Ghostsigns

Hand painted Gambia (and Jamaican bonus)

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 27 May 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Julbrew is Gambia's national beer and the crocodile is revered in the country for its healing and other powers.

A recent trip to a wedding in The Gambia, West Africa, was another piece of delight for a hand painted signage enthusiast like me. In a similar fashion to my February visit to Bangladesh I was often distracted by the variety of forms found in the small part of the country we visited. Also like Bangladesh, I was doing most travelling by car and therefore only getting to photograph a limited number of signs. Here is a little photo essay to show what I found, hand painted and otherwise...

Pippa's Boutique shows that it's not just walls that are good for painting on.

A common feature of the signs is the very explicit display of the products available inside the premises.

At Sabas-Ngozi's store it isn't so much the products that you can buy on display, rather the creatures they'll destroy.

"Fix the pest", indeed!

I was completely ravaged by these cursed animals on my first night. In fact, the technical term for the main malaria carrying mosquito in Africa is Anopheles Gambiae, perhaps the clue is in the name...

This more recently hand painted wall is advertising one of the telecoms brands outside the main tourist market. It wrapped around the whole perimeter wall which sadly this photo doesn't do justice to.

Closer inspection reveals detailed illustrations of some of the handicraft and other products available for purchase inside.

Perhaps this is an example of 'privilege' advertising, with QCELL paying for the sign's production in return for the use of the wall space and the inclusion of the market's products in the design.

Wood carvings were abundant, and you could see them being made on site. We bought a carved hippo to congratulate Gilly's brother on completing his epic kayak challenge through the hippo-infested waters down the river Gambia.

Inside the market we spent some time playing Oware in the aptly named happy corner. Accompanying the play was round after round of the strong and highly sweetened green tea, Attaya.

All smiles in happy corner.

It looks like the low prices being paid have extended to the signs advertising them...

We happened to be staying on the same road as the Gambian VSO office and I was very happy to see that they had commissioned this hand painted sign following the introduction of the new logo last year. It is however slightly flattened in this reproduction...

Most of the signs I saw were for small businesses, advertising on their own premises. This one for Maggi was a rare example of a big brand using the medium. Most were taking out space in the emerging billboard sites lining the major roads.

We spent a day at the beach here, I don't know where to start on the idiosyncrasies of this sign. Perhaps my favourite thing is the hasty addition of the website and phone numbers which appear to have been missing from the original design, if indeed there was an original design...

Adjacent to the signboard was this wall with a number of drinks brands advertised in small panels.

This is another emblem for the national beer, the example at the top of this post was also on the same wall.

I love this design of this one, the layout and lettering are of another era.

Photo: Derek Clifford

Photo: Derek Clifford

These mounted signs are very common in Cambodia. I love the copy, the mixture of upper and lower case letters in "always nice" and the styling of the 'models'. Also, "home service", can't say fairer than that!

In another echo of Bangladesh I captured this sign, perhaps my favourite of them all, with the last photo on the camera before the battery died. I'm a Soul Man!

Now a couple of the non-handpainted variety that caught my eye for another reason.

The name says it all, "the place to be".

And now as a little 'compare and contrast' bonus here are some hand painted signs from Jamaica. The pictures were all taken by Gilly Clifford and it is interesting to note the similarity in terms of the illustration of the goods available for purchase. Does anyone have any other material from West Africa or the Caribbean to see if this is just coincidence or indicative of a wider stylistic symmetry between these locations?

There's barely enough space to fit everything on the wall.

Don't forget the chicken foot!

Farewell and RIP to the Hammersmith Palais

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Fri, 11 May 2012 01:26:00 +0000

Photo: Caroline Derry / HAT

Thursday, 10th May 2012 marked the final destruction of the once proud Hammersmith Palais, home to this underground-platform-long ghostsign. Dances were once twice daily but the evidence of this now only remains in these and other photographic records.

Martin Percival alerted me to this loss of one of London's most distinctive ghostsigns and wrote this short piece to accompany his own collection of images of the front and back of the now destroyed music venue:

"Opened as a ballroom called the Palais de Danse in 1919 the venue closed in April 2007. In the meantime it had been an important music venue and dance hall for the 88 years of its existence. The Clash song "White Man (in Hammersmith Palais)" was inspired by Joe Strummers visit to the venue for a reggae all nighter on 5 June 1977. The last gig at the venue was from The Fall on Sunday 1 April 2007. At one stage it was scheduled for demolition but the recession has given it a reprieve. In the meantime the venue has deteriorated badly in the 5 years since its closure. On 10 May 2012 it was demolished."

It was one of the longest ghostsigns in the UK, part of a small group including Thornycroft in Leeds, Normanton Garage in Sheffield, and, perhaps the UK record holder, Butlers Ales in Wolverhampton (more images here, here and here). I may have missed others so please add to the comments if so.

It was also a relative rarity in that it advertised an entertainment venue other than a cinema. Very few others exist in the HAT archive, the Coliseum in Shoreditch being the oldest, alongside the modern Live Family Entertainment in Islington and 12 Bar Club in Soho. This has alerted me to the fact that my own Vortex Jazz Bar sign (also an RIP) isn't in the HAT archive and, as above, add a comment if I've missed any.

This was one of the great ghostsigns whose card had been marked for some time. RIP.

Photo: Caroline Derry / HAT

Photo: Malcolm Edwards / HAT

Dr Ken Jones' mosaic technique for ghostsigns photography

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Lemoore, California (Photo: Copyright, Dr Ken Jones)

Dr Ken Jones is a former NASA imaging expert whose work in the 1970s included digitally photographing the surface of Mars. This required the use of image 'mosaics', a technique which he is now applying to the more terrestrial subject of ghostsigns.

Dr Jones' work starts from a fairly simple concept of what he wants from the final output: "a result that looks like the sign is photographed 'straight on' with the minimum amount of foreground clutter, while preserving the fine details in the sign". His technique works towards this end, giving 'pure' representations of the sign, despite these differing from what is actually visible at street level. This final output has similarities to the work of Martin Thompson who also creates square cornered final images where the angle portrayed does not exist in reality.

Dr Jones believes that the large extent of existing ghostsigns photography would render his work meaningless unless he was doing something different, adding "something unique to the mix". Here is a brief account of how he goes about this. (A more detailed exposition can be found on his methods page).

Copyright, Dr Ken Jones

Using what he describes as a 'mosaic' approach, Dr Jones shoots many (up to 200) high resolution images of the signs from different angles. He has developed a number of techniques to do this, including the use of DIY equipment to capture signs in high places or down narrow alleys, even as narrow as the one pictured below, beside his resulting mosaic.

Copyright, Dr Ken Jones

The mosaic technique allows different parts of the final image to be represented by different original photos. It facilitates the elimination of awkward trees, poles and other items obstructing the sign, as seen in the before and after below.

Copyright, Dr Ken Jones

The technique does however require significant post-shoot organisation and technical work with a number of software packages to collate the material and produce various cuts of the final image. These are then assembled in photoshop, with some minor colour tweaking and backgrounds added as the final steps. This addition of backgrounds is necessary because the mosaic technique would otherwise result in warped backgrounds due to the shifting of angles in the original set of images to create the 'straight on' effect. On this he says, "I photograph appropriate backgrounds for the region of the country where the sign is located ... no palm trees behind signs in Boston".

The final results of these efforts are excellent archival records of ghostsigns from all over the USA. It is clearly painstaking work, not least managing what currently stands at over 200,000 images of 3,000 signs, using over 20 terabytes of storage. I am sure that some would argue against removing the context that surrounds the signs in situ, but this misses the point of what he is trying to do. Much of the detail and craft that exists within the signs is obscured and his technique provides a specific focus on these aspects of the signs, removing anything that obscures the treatment of the object in isolation. In this sense there is a scientific dimension, working to 'decontaminate' the specimen before considering its essential properties.

Dr Jones is regularly finishing new signs and adding them to his finals page on the site and it is possible to order prints, although this will become formalised further later this year. There is a mapping component to his website which allows the signs to be filtered by state, with further filtering by product category also possible. I'll sign off with some quotes from Dr Jones on a handful of ghostsigns topics.

The essential features of a good ghostsign:

"Authentic"; "Not too recent"; "Not restored or recreated"; "Contains something interesting or unique"; "Signs for long forgotten and quaint products"; "Signs with some social commentary unintentionally built in".

On being a journeying photographer:

"I have some exotic equipment - some so exotic my wife jokes I could easily end up either in the local newspaper or in the local jail."

On the disappearance of ghostsigns:

"Before driving 1000 miles to see a sign, make sure it is there."

On sign revealed by the destruction of adjacent buildings:

"Those signs are the ultimate prize for they reveal the best original color references and detail."

On restoration:

"My personal feeling is that restoring ghost signs to their original colors is a bad thing. To me, an entire town begins to resemble a Disneyland-like recreation."

Walls by Deidi von Schaewen

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Deidi von Schaewen's 'Walls' is a lovely hardback book that documents hand painted advertising on walls in the 1960s and 1970s. It's geographical coverage is noteworthy with examples from Berlin, London, New York, Paris and elsewhere in France.
Most of the photography is in black and white with a handful of colour images, all of very high quality.

The author developed a fascination with photography, specifically of walls, in the early 1960s. She refers to them as her "inner map" with her interest in their "intrinsic quality" as manifested through "traces, different materials, lettering, advertising, people's idiosyncracies, decoration, destruction".

Her accounts of finding locations has some similarities to my own experience, with friends tipping her off about good spots and her interest affecting journeys due to frequent stops to capture noteworthy walls. She also appreciates the archival value of her work, recounting places where the location has since been destroyed or compromised in some other way. One vivid example is a large sign with a picture of the 'Blendol Lady' which, ten years after being photographed, had "a window cut through her chin".

Perhaps the most eye opening piece of text in the book relates to her approaching the marketing departments of some of France's big alcohol brands:

"I once approached the men in charge of advertising at Saint-Raphael, Dubonnet and Byrrh and suggested that something be done about their old advertising walls. A national contest, maybe, around photographing those walls. The answer was: 'We are in 1973. We want to be modern. We would prefer that those dirty old walls did not exist any longer'."

This is an interesting rejection of part of their adverising heritage, something which now provokes much more interest than it perhaps did in the early 1970s.

This is a fantastic photographic book, of importance to the topic of ghostsigns because of the date of the photography within it and the variety of locations inside and outside Europe. The accompanying text is fairly minimal, relating much more to the author's personal relationship with the walls and signs, but this doesn't detract from the excellent collection of images included. Recommended, and not too expensive to buy on Amazon.

Digital Engagement & the Ghostsigns Archive: History Workshop Article

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Photo: John Grogan

Laura Carletti and I have written a short paper for History Workshop Online. This builds on the survey and offers some reflections on the development of the archive in 2009-10.

Graphic DNA documents the visual language of the street

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 23:01:00 +0000

I've recently been in regular contact with Geraldine Marshall whose project, Graphic DNA, caught my attention. It is the topic of her PhD thesis, under the supervision of Dr Caroline Archer. I took the opportunity, before she gets too busy, to ask Geraldine some questions at her base in the Midlands, from mine in South East Asia. Here are the results...

1. Can you give me the 'elevator pitch' for your project. What's Graphic DNA all about?

"The project is all about documenting the visual language of the street/city, and in doing so develop a taxonomy from which social, geographical and historical data can be drawn."

2. You're basing your work in Birmingham. What is the personal significance of the city for you and why is it an interesting place for a study such as yours?

"I was born in Leamington, and grew up in Coventry. I was familiar with Birmingham having grown up loving the independent music scene of the 80s/90s. My miss-spent youth consisted of visiting the historical rag market for the alternative second hand stalls, bunking off school to see bands such as The Damned at the Odeon (now a cinema) and dancing, drinking a terrible cheap beer called Hummingbird (now closed). Birmingham always seemed like the metropolis of excitement and ever-evolving change, even then, but I didn’t actually move to Birmingham until about 2003 to be with my then husband-to-be.

I'd always had an interest in design, particularly the historical aspect of commercial graphic design, so typography was an important aspect of that. Through my interest in photography I found myself taking a lot of pictures of type and lettering. I was aware of Birmingham’s strong connection to typography - obviously the Baskerville typeface - and I was made aware of Birmingham’s significant print history thanks to the work of Dr Caroline Archer. Caroline is based at the Typographic Hub in Birmingham City library and her tremendous knowledge in this field introduced my to the Kynoch press and Leonard Jay."

3. What has motivated you to pursue such a detailed piece of study into a very particular aspect of the city's lettering forms?

"I had retuned to University as a mature student in 2005 and my passion for type just extended into my work. I developed a typeface ‘Bastardised’ (example pictured below), which was an amalgamation of other typefaces. What I was trying to investigate was whether a typeface could be developed and submerged back into the urban environment.

A Christmas present from my husband, ‘Signs: lettering in the environment' by Phil Baines and Catherine Dixon, helped me to put my work into some sort of context. It was this that would lead me to discover other pioneers in the study of urban/public lettering, such as Nicolete Gray, James Mosley, Jock Kinneir, and Alan Bartram to name a few. The work produced has been highly valid though more archival in its approach, and I felt it could be developed into a valuable and exciting project if a system for the collection of data and pictorial evidence could be developed."

Bastardised: lower case 'a'

"Overlaying commercially used typefaces together then removing the parts of the type that didn’t marry together developed the typeface.

The idea was to develop a style of lettering from a manufactured typeface."

“No Parking” bastardised text

"As the typeface is experimental the image is Photoshopped onto the wall. But as you can see here the bastardised type is successfully blending into the environment to give the illusion of a vernacular or ‘off-shot’ applied lettering."

4. Your project has started with photographically documenting found lettering in Birmingham's public places. Do you have any criteria to determine which lettering you photograph and which you don't?

"At the moment the project is focusing on specific areas of the city, main high streets in particular – both current and historical. The main interest lies in the influence and impact of vernacular letterforms. It does not include graffiti, however I have recently documented lettering where graffiti has been used to communicate the needs of local businesses in ways that would have once been the domain of the traditional sign writer.

In these early days of such a large and ongoing long-term project I am pretty much recording anything and everything. Some of the locations are in states of rapid redevelopment so examples are being lost on an almost daily basis. As the structure of the actual taxonomy develops, the selection criteria will resolve what is included and what is omitted. The nature of this taxonomy should be fairly rigid and means that I can’t just include ‘quirky nice type’. There are plenty of books of old signs that designers just ‘like’. I'm hoping the research will lead to greater understanding of why these letterforms exist and how they influence the visual environment around us."

5. What are the features and characteristics you are using to develop this taxonomy, or that you have in mind to do so in the future?

"The development of the taxonomy criteria is very much at the embryonic stage but obviously will include categories for type style, material, location, historical context, format etc. I am planning to develop a prototype based around a fairly small test area to see what works and what doesn’t in reality. It’s important to get this right at the beginning before rolling it out. So, at the moment, its watch this space!"

6. Can you say a bit more about the 'DNA' and what you hope to find as a result of your research?

"There are two elements of the research. The taxonomy is the model to collect the data. The second element of the research is what we can draw from the data and whether looking at the lettering alone from an area can inform opinion on the cultural, social and historical make up of that area.

For example, if I were to take photographs in an industrial area such as Digbeth, looking at the signage, there is an abundance of commercial and hand-written notices, stating 'No Parking'. This could very well give us good indications about the land ownership, or small business population etc just by looking at the signs and lettering.

I believe the visual language of specific areas provides us with the DNA to understand them in a new way that has never really been fully investigated. What I find in Digbeth will contrast on many levels with what I may find in Kings Heath, Birmingham, for example."

7. Will you be including ghost signs as 'specimens' in your research, and have you got anything that you've noticed about those that you've found in Birmingham.

"Yes - Ghostsigns will be included. What I have noticed is that because the city has undergone such rapid regeneration, particularly within the city centre, a lot of the ghostsigns have disappeared amongst the rubble. This is why your project is not only important in documenting this but will be vital for cross-referencing purposes. Also as a ‘forward’ (Birmingham’s municipal motto), inherently industrial city, I have noted the use of more architectural and trade material for signage, rather than painted signs - again this is something I would need to cross reference with other cities."

8. Has anything similar to your project been undertaken in other locations?

"Yes, as noted academic researchers such as Professor Phil Baines, Catherine Dixon, have revisited steps of Nicolete Gray, studies in Lisbon, and have continued to document lettering within the UK as with the likes of Alan Bartram."

9. Can you recommend some books or articles for people who might be interested in related research and literature?

"First and Foremost would be,

Baines, P. & Dixon, C. (2002) Signs: lettering in the environment.

Baines, P. & Dixon, C. Letter Rich Lisbon: Nicolete Gray’s 1960s snaps inspire a re-examination of the capital’s streetscape.

Bartram, A. (1978) Fascia Lettering in the British Isles.

Bartram, A. (1978) Street Name Lettering in the British Isles.

Brownjohn, R. (2005) Sex and Typography [Street Level, pg 164].

Gray, N (1960) Lettering on Buildings.

Kinneir, J. (1980) Words And Buildings: Art And Practice Of Public Lettering.

Also we are very lucky in the UK to have access to comprehensive histories of lettering, typography, and print, so I recommend making the most of these. I am using the St. Bride Library, London, in particular.

More locally for me, Dr Carolines Archer's private and vast collections, of typography, lettering and print at The Typographic Hub Library, Birmingham is also an invaluable resource and is open to the public by appointment.

The Central Lettering Record at St. Martins, London is curated by Professor Phil Baines and Catherine Dixon and the collection includes not only their own research but that of Nicolete Gray and Alan Bartram to name a just a few. Once again, viewing is by appointment."

10. How can people follow progress on the project and/or participate?

"I can be contacted on the following:

Twitter: @BHamGraphicDNA

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanlettering/

Blog: http://urbanlettering.wordpress.com

Email: geraldine.marshall@hotmail.co.uk"

11. Finally, can you choose five pictures to share with us, including at least one ghostsign, and say a little about them.

"I've included a few throughout this interview to show some of the diversity of type and lettering that I'm capturing within the project. This ‘Bedding’ ghostsign is evidence of a visual timeline of the type of retailer that occupied the building prior to Argos. The choice of typeface and the positioning of the sign in relation to its locality is also significant. It is placed on what is now the back of the property on a suburban street, which provides visual evidence of the changes in the original main highstreet thoroughfare."

Thank you Geraldine for taking the time to answer these questions and for the reading items which I will need to get hold of soon. I'll continue to follow your progress and wish you all the best for the next few years of the Graphic DNA project.

Writing on the Wall working to preserve and restore ghostsigns in the Netherlands

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 00:01:00 +0000

Photo: Writing on the Wall

This organisation in the Netherlands was established in 1999 and has been working ever since to raise the profile of hand painted wall advertising in the country.

They also get involved with other outdoor forms such as hanging signs and neon advertisements, but the main focus is Ghostsigns, especially their restoration and protection. A lot of their work is coordinated through local historical and cultural societies, much the same as in the USA. One of these, and their work, featured in last year's 'world tour'.

This 2009 article, pushed through Google Translate, offers some good background on the work of Writing on the Wall. This includes reference to a book which it now appears will be published soon so I've enquired about how to get a copy. There is also mention of a film about a specific restoration job so that is also on my 'wishlist'.

One of the interesting things about the organisation is the way they approach restoration work in a 'responsible' way. This includes, "historical research, technical examination of the facade itself, determining who the owner is, accounting for government legislation relevant to the location etc". The work itself is also led by their members with the necessary technical skills and here is a photo essay of the various stages involved in this work. I wonder to what extent these considerations were applied in the cases of some of the signs highlighted in this previous blog post? There is also an example of legislation to govern restoration work from the USA so perhaps there will soon be some agreed international standards for this kind of thing.

The other aspect of their work is seeking protection for signs of note and, in the case of the Hague, this has been successful with at least three being awarded listed status. However, it appears that they face a similar barrier to this work as we have in the UK, namely that ghostsigns tend to fall into a black hole with respect to the means through which they could be protected. This is because they're not integral to the architectural features of the building, they can't be removed for storage elsewhere and, despite their unexpected longevity, they are essentially ephemeral in nature. It will be interesting to see what happens in Hackney as a result of this initiative.

Once again I am drawn to the same conclusion which is that the best things to do for the signs is to record them photographically and to raise their profile so that property owners perceive value in what are often antiques painted onto the walls of their buildings. This value continues to be demonstrated to me by the enthusiasm and endeavour of organisations such as Writing on the Wall and individuals across the world.

Photo: Writing on the Wall

Photo: Writing on the Wall

Faded Paint: Trailer for forthcoming signpainting documentary

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 00:01:00 +0000

The Colossal Media Facebook page recently alerted me to this trailer (see below) uploaded by Rick Janzen about a film he's making about the declining art and craft of signwriting.
This will add to the work done by the Signpainter Movie team.

Faded Paint - The Vanishing Sign Painter from Rick janzen on Vimeo.

You can see some of the interviews he'll be using here, with signpainters talking about how they got into the trade, including one from the UK. I'll update with more news as and when it becomes available...

Color and sound test for doc. from Rick janzen on Vimeo.

Vancouver demolition reveals intriguing ghostsign

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 09:50:00 +0000

Photo: Photocat62

Twitter and my Google Reader came alive this week following the demolition of a Vancouver building that left the best part of this 1920s sign clear for all to see. Located on corner of Granville Street and Robson Street, it is a colourful specimen in excellent condition, the building which has come down working to protect it from weathering and whitewashing. I especially like the very conversant copy above the manicule which reads, "Capitol, over there".

The sign is advertising a silent film called Grandma’s Boy which ran at the Capitol Theatre for one week in October 1922. This is clearly a short period of utility for a sign of this scale, and for a product where you would usually expect to find bill posters being used.

John Atkin, speaking here in a well researched piece in the Vancouver Sun, posits a theory for this unusual use of the hand painted form:

"I think the management of the theatre took advantage of the brief period when a building [on the corner] was demolished and before construction started on the new one."

It appears that the relationship between this sign and demolition in the area now spans 90 years. However, this time the sign will be losing out rather than gaining from the current spat of development work. An RIP is imminent as the bulldozers are soon to turn their attention to its host building. Luckily there have been plenty of photos taken already to record this brief revival in the limelight, one of my favourites is this one from lost ironies who also posted a clip from the film on the blog.

Photo: lost ironies

The story of this sign has some similarities to the BP sign in King's Cross and the ongoing reveal and cover of the Redferns signs in Wandsworth. It is more evidence of the constantly evolving global landscape of signs being revealed and lost, in this instance a lovely discovery if only for a relatively fleeting moment.

Frank Jump on 90.7 WFUD

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:43:00 +0000

Photo: Frank Jump

Great radio interview with Frank talking about his work, his book and the topic in general. (A brief mention of this blog shortly after 12 minutes - thanks Frank!)

Record Breaking Roofad

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:23:00 +0000

Photo: urban75

I've been sitting on this for such a long time that I almost completely forgot about it. In fact, Mark sent me details of it back in June 2009 so hands up for my complete slackness on that front!

It is another example of a 'roofad' but one with significant exposure, being situated on top of a stand at Cardiff's former Ninian Park stadium. Noteworthy visitors who may have been influenced by Captain Morgan's claim to be "the right rum for today's taste" included the pope and Real Madrid.

This story on the BBC gives an account of the sign's history before it was painted over in 2001, including one the signpainters discussing the techniques used to produce it. These included a cavalier attitude to health and safety and the use of a sweeping brush to lay down the big blocks of colour.

This post by the urban75 blog gives some additional information including the original agreement signed by Captain Morgan's parent company, the Canadian House of Segram. They paid £300 per year for a three year lease in 1960 and then proceeded to get 41 years' of value from the creation. The BBC piece claims that this makes it "the longest-standing advert on a stadium roof in the football league", another Ghostsigns World Record...

Here's an archive image of a game in action with the sign in the background. The stadium is now no more, having been demolished to make way for a new ground so this is a firm RIP of the 'roofad' form.

Photo: BBC

While on the subject of 'roofads' here are a few more I received following my original post on the subject.

Photo: sarflondondunc

This one from Duncan is on a former pub in Clapton, London. It has suffered the same fate at the Captain Morgan's sign, the host building was demolished in 2005 (more here). He also added the following (February 2010), another footballing connection to the roofad form:

"Brentford Football Club have had some huge signs on the roof of their stands. They have also had Atari and KLM and now it's Qatar Airlines. It's on the flightpath to Heathrow. This photo is a bit hazy but you can make out the signs."

Finally is this lovely photo from Barbara which is from Whistable in Kent (thank Cathy for the tip off). Not only does it feature a roofad but also some slightly amateur looking hand painted signs on the adjacent buildings.

Miniature Planet: Ghostsigns for Model Makers

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:29:00 +0000

I love this, miniature ghostsigns for use on model railways and other small scale hobbies.
This will be a welcome time saver for those who don't have the dedication of Emmanuel Nouaillier. That said, the extent to which they're modelled on actual signs is difficult to gauge...

There is currently a collection of 25 available and each can be customised in terms of size, texture and the level of the fade required (normal, medium or high). Once set up, prints can be ordered on paper, card or even adhesive paper to make it easy to stick to your model. See the full gallery here.

These are three of my favourites, Lucky Strike above, Dr Pepper and Sun-Maid Raisins below.

(All images from Miniature Planet.)

Hand Painted Bangladesh

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:45:00 +0000

As part of my work with VSO I recently attended a study tour to Bangladesh, a country with many similarities to Cambodia but also many differences. The study was great but I have to admit that I was perpetually distracted by the sheer quantity and (often) quality of hand painted signage, decoration and other forms that could be found absolutely everywhere.
It is perhaps the most colourful place I've ever visited and this had a lot to do with what must be a small army of craftsmen plying their trade across the country.

Here are some of my highlights (click images to see full screen). Many more pictures from the trip can be found in the Flickr sets linked from this page. If I hadn't spent most of the trip in a taxi or meeting room I could have gathered enough material to fill a book from just one town, and there must be hundreds or even thousands of towns in Bangladesh...

(If anyone can translate any of the signs then please leave a comment or do it via the corresponding Flickr image.)

A typical Dhaka street scene, panel upon panel of hand painted advertising, often touting English language lessons and gymnasiums (more later).

Quite a freshly painted sign. There is definitely something slightly rough and ready about it as you can see the undercoat/background is spilling out around the edges and the grid-lines used to size the letters are still visible. That said, who can argue with a "modern education" that comes with free "moral lessons"?

An unexpected Dhaka speciality was what could be referred to as 'gutterads', the poor and more lowly relation to 'roofads'.

It really was a case of 'sign wars' across the capital with little space left on buildings for anything else. Cluttered would be an understatement.

There was no shortage of Ghostsigns, remnants of advertising past, miraculously resisting the re-use of the space.

The hand painted form did not just apply to advertising and other signage. All modes of transport were decorated in elaborately detailed designs and patterns. Here is the back of a Dhaka rickshaw, there are apparently over 500,000 of these across the country, that's one for every Bristol resident and some to spare...

This is a very typical lettering form, top and bottom halves in different colours. This is the back of a mini-taxi or motorised rickshaw, similar to tuk tuks.

This is a small pedal-powered bus, it can easily fit 8-10 people which makes driving no easy task.

Even number plates are hand painted, along with other important communications for those behind the vehicle.

Another rickshaw back with a very photo-real illustration.

Trucks, lorrys and trailers are all painted in bright colours to identify the company that owns the vehicle. It was difficult to snap them as they were usually moving but this one provides a good example of the paintwork and colours.

Close-up.

(More transport painting can be found in this Flickr set.)

Painting onto fabric is also prominent, similar to what I've observed in Cambodia.

This drum kit up high in Dhaka's central market caught my eye. I suspect the script could be the name of the signwriter who produced it.

In the more rural areas you still come across these multi-panel displays. The main difference is that they are typically bought up by one brand, whereas in Dhaka you would usually find a handful of companies on one series of panels. The largest one I saw consisted of perhaps 50-60 panels, easily 200-300m long.

A very bright piece of advertising. It does feel a bit like stepping back in time when you consider that the Ghostsigns in the UK and elsewhere were once this vibrant too.

Packaging illustration close-ups.

I'm assuming this is some kind of washing liquid or detergent. This was probably the most prolific campaign I came across on the trip, hundreds of individual panels in just two districts that we visited (Dinajpur and Bogra).

It's not just panels either, signpainters also have the ability to work up whole buildings and make use of every piece of available wall space. This for a cement brand, not something you'd see getting mass-market exposure back home.

Even at the level of the smallest and most remote villages there are still beautiful examples of hand painted signs. This one for the village youth club.

From the same village I found this lovely piece of hand-painted decoration around a window in a mud house.

One of Dhaka's few tourist attractions is the old Mughul fort with very clear directions to the location of this enticing prospect...

"Dominator's", one of my personal favourites. (IELTS is the same as TEFL or equivalent English teaching qualifications.)

One for the ladise (sic).

Work those slides!

And finally this, a sign I saw from the bus when we arrived at night and which I spent the whole trip trying to find again. I'd left my camera battery charger in Cambodia and it was fate that the last photo my camera could muster was of this sign. It's a great illustration, although in my experience they tend to have longer antenna relative to body size. Note Safeway still going strong in South Asia...

As previously mentioned, more photos can be found in these Flickr sets:

HAT Archive: January 2012 Additions

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:03:00 +0000

A number of new additions have been made to the History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive. Some of these are new photos of signs already covered in the archive but many are completely new material for the collection. Here are a handful of my favourite new additions, the rest can be found by searching for Jan 2012 on the gallery homepage.

Photo: Michael Rank

Photo: Catherine Phelps

Photo: Richard Turner

Photo: Vicky Chesterman

Photo: Rachael Creaton

Vernacular Typography on Kickstarter

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 01:01:00 +0000

I've just backed this project from the Vernacular Typography site on Kickstarter...

More funding is still needed so go here to pledge anything from $1-1,000 and get project-related gifts in return.

RIP: Pressman's Army & Navy Store

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:20:00 +0000

Photo: carljohnson

The Hoxsie blog reports the loss of this great sign from Troy, New York.
This photo from carljohnson in particular adds a lot of character to the sign which still remains in part following structural work to the building. An 'after' photo is available here.

See more 'RIPs' from this blog.

The Devil is in the Detail: Emmanuel Nouaillier Masterclass

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:22:00 +0000

Emmanuel Nouaillier is a French artist I admire for his attention to detail and his focus on Ghostsigns as subject matter. Below are some of his tools of the trade and a detailed exposition of his techniques can be found on this website. Absolutely fascinating as ever...

On Air: Colossal Media Radio Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:35:00 +0000

Following Frank's more recent appearance I came across this radio interview with Colossal Media which I missed in February last year.
The slideshow above accompanies the full story and audio download on the WNYC website. More posts from the Ghostsigns blog about Colossal Media here, it's great to see them going from strength to strength.

Belgravia Ghostsign Restored

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 07:22:00 +0000

After (Photo: Belgravia Resident's Association)

Before (2006/7)

News in this week is that a restoration effort has been undertaken in the heart of London's Belgravia.
It has been directed at what was once a very faded sign for a horse infirmary (see two more of my pictures from c.2006/7 below). It was instigated by Belgravia Garage, as the infirmary sign represented the origins of their current business. As a result they wrote it up in their magazine (click image to read the text and see a clearer photo of the restored sign):

It is interesting to see this sign added to the various examples of restoration work across the country, especially quite soon after my post about the issues surrounding the repainting of ghostsigns. Perhaps what is most remarkable about this one is the location, one of London's most expensive residential areas. Coincidentally it is very close to the home of the IPA where the launch event for the Ghostsigns Archive took place.

Once again, this appears to be symbolic of the increased esteem in which ghostsigns held. I once commented that the best way to protect the signs is not through legal means but by convincing property owners of their worth. If the owners of property in Belgravia are starting to recognise this value then perhaps this is a sign of things to come...

Hemingway's Ales (RIP)

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:09:00 +0000

Photo: Ackers- Schoolboy Hero!!!!

This wonderful gable end sign for Hemingway's Ales (Big Ben's brand) ceased to exist as of 9th March 2011.
It was a truly remarkable ghostsign and featured as the backdrop for my interview with John Seargent in the piece broadcast on the One Show. Incidentally I notice that it isn't currently featured in the archive so it would be great if anyone with a pre-demolition photo could add it via the History of Advertising Trust.

This photo shows the location before and after the clearance operation.

Photo: Wiggysan...

And this one from behind shows the remains of the terrace as the bulldozer makes its way towards the sign.

Photo: Wiggysan...

Frank Jump on the Leonard Lopate Show (@FadingAd)

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:51:00 +0000

Fading Ads Of New York City by Wnyc, New York Public Radio Listen on Posterous

15 minute interview discussing the 'Fading Ads of New York City' book. Accompanying slideshow here.

Stoke Newington Ghostsigns: History Pin Tour

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:51:00 +0000

After discovering the 'Ghost Signs of Louisville' Tour on History Pin I couldn't resist having a go myself. The preliminary result is my first tour, 'Stoke Newington Ghostsigns'.

I reckon the walk would take a couple of hours depending on how long you stop to photograph the 18 featured signs and former locations of signs. More to follow perhaps, see some other tours and trails via the links in the side panels of this site.

Ghost Signs of Louisville

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:26:00 +0000

Following last week's post about Phil Baines' London lettering tour I came across this 'Ghost Signs of Louisville' tour.
It has been created by the University of Louisville Photographic Archive (in particular their Ghostsigns collection) using History Pin. I'm keeping a list of all the tours and trails I discover and these are listed in the links in the side panels of this site so check there for details of more. I'm also investigating the possibility of using History Pin as a way of achieving the mapping objective for the project so I'll post more about that when I have news.

The Signpainter Movie

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:01:00 +0000

Photo: Butera School of Art, sign department catalog, year and photographer unknown

Over the last couple of years I've been following developments at the Signpainter Movie project in the USA. It is an independently produced film that will chart the history and work of America's remaining craftsmen (due for release next year).
They have been diligently cataloguing their primary research interviews on their blog as they've journeyed across the country in search of the fascinating stories that often accompany the signpainter and his work. These encounters have included meeting myriad signpainters such as Keith Knecht, the team at Colossal Media, a visit to the American Sign Museum, and time to stop and study some of the articles and books on the subject (including this one).

News via email today is twofold. First is that they have completed their filming and are now entering the edit for the final film. Second is that there will be a book to accompany the release of the film.

I think that the project is a fantastic idea and I can't wait to see the end results which will document the collective knowledge and experience of signpainters in the states. They will also hopefully help to raise the profile of this enduring craft, which I hope can continue to survive for years to come.

Look out for news of the film's release some time next year and, in the meantime, you can keep up with the project via the blog, their Facebook page and their Twitter stream. You can also support the film's funding by buying one of their recently released t-shirts which encourage us all to 'support your local signpainter'.

Peter Hardwicke and Tracy Emin International

noreply@blogger.com (Sam Roberts) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:53:00 +0000

Videos of Peter Hardwicke painting the letters 'N' and 'A' from the Tracy Emin International shop in Spitalfields, London. Steady hand!