UK

London Shop Fronts on London Live

Following last week’s post about Shopfrontelegy, here’s a short film from the Secret London section of new TV station London Live. It’s based on the work of Emily Webber who writes the London Shop Fronts blog.

6 Aug 2014

Ghostsigns Restorations in Cambridge

This is the third and final post in a series documenting recent ghostsign restorations across the UK. It follows coverage of the Palladium Cinema restoration in Morecambe, and the repainting of the Larkspur Soft Drinks sign in Bradford. The focus this time is Cambridge and a slightly different approach to those previously covered. The Bulls […]

23 Jul 2014

Larkspur Restoration by Brian the Brush

This is the second of a series of three posts on current ghostsigns restorations in the UK, following last week’s piece on the Palladium Cinema sign in Morecambe. (See this This sign for Larkspur Soft Drinks is on King Street in Drighlington, West Yorkshire. The building it is positioned on was once home to Scott’s […]

16 Jul 2014

Restoration of Palladium Cinema Ghostsign in Morecambe

This is the first in a series of three blog posts documenting current activities in the UK to repaint and restore ghostsigns. It is worth referring to my general discussion of the issues and debates connected to this practice, a previous blog post titled ‘A Fresh Lick of Paint‘. See also ‘Restoration Period‘ for a […]

9 Jul 2014

London’s Lonely Ampersand

Today I visited D&AD’s New Blood exhibit and got chatting to Craig Palmer who had created a ‘zine’ all about the humble ampersand. It was a little lesson in the history of type with Craig telling me that the word is a conjunction (or ‘mondegreen‘ to give it its technical name) of four words. These […]

3 Jul 2014

Faux Ghostsigns for Coca-Cola’s London HQ

Ghostsigns for Coca-Cola are found all over the USA and other parts of the world, although I know of only one in the UK. However, there’s now a few inside the company’s London head quarters, although these are strictly in the ‘faux’ category. I was involved in advising on its creation and finding the team […]

2 Jul 2014

Ghostsigns on Londonist Out Loud

I took N Quentin Woolf of Londonist Out Loud on a portion of my Ghostsigns Walking Tour in Stoke Newington. The result is this podcast (here on itunes, and here on Londonist) which we managed to record despite the myriad noises and distractions on the street. Thanks Quentin for putting it together.

14 Jun 2014

Ghost Signs and Public Lettering in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter

On 21 May, before my Type Talk at Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, I helped lead a walk through the city’s historic Jewellery Quarter. This was in collaboration with Geraldine Marshall of the Birmingham Graphic DNA Project, and focused on the ghostsigns and public lettering that can be found in the quarter. It was […]

4 Jun 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

F.C. Osborn and the Fading Fascias

This beautiful shop fascia was recently revealed on Dalston Lane, Hackney, London, as part of renovations to the shop by a new tenant. (Thanks Bryce for tipping me off!). The following photos show some of the detail of this sign for F.C.Osborn, Bookseller, who occupied the premises from the mid-1920s to at least 1950. Prior […]

2 May 2014

Time Travel with Google Streetview

This fragment of a ghostsign for Daren Bread in Stoke Newington is one of the stops on my walking tour in the area. Now, thanks to Google Streetview’s new ‘timelapse’ feature, we are able to visit the location as it was in 2008, prior to the removal of the mounted sign for Lemongrass. This clearly […]

29 Apr 2014

Scotland in Detail: Vintage Signs from Dave Cowan

This fabulous montage of Scottish ghostsigns was created by Dave Cowan of Scotland in Detail. It is available as a print from his store and he says the following of his work and this creation [Links expired]. I’ve been fascinated by these old signs for a few years now. They’re glimpses into the past and […]

26 Mar 2014

D. Appell Fascia Revealed by the Valentine’s Day Storm

Ghostsigns are regularly revealed by property development and the updating or removal of billboards. This is the first instance I’ve come across of the weather, in this case the wind, leading to a shop fascia becoming visible once again. The ‘Valentine’s Day Storm’ last Friday ripped the Roti Stop sign off this corner building, leaving […]

19 Feb 2014

Photos and Reactions from the Sign Painters & Horn Please Double Bill

Click the picture below for a review of the London screenings of Sign Painters and Horn Please, February 2014.

14 Feb 2014

History Repeating: A Stunning Reveal on Bethnal Green Road

While creating this beautiful new signage for Casa Blue, Ash Bishop of The Brilliant Sign Co. alerted me to an astonishing discovery inside the premises of this newly converted bar. It is a fragment of some Victorian painted lettering, which Ash proposes dates from the 1880s or possibly 1890s. Check it out below or, even […]

29 Jan 2014

Rediscovering Club Labrynth on a Type Safari

This is my creation following Sunday’s Type Safari in Dalston with Type Tasting. It is a composite of various pieces of public lettering and signage that I photographed while on ‘safari’ with Type Tasting’s Sarah Hyndman. The brief was to bring a phrase that represents Dalston for me, and then to seek out its letters […]

21 Jan 2014

Ghostsigns in the Family: Henry Dunn of Deal

This mid-1800s photograph shows a painted sign on the wall in Deal, Kent, advertising Henry Dunn and his various trades of cabinet maker, upholsterer, paper hanger, undertaker, broker and more. Born in 1818, Henry Dunn is my Great Great Great Grandfather, so I was chuffed to discover that he shared my appreciation of the hand-painted […]

15 Jan 2014

Sign Painter Movie / Horn Please Double Bill

[Update: Read a review of the screenings here] I’m very excited to announce that The Sign Painter Movie is coming to London and will be screened alongside Horn Please on Wednesday, 5 February 2014 [Update: Sold Out, tickets now added for Thursday, 6 February and Friday, 7 February]. The tickets were released on Friday and […]

16 Dec 2013

Palimpsest Revealed in Yelvertoft

This palimpsest has recently been revealed by the removal of the butcher’s sign that once covered it. However, the fate of this ghostsign is yet to be determined. Perhaps it will be covered again, and inadvertently protected, by a new sign. Or maybe the new residents will take a liking to the old sign and […]

15 Dec 2013

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

Inch & Co Chemists Inspires Poetry

Coming back from my visit to South London I also spotted this ghostsign advertising Inch & Co Cash Chemists on Kennington Park Road. As I was trying to recall the location I searched for the company name and found a couple of references to it on the Formerly blog. The sign has provided a springboard […]

20 Oct 2013

Beanfeast: Ghostsigns at Type Tasting

This is my/Ghostsigns’ submission to an inspiring project from Type Tasting, part of this year’s London Design Festival. It will be displayed alongside works from myriad designers and artists, including Alan Kitching and Ralph Steadman (Wow!), at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 14-19 September. The brief was to create a word that completes the sentence […]

1 Sep 2013

Wonderful lettering and language at heart of Fleetwood restoration project

An effort is underway to repaint the fading remains of this fantastic example of shop fascia lettering in Fleetwood. I love the language, “Bacca Shoppee” in particular, and the repetition of the core offering across all elements of the shop front. It is interesting to note that the wooden frames are also painted. They can […]

4 Aug 2013

Bile Beans, York: Correction and update

This Bile Beans ghostsign from Lord Mayor’s Walk in York has become something of a ‘poster boy’ for the medium. It was repainted for the second time last November, sparking a mixed reaction from locals, as is often the case with ghostsigns restoration projects. The knowledgeable and inquisitive Lisa from the excellent York Stories website […]

23 Jun 2013