brightness of the sign versus the surrounding area.It has been tinkered with slightly but provides an insight into how much the original signs must have stood out against an […]

30 May 2008

John Henstock

I got in touch with John Henstock recently as he’d started uploading some of his pictures on Flickr. Here’s one example from Brixton for Our Sons Menswear (funny, I’d always read it as Dursons Menswear!). They interested me because of their very distinctive look and so I asked how he had achieved the effect. He […]

27 Mar 2008

Jerry Johnson

© Sign painted and photo taken by Jerry Johnson Frank Jump over in NYC has just posted a collection of ten outstanding images from the work of experience signwriter (or “wall dog” in USA) Jerry Johnson.  Some of these are genuine pieces of advertising and some, like the one pictured, are spoofs. The craftsmanship, or […]

23 Feb 2008

Faded London

If you like the sort of stuff found on this blog you will certainly also be interested in the work of Yelfy over at Faded London.  This features some excellent examples of Ghost Signs, many from South London which is clearly my weak spot along with West London (funny that, living in North East!). The […]

4 Feb 2008

Living St Louis

This video from Jim Kirchherr from the Living St Louis series is a nice introduction to some of the signs from that city and touches on a number of the key aspect of the signs, their history and preservation. It also features a brief interview with William Stage, the athor of the most definitive book […]

19 Jan 2008

Philadelphia Press

Lawrence O’Toole who has been documenting Ghost Signs in Philadelphia, USA got some press on his project recently in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Read the full piece here [Jan 2012: Link no longer available] and visit Lawrence’s blog here for some great pictures. This adds to the growing levels of press.

18 Nov 2007

Frank Jump

Frank Jump is a leading photographer of Ghost Signs in USA with quite a unique story as to how and why he got started.  I was in touch with him last year and he mentioned a visit to London where he saw one of the classic Gillette signs and also one for a tailor in […]

22 Jun 2007

Martin Thompson

Martin Thompson is an artist who has done a series of pieces based on his photography of predominantly London Ghost Signs. He calls them “urban fossils”. There was an exhibition in 2006 at the Bettie Morton Gallery in Brixton which I went to and was impressed with some of the signs. I would have loved […]

21 Jun 2007

Louis Sheldon-Williams

  Louis Sheldon-Williams is a fellow Ghost Sign enthusiast and held an exhibition of his photos in 2003. He refers to them as “commercial archeaology” and makes reference to advertising being the second oldest profession.  He has also campaigned for the protection of these signs but with much resistance. Shown here [Update: Image expired] is a […]

19 Jun 2007

Blooms Pianos

I photographed this fantastic sign today after going past it so many times on the bus. It’s just by the Geoffrey Museum in Shoreditch and is covered at this time of year by a big tree.   I had to do a bit of monkey-style climbing to get onto the roof underneath, hence the odd angle. […]

19 Jun 2007

Shop Local

Not all Brickads are Ghost Signs and the most recent examples I know of are from artist Bob and Roberta Smith as part of his ‘Shop Local’ campaign at Peer Gallery.  This involved bringing together artists and sign writers to recreate the old style of advertising on behalf of local Hoxton businesses. This photo is […]

18 Jun 2007