The Boro’ Bill Posting Company and Their Surviving Ghost Signs
Sharing research to date into what was once one of the major outdoor contractors leasing sites to advertisers for painted wall signs.
Video
F.W. Woolworth Co. and the Winston-Salem Sit-Ins
Absolutely fascinating investigation uncovering the historical connections between two glass signs for F.W. Woolworth Co. and the Winston-Salem sit-ins that played a major role in the American Civil Rights movement. (Watch on www.pbs.org here.) Hat tip to Meredith at the Pre-Vinylite Society for spotting this, and to PBS for creating the documentary.
Early Graphic Communications in Cave Paintings
Thanks to Derek for alerting me to this video which explores some of the earliest known forms of graphic communications and symbolism, building on previous posts here on the blog. Here is the TED blurb, and the speaker has a book, The First Signs: Unlocking the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols (also available on …
R.N. Cattle & Son in Harvey Gould’s Soho
This fascinating video about Soho features longtime resident Harvey Gould talking about the people and places that he remembers from the area. At 10:48 he discusses the painted wooden sign for R.N. Cattle & Son in Portland Mews. He then heads up the mews itself to reveal the ghost of cricket stumps once painted onto …
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.
Cassannet: A Dubonnet-Inspired Typeface
This film is promoting the typeface Cassannet, inspired by the iconic Dubonnet triptych found on numerous ghostsigns across France. The campaign was originally designed for the brand by the artist Cassandre and this typeface has been designed by Atipo in Spain. Thank you to Jess over on the University of Wolverhampton Visual Communication blog for passing this to …
Global Ghostsigns for the 2014 Calendar
The 2014 Ghostsigns Calendar has had some amazing material submitted, all of which is now available to view and like (i.e. vote for) on the Ghostsigns Facebook Page. There are 103 photos in all, from 11 different countries, proof that ghostsigns are a global phenomenon. Browsing through them I am struggling to decide on my …
Sign Painters: The movie, the book and the resurgence
The Sign Painter Movie is now on tour with dates booked in until November, including Scotland and New Zealand for those outside the film’s USA base. I was treated to a preview screening and also got my hands on the book that accompanies the film. This was immensely exciting following my tracking of the project …
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Born and Raised from David A Smith, John Mayer and Danny Cooke
This has left me speechless. Sublime. Ridiculous. Unbelievable. Thank you to David, John and Danny for bringing the story of this piece of work to life through film. An incredible follow up to the last one.
Horn Please and the Wonderful World of India’s Hand-Painted Trucks
Horn Please is a short film by directors Shantanu Suman and Istling Mirche, all about the bright and colourful hand-painted trucks that fuel India‘s massive goods transportation system. It is an insightful and captivating expose of this fascinating cultural phenomenon, touching on the history of truck painting in India, the significance of the designs and the …
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