UK

1001 London Ghost Signs, Mapped

The online map that accompanies the book, Ghost Signs: A London Story, now has over 1,000 pinned signs.

25 Sep 2024

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

X Doesn’t Mark the Spot: Revisiting an Islington Ghost Sign

Correcting the record for the Popham Street ghost sign previously thought to advertise X-Zalia, but now known to be for Nazalia. Photo: Roy Reed.

16 Jul 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

W.E. Baxter: A Beautiful Palimpsest in Lewes, Sussex

Layers of lettering in Lewes, advertising the W.E. Baxter printers, bookbinders, and stationers. Photo: David Quay.

5 Jun 2024

A Halesworth Ghost Sign with a Celebrity Connection

A surviving ghost sign for William Frost, the ironmonger grandfather of the late television star Sir David Frost. Photo: Wayne Tanswell.

22 Apr 2024