San Francisco
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The Mirrored Owl Cigars of San Francisco
Early twentieth century photos show an Owl Cigars sign in reverse on a huge San Francisco wall. But why was it painted like that?
26 Jul 2024
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Writing on the Whale and Other Novelties
Joe Thompson emailed me these fascinating photos of lettering on unusual objects, namely a dead whale (1919) and a shipwrecked oil tanker (1926). They are from San Francisco, recently donated to the Western Neighbourhoods Project. Read more about the photos and the project on SF Weekly News. As a bonus, an exploding whale video below. […]
4 Feb 2015
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Anarchy on the Walls: Ghostsigns, Street Art & Graffiti
Kasey Smith’s ‘Perception Filter‘ blog is well worth a follow for all ghostsigns enthusiasts. Her dispatches from San Francisco have been a big influence on me, as evidenced by the number of times I’ve decided to highlight her observations, insights, investigations and mapping efforts here on Ghostsigns. Her latest post concerns the work above by artist Augustine […]
27 Oct 2013
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More San Francisco Ghostsigns mapped
The latest research by Kasey Smith of the Perception Filter blog is now plotted on a map with images and research available by clicking on each marker. It’s building into quite a collection and shows at a local level part of my vision for a global mapping of hand painted advertising on buildings.
25 Jul 2012
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Owl Cigars ghostsign mystery in San Francisco
Kasey Smith of the Perception Filter blog has just posted this fascinating piece of investigative research into the origins of the Owl Cigars ghostsign on Meacham Place, San Francisco. Can you think of any other theories that would explain its unlikely position given the evidence that Kasey presents?
15 Jul 2012
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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
