RE: https://typo.social/@jackusine/116063044048452337
Très heureux d’avoir pu filer un coup de main à la finalisation de ce superbe projet ♥
En plus du système de filtres combinant 15 techniques, 14 catégories, 29 séries, 42 départements et 13 styles, la recherche et le bouton Mélanger ◼ sont à votre disposition pour explorer les 1705 photos (!) récoltées entre 2004 et 2019 par @jackusine
#SignPainting #SignWriting #Lettering #GhostSigns #Typography #Vernacular #MadeWithKirby
I'm working with @RoyReed on a reissue of our book, Ghost Signs: A London Story. Sadly this is having to report on some signs lost since it was first published in 2021.
This is one of them, now time-capsuled beneath the new, taller, structure that has been erected on the plot immediately in front of the wall.
https://ghostsigns.co.uk/2022/10/new-brands-on-holborns-gillette-palimpsest/
Photo: Roy Reed (https://www.flickr.com/photos/royreed/51660161152/)
As it's #SuperbOwl Sunday, I guess it's time to look again at this fascinating 'reverse' Owl Cigars sign from 1913 San Francisco:
https://ghostsigns.co.uk/2024/07/the-mirrored-owl-cigars-of-san-francisco/
cc @superbowl
For even more San Francisco Owl Cigars photos, check out the detective work by @ihazrabies here:
https://sfghostsigns.com/blog/2024/6/19/secret-owl-cigar-signs-of-san-francisco
An interesting juxtaposition of ‘Ye Olde Sign Shoppe’ photography and geopolitical comment in this Shropshire Star piece?
The man at work is Charles (Charlie) Harrington and when I saw the picture the name rang a bell. And then it dawned on me: he's the man photographed alongside his recently painted Bile Beans sign in this piece on the restoration of a ghost sign in Leeds:
https://ghostsigns.co.uk/2021/07/council-funds-bile-beans-repainting-in-leeds/
#SignPainters #YeOldeSignShoppe #Wolverhampton #Ghostsigns #Leeds
Cal Callaghan’s ‘ACME and Web 2.0’ tells the story of how he salvaged and pieced together part of an Acme Beer ghost sign, including the sign painter’s signature.
https://callaghan.org/acme-web-2-0
Also check out these two Acme Beer labels in the online collections at @letterformarchive.
cc @ihazrabies
The Horn & Hardart chain of ‘automat’ diners ceased to exist 35 years ago, yet this remnant of their advertising past clings on in Manhattan.
untapped new york has the full story: https://www.untappedcities.com/spot-a-ghost-sign-for-nycs-lost-automat/.
Photo: Robyn Roth-Moise.
Ghosts signs for the Typewriter Repair Co on Oswald Street in Glasgow. This had to be a relativley niche business, even back when typewriters were commonplace, and this may explain why it's only listed as a business at this address in the Post Office Directory between 1911 and 1914.
#glasgow #ghostsigns #oswaldstreet #architecture #glasgowhistory
@RickGaehl I was shocked to realise that my first (pre-graffiti) photo of this is almost 20 years old now!
https://ghostsigns.co.uk/2007/06/blooms-pianos/
It's a rare example of a locally listed ghost sign in London:
https://ghostsigns.co.uk/2013/05/local-listing-status-for-hackney-ghostsigns/
An original See Rock City barn sign at the American Sign Museum.
Photo by Natalie Grilli from our book, https://bl.ag/a-sneak-peek-inside-the-american-sign-museum-book/:
"Rock City in Chattanooga, TN, was founded by Garnet and Frieda Carter in 1932, and established itself as a popular botanical and geological tourist destination. Visitors came to see Frieda’s beautiful gardens and the views (of seven states on a clear day) from the top of the mountain nearby."
Continues 1/3
On a slight tangent, here's something I wrote in 2014 about the wider question of what to do with ghost signs in terms of protection, conservation/preservation, and restoration.
Spotted this ghost sign in Colossal Media’s roundup of their work in 2025:
https://www.colossalmedia.com/field-notes/best-of-2025
The fact that they were able to solicit the site for contemporary advertising was decided by a Landmarks Commission hearing. This included testimony from Frank Jump about the importance of keeping the skills of sign painting alive for future generations.
I wrote about the case in 2007, which was my first year blogging!
https://ghostsigns.co.uk/2007/12/landmarks-commission-hearing/
Tom McIltrot at SignCraft (https://signcraft.com ) sent me this lovely ghost sign from his recent trip to Livingston, Montana.
The Livingston / Lumber & Coal sign has been painted over what was once a vertical advertisement for M&O Cigars, with their slogan, “Every Puff a Pleasure”.
Right down at the bottom is the contractor’s imprint, which looks to me like “Toljan Sign & Adv. Co.” in case anyone knows anything about them...
Throwback to when I used to get Tripadvisor reviews — I earned their 'certificate of excellence' for five years in a row while running my in-person Ghostsigns walks:
PS. My walks are still available, digitally, including the free Clapham one, via https://ghostsigns.co.uk/tours, or in-person for (much) bigger budgets ☺️
