Review

Fading Ads of Philadelphia by Lawrence O’Toole

This ghostsign advertising Roxy’s Hunting Goods did for Lawrence O’Toole what the Stoke Newington Fount Pens sign did for me. It sensitised him to the presence of ghostsigns in the urban environment, and started a programme of activity that would lead to the publication of his book, Fading Ads of Philadelphia. He still regards it […]

15 Oct 2014

Fading Ads of St. Louis by Wm. Stage

This stunning photograph is from the cover of Wm. Stage‘s latest addition to the ghostsigns literature, ‘Fading Ads of St. Louis‘. Stage’s first book, ‘Ghost Signs‘, remains the definitive text on the topic and so it is no surprise to find his latest work full of fantastic photography and meticulous research. In this case Stage […]

3 Apr 2014

Tekens Aan De Wand: Ghostsign Restoration in the Netherlands

Tekens Aan De Wand (Writing on the Wall) is a book documenting the collective efforts of local historical societies across the Netherlands to restore ghostsigns. It is published by Trichis and features over 170 pages of beautiful painted signage, graphic design and archival photography. Sadly this review is limited by my lack of Dutch language […]

8 Jan 2014

‘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

Fading Ads of Birmingham by Charles Buchanan and Jonathan Purvis

Birmingham, Alabama, is the location for this addition to the ghostsigns literature from resident advertising expert and artist Charles Buchanan. For a city founded as recently as 1871 there is a rich history found on its walls, one that Buchanan has diligently researched and which Jonathan Purvis has captured photographically. Following a general overview of […]

11 Aug 2013

Sign Painters: The movie, the book and the resurgence

The Sign Painter Movie is now on tour with dates booked in until November, including Scotland and New Zealand for those outside the film’s USA base. I was treated to a preview screening and also got my hands on the book that accompanies the film. This was immensely exciting following my tracking of the project […]

28 Jul 2013

Walldogs: Murals on Main Street DVD

This is one of 17 murals produced during a Walldogs ‘meet’ in Pontiac, Illinois, in the summer of 2009. These events bring together sign artists from around the world to decorate towns and cities with colourful murals. In this case it was the home of the International Walldog Mural & Sign Art Museum and a place […]

22 Sep 2012

Five years of Ghostsigns and a new website

Today is the 5th birthday of this blog following the first ever post on 16th June 2007.  In that time, including my stints on blogger, google sites and posterous, I have uploaded 415 posts, an average of seven per month. As a birthday present I have upgraded the site to a hosted WordPress content management […]

16 Jun 2012

Fading Ads of New York City

The eagerly awaited release of Frank Jump’s ‘Fading Ads of New York City’ book is almost upon us. I was fortunate enough to be offered a sneak preview by Frank himself so here are some reflections on the book to whet your appetite and hopefully encourage you to get a copy as soon as it’s […]

4 Nov 2011

Ghost Signs Book (Stage)

Ghost Signs – Brick Wall Signs in America W.M. Stage I bought this book last year and was reading through it again today. Not only does it feature some great photos from around USA but it also has a superb level of depth of research into the production of signs, the people who painted them […]

9 Jul 2007