RIP

Pawned for Good: The Partial Palimpsest in St James

The ghost sign for the J.A. & G.E. Smith pawnbrokers in east London has been painted over and now lost. RIP.

5 Sep 2024
Brain’s Honest Ale: Lost But Not Forgotten in Cardiff

A wonderful pictorial ghost sign for Brain’s ‘honest’ ales, photographed in Cardiff in the late-1970s by John Jenkins.

10 Jun 2024
RIP: The Chronicle, High Street, Crewe

A noteworthy letter ‘r’ on a now-lost ghost signs advertising The Chronicle newspaper in Crewe, Cheshire. Photographed by Alex Hoggarth.

28 Feb 2024
The Shifting Sands of London’s Ghost Signs Landscape

Ghost signs lost, partially destroyed, and ‘brought back’ from the dead in the shifting sands of London’s ghost signs landscape.

15 Jan 2024
New Brands on Holborn’s Gillette Palimpsest

New brands on Holborn’s Gillette palimpsest revealed during building works next door.

23 Oct 2022
Missing in Action: Barlow & Roberts

Missing in Action: Barlow & Roberts, Southwark Street. The story of this ghost signs, its former location, and apparent loss in 2021.

27 Oct 2021
Whitewashing History at Poland Street Car Park

Whitewashing History at Poland Street Car Park looks at a pair of Soho ghost signs for BP Energol and Regent Remoulds that were covered by graffiti before being whitewashed.

1 Mar 2021
When Haig Finally Became Vague (RIP)

When Haig finally became vague, documents the one-time ghost sign at Milkwell Yard in Camberwell, which was cleaned to oblivion in 2017.

22 Feb 2021
Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 4

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a useful, educative and rewarding topic for those, whether private enthusiasts […]

2 Mar 2018
Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 3

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a useful, educative and rewarding topic for those, whether private enthusiasts […]

23 Feb 2018
Painted Advertisements in Islington: Part 2

The list below of painted advertisements in Islington was compiled in the hope that some of those reading it might write in with additional locations not known to the compiler, and in the belief that painted advertisements in other parts of London would make a useful, educative and rewarding topic for those, whether private enthusiasts […]

16 Feb 2018
Venos & Veglio Reveals on Oxford Street

The above ghost sign was revealed a couple of years ago by the redevelopment of a site on the North side of the Eastern end of Oxford Street in London. It is a palimpsest, and advertises ‘Venos Lightning Cough/Cold Cure’. It wasn’t their only painted wall sign in the area as, a little further West […]

1 Dec 2017
RIP: London Co-Op, Frederic Street

This ghost sign for the London Co-Operative Society on Frederic Street, London E17, has now been partially covered by new signage for the Still Bar and Restaurant. In addition, the last visible portion of the sign, a small strip on the right, has been painted out in white. While most of the sign is likely […]

10 Oct 2017
RIP: Black Cat Cigarettes

I’m often asked what is my favourite ghostsign. There are many to choose from, but, since first discovering it in 2007, the Black Cat Cigarettes sign on Dingley Road in London is the one I usually go for. When giving my Top Ten London Ghostsigns to Londonist I said this about the sign: “This is […]

13 Sep 2016
RIP: 154 Bishopsgate EC2

This elegant painted sign adorning the stonework above the entrance to 154 Bishopsgate, London EC2, is no more, recently replaced by mounted metal letters (see picture below). Although it isn’t what most would refer to as a ghostsign (see my chapter, What is a Ghost Sign?, in this forthcoming book), it was a striking and […]

27 May 2016
RIP: H. Callcut & Son

The H. Callcut & Son sign that once adorned this house front has now been whitewashed (see below). It was on Blackstock Road in North London, close to my old primary school, so I was quite sad to see this familiar landmark lost to property development. The photo above, and the details below were taken […]

20 May 2016
RIP: Signwriters – Gilding & Pictorial Artists

This beautiful gilded script once marked the home of Ambridge Signs. When they left the premises the sign didn’t come with them and, until last month, it provided a reminder of the area’s signwriting heritage. It was situated on this unassuming building at the end of a terrace on Southgate Road, De Beauvoir, but has now […]

21 Mar 2015
Cars No Longer Wanted: RIP

This car dealership sign has been recently whitewashed, as discovered while cycling past today. However, was it ever a ghostsign, given that the dealership remains in business at the same location? The sign had clearly fallen into disrepair, but was not completely abandoned. This has always been one of my London favourites, mainly due to […]

3 Sep 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
RIP: Midford Fox

This photo from the early 1900s comes from the Akeman Press Archive and shows a family posing with their car outside this former tavern in Midford, Somerset. Kirsten Elliott from Akeman informs me that the last remains of the sign have now been rendered and painted over, making this a recent addition to the growing […]

10 Oct 2012
RIP: A.E. Piggott & Sons, Leicester

This large canal-side ghostsign has fallen victim to the demolition of its host building in Leicester. More details of the location can be seen on Amy’s photo of the sign on Flickr where it is also noted that it made a cameo in the first Walkers crisps commercial featuring Gary Lineker (0:36 and 0:55 below). […]

19 Sep 2012
Joseph’s Hat Shop sign threatened in Austin, Texas

This great hand painted sign for Joseph’s Hat Shop in Austin Texas is set for demolition ahead of the construction of a new Marriott hotel. Another photo showing the entire sign can be found here on the Glyn Lowe Photoworks website.

27 Jun 2012
RIP Mr. Burbujas (via @ihazrabies)

Photo: Kasey Smith This post on the Perception Filter blog tells a sorry tale of the (partial) loss of this character-filled sign in San Francisco, and some conjecture about hidden meanings within the scene depicted. It appears that persistant grafitti has led the laundry owners to finally give up on repairing the sign, a very […]

30 May 2012
Farewell and RIP to the Hammersmith Palais

[Update, November 2020: This sign is still visible, and the demolition works appear to have only affected the building immediately behind this wall.] Thursday, 10th May 2012 marked the final destruction of the once proud Hammersmith Palais, home to this underground-platform-long ghostsign. Dances were once twice daily but the evidence of this now only remains […]

11 May 2012