Tea

It’s All Popping Off in Deptford Market Yard

In Deptford, South East London, the processes of development/gentrification are having an impact on the area’s walls, including ghost signs. The following is cribbed from two Twitter threads, here and here, largely focused on the Deptford Market Yard. First up is this shelter sign from WW2. On 16 July the Deptford Society tweeted in a […]

14 Sep 2018

The Cat gets the Cream in this Clacton-on-Sea Reveal

[28 July 2015 – This post updated with new images and comments below] This stunning reveal in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex features three ghostsigns. In sequence these are for Ambrosia, Black Cat Cigarettes and a tea rooms, captured here by Ed Loach. Their appearance has caught the eye of many locals, with calls for their protection […]

20 Jun 2015

Ghostsigns in Coventry

Last week I was invited to give a talk about ghostsigns to students at the Design & Visual Arts department of the Coventry School of Art & Design. While I was in the area I thought I’d look up any ghostsigns that I could find in the History of Advertising Trust archive, and the flickr […]

12 Nov 2014

W.A.Higgs & Co: A Stoke Newington Beauty

Walking past Tatreez, the Palestinian restaurant, I spotted this beautiful Victorian sign on the inside. It is clearly a shop fascia which got me wondering why it isn’t on the front? I did some digging at the Hackney Archives and found out that W.A.Higgs & Co. was an importer of tea. They had premises at […]

21 May 2014

Is this Lipton’s tea sign genuine, repainted, or something else?

This Lipton’s Tea sign on Frank Jump’s blog has led him to ask if it is repainted or even a modern recreation? It is in Denver Colorado and to me the borders look very unusual which might lend some support to the recreation thesis. The sign painting company (The Curran Co.) named in the bottom […]

27 Oct 2012

Ghostsigns and Smiths Grand Teas in the Countryman

This photo by John Vince features in a short piece he’s written on ghostsigns for the Countryman. The sign, from Leicestershire, also features in the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive and has the wonderful ‘act local’ line of “Carefully blended to suit the water of the district”. It also has a remarkably diverse set of […]

1 Sep 2012