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ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Ghostsigns has moved
@ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
260 followers 0 following 62 posts
Follow @blag and/or @sam

🌉 bridged from https://mastodon.social/@ghostsigns on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/
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ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I'm consolidating my accounts so please follow along with @blag (more active now) and/or @sam (likely to be more active in the future) for all things #ghostsigns #signpainting #signwriting #lettering and tangents.
July 21, 2025 at 5:53 AM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
Here's some #superbowl action: a San Francisco curiosity from the @ghostsigns blog:

https://ghostsigns.co.uk/2024/07/the-mirrored-owl-cigars-of-san-francisco/

#ghostsigns #sanfrancisco #owl #cigars #signs #fadingads
The Mirrored Owl Cigars of San Francisco | Ghostsigns
Early twentieth century photos show an Owl Cigars sign in reverse on a huge San Francisco wall. But why was it painted like that?
ghostsigns.co.uk
February 9, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
These late nineteenth century posters have just been revealed during renovations at the Coach & Horses pub in Stoke Newington, but can anyone guess the missing words in the older signwritten letters beneath?

Glasses Only & Par____ _e_ ____ged n this Bar […]

[Original post on typo.social]
Wood-panelled wall with five letterpress printed posters pasted to it. They are old and well-worn, and advertise the prices of gin, brandy and port (x3). Across the middle portion of the wall is signwritten lettering that isn't completely visible, as per the text in the main post. Detail of the wood-panelled wall, and the signwritten lettering on it that can be read as '& Par___' with the latter part obscured by the bill poster. Detail of the price on one of the posters with a portion that has come away to reveal a lowercase 'e' in the signwriting beneath.
February 1, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
cjonthehudson.mastodon.sdf.org.ap.brid.gy
I'm fascinated by #signs and #signage (hence an entire Instagram account devoted thereto). I'm also fascinated by objects that just persist, perhaps despite time, perhaps just because of inertia and benign neglect. Or, maybe this ice machine, which I'm sure […]

[Original post on mastodon.sdf.org]
Side view of an old ice keeping machine, a rectangular box with a white panel surrounded by stainless steel corners. The word "ICE" once ran in vertical red letters. The I is nearly completely faded, the C is visible and cracked, and at the bottom the E is relatively unscathed. A few random stickers have been applied to the upper left corner of the box but they are all faded and washed away. The top unit on the ice machine, where overlapping labels proclaim "Holiday Ice Co. / Syracuse NY" and "Serve Yourself." Beneath that is another, more decorative logo for the Holiday Ice Company, blue letters surrounded by a yellow shadow. It is substantially faded, and on a cracked background. A very faded phone number is also visible. Full frontal view of the Holiday Ice Company ice machine, weathered and worn but not clearly out of service. The company labels are faded and cracked on the top unit of the machine, but the silver doors are closed and locked and appear to be functional, and beneath the doors the red letters that once proclaimed "ICE" are cracked and faded but hanging on.
November 28, 2024 at 4:08 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Is there publishing language that describes the difference between books whose secondhand price increases once out of print, versus those whose price goes down relative to their original cover price?

Currently, Ghost Signs: A London Story is in the former category, with Amazon UK tracking at […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 25, 2024 at 7:13 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
In 2018, I was part of a little project to document surviving streetname plates for London's defunct N.E. postal district.

https://ghostsigns.co.uk/projects/nesigns/

My partner in crime for that initiative was Nick Perry, who passed away suddenly last month. I have updated the above page on […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
November 25, 2024 at 7:02 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Some lovely ghost signs in Jenna Homen's latest despatch, and my ears are burning: https://jennahomen.substack.com/p/the-art-of-disappearing

#ghostsigns #signpainting #signwriting #roadtrip
November 19, 2024 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
Does anyone know if this article is available online: 'Classifying Signs' by Harry Leeson, Monotype Recorder, Issue 01, Summer 2014?

I have a hard copy, and regularly find myself referencing it, but don't have an easy way to share it with others.

For those interested, it compares and […]
Original post on typo.social
typo.social
October 5, 2024 at 6:24 AM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Thank you to Londonist for featuring the map that @RoyReed and I have worked on to accompany our London ghost signs book: https://londonist.com/london/maps/london-ghost-signs-map

#ghostsigns #london #maps #mapping
October 4, 2024 at 12:18 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Dropping just in time for Halloween: a brand new category of ghost sign!

"Baby on store sign in Japan turns into horrifying ‘ghost’ after ink melts in extreme heat."

https://mustsharenews.com/baby-ghost-store-sign/

#ghostsigns #halloween #baby #japan
Side-by-side photos showing an advertisement with a baby's head and a speech bubble. The picture on the left is normal, whereas the one on the right shows a scary visage with distortions to the original picture caused by the effect of heat on the plastic used for the sign.
September 29, 2024 at 10:01 AM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I''ll be dusting off my winter tour guide persona for a Stoke Newington Ghostsigns Walk on Sunday 22 December. Please tell your friends/boost this post, and visit https://ghostsigns.co.uk/tours where tickets and signed copies of our book are available 😊 […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Torso and head of a man in a winter jacket, woolly hat and gloves. He's looking to his left, smiling, and gesturing with his right hand.
September 26, 2024 at 7:40 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Now you see me, now you don't: this London ghost sign was revealed for a matter of hours yesterday as a decorator carried out some external repairs on the building.

Thank you Nina Harrison for snapping the photo in this tiny window of opportunity.

I'm […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Close up of a portion of plastered exterior wall. A randomly shapted section of the plaster has been removed, beneath which there are fading painted letters visible in black on a yellow-brown base.
September 19, 2024 at 9:58 AM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
docpop.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Last chance to see this 85 year old graffiti on the corner of Valencia and Cesar Chavez before it gets covered up again. This old graffiti and a hand-painted sign for Mission Chevrolet were recently uncovered during the construction of a new apartment […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A construction site as seen from across the street. There's an orange fence running along the sidewalk and some wooden walls and rebar frames that are being installed. Behind the fence there is also an old handpainted sign for a Chevrolet shop behind the fence and really old graffiti on that wall that says "J.O. 7/17/39". The graffiti has a drawing of a lightbulb around it. The new walls are being placed in front of the graffiti, which will cover it up. In the foreground is a cyclist on Valencia street. A wider shot of the construction zone. In the photo you can see wooden frames being built for the new building, a crane lowering rebar, the side of the motorcycle shop on Valencia, a cyclist in the bike lane, and Bernal Hill in the background.
September 19, 2024 at 12:26 AM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
Happy world ampersand day to those that celebrate. I'd love to see more ampersands, especially hand-painted, by reply; boosts appreciated 😃

#ampersand #signpainting #lettering #type #typography
Ampersand painted in cream with a black shade on wood. Ampersand painted in white on black on brick V-cut and gilded ampersand sitting on a stalk and set within red glass Ampersand painted with a blend from light to dark turquoise from top to bottom and finished with a gilded outline and black shade
September 8, 2024 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
New at bl.ag online, 'Signs of the Summer: Postcards from a Busman's Holiday', with some photos, links, and notes from my recent travels: https://bl.ag/signs-of-the-summer-postcards-from-a-busmans-holiday/.

#signpainting #ghostsigns #lettering #
Small hand-painted sign in a window with a yellow border, a pictorial of a chicken cutting ham, and lettering that reads 'Gallo Nero, Delicatessen, Londra' in black, blue, and red lettering respectively..
September 5, 2024 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
New at bl.ag online, 'Two's Company in the Latest Culture+Typography Despatch': https://bl.ag/twos-company-in-the-latest-culture-typography-despatch/

In this guest post, Nikki Villagomez introduces her second book of found lettering, which examines the use of […]

[Original post on typo.social]
Book cover with the title and author towards the top: 'Culture+Typography: Examples in Font Pairings' by Nikki Villagomez. The bulk of the space below is given over to an array of photographs of various types of public lettering in the form of signage.
September 4, 2024 at 7:57 AM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
Can anyone recommend a PC-compatible Bluetooth pen and tablet? I need it for sharing text and diagrams on an interactive whiteboard, *not* for illustration/graphic design.

Boosts appreciated 😃

PS. A large working area is preferred—I have big writing and will sometimes need to include smaller […]
Original post on typo.social
typo.social
September 1, 2024 at 6:47 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Lovely gilded glass shopfront revealed in Bristol for the one-time Parry Bros. tobacconist.

https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/new-ghost-sign-revealed-old-city/

#ghostsigns #shopfront #bristol #tobacco
September 1, 2024 at 9:10 AM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Has anyone seen one of these before? Someone bought it on ebay and has asked if there's a connection to the Peterkin ghost sign documented in our book, and here on my blog […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
A cast metal figurine on a base. The base has lettering that reads "Peterkin Products" and the figurine is of a clogged Dutch boy in baggy trousers with hands in pockets. He's looking up/into the far distance, and wearing a large baker/fez-style hay.
August 31, 2024 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
I've just learned that Bryan Yonki's 'Hand-Painted in LA: Some Los Angeles Signs' has already gone out of print. I have a couple of copies left in the shop in case anyone wants one: https://shop.bl.ag/products/signs-of-la.

#signs #losangeles #la #handpainted #signpainting #lettering #book
August 29, 2024 at 11:30 AM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
A fading fascia being revealed today at 110 Green Lanes, London N16: 'Perfection Fish Bar'.

#ghostsigns #shopfront #perfection #fish #GreenLanes #london #n16 #signs
Workers standing in front of a terraced building with a shop on the ground floor. A ladder is also visible, and windows and doors have been removed from the shopfront. Above this is an old fascia sign with 'perfection' in black across most of its width, flanked by 'fish' (left) and 'bar' (right) in red.
August 28, 2024 at 3:32 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
En route to London, and looking forward to this weekend's walk in Stoke Newington. I still have a couple of tickets for Saturday morning, so please join us and/or boost — 😃 — to let your friends and followers know.

https://ghostsigns.co.uk/tours

Pictured […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Fading painted sign on a wall. There are two layers of black lettering on the light background, with the most visible being 'John Hawkins & Sons Ltd, cotton spinners & manufacturers'.
August 20, 2024 at 3:04 PM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Little photo dump of signs in Mons-la-Trivalle, Hérault, France, near where I've been coming for holidays since around 1990.

#signs #ghostsigns #NoEntry #boules #Pétanque #laposte #mons #latrivalle #herault #france
Stencilled sign board mounted on a wall made with large stones. The sign is faded and weather-worn with black text on white that reads 'reserve la poste'. A DIY no entry sign mounted on a green gate. The red brushstrokes are clearly visible. Painted sign mounted on a stucco wall. It consists of a wreath tied at the bottom with a yellow bow and with two boules used for Pétanque set in the middle. A blue banner straddles the upper part of the wreath with simple painted white lettering that reads 'boules des gorges'. Below this is a third boule with 'la pétanque' in smaller white lettering.
August 19, 2024 at 6:35 AM
ghostsigns.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
The lettering on this French ghost sign reminded me of this other garage sign on the @blag site: https://bl.ag/chain-letter-etiennerenard/.

Does anyone know what it's called and/or if it derives from a particular typeface?

Garage, Le Poujol-sur-Orb […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
Garage door with fading letters painted on the stucco above reading 'garage'.
August 17, 2024 at 5:25 AM
Reposted by Ghostsigns has moved
blag.typo.social.ap.brid.gy
New at bl.ag online, 'Retrospectiva Recalls the Brands and Businesses of the Past'. Visit https://bl.ag/retrospectiva to learn more about this cultural initiative in Quinto, Spain.

#quinto #spain #murals #signs #advertising #signpainting #signpainters #retrospectiva
Woman holding painting materials and standing in front of a partially complete wall sign for the Chiquilin brand of biscuits. From from above of a man applying black paint to a wall sign. Woman painting a train on a wall which is part of a larger mural advertisement. A scale drawing of the full artwork is masking taped beside where she's working. People in the street looking up an an illustrated mural sign advertising the Alfa sewing machine brand.
August 13, 2024 at 12:51 PM