Welcome to Words on Walls by Sam Roberts. If you value my research and writing on ghost signs then please make a one-off or regular contribution to keep it going. And thank you to those that have already done so – you’re the best!
Publication Day for Ghost Signs: A London Story
Thanks to the incredible support for our Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, our book is now in print. The official publication date is this coming Sunday, 31st October (Boo!) and copies are starting to ship around the world right now.
As author I got a box of advance copies and it has been a joy to see the concept finally become a reality. Thank you to everyone that backed the project, Roy for agreeing to the collaboration, Max at Isola Press for publishing it and Eve for designing such a beautiful book. (There are obviously dozens more people and organisations to thank, which of course we do inside the book.)
I have updated ghostsigns.co.uk/book with more information about the book, buying options and the accompanying online map. To celebrate its publication we have scheduled a free online event as follows.
Book Launch for Ghost Signs: A London Story
Date: Monday 15th November
Time: 7:30pm London Time
Registration: Required via zoom
Farewell to Barlow & Roberts
While writing the book we were trying to keep up with the latest developments in the London ghost signs landscape. This resulted in the decision to leave the wonderful Barlow & Roberts ghost sign out due to uncertainty about its fate. This followed news of its removal from its home on Southwark Street. It was one of my favourite London ghost signs and so I’ve written up what we would have included in the book, plus some extra bits and pieces, on the blog.
Revising & Updating my Walking Tours
In the next newsletter I’ll share details of my revised and updated Ghostsigns Walking Tours. Given my current location in Spain I have developed these for digital delivery via the website. This consists of the stories delivered as audio audio and text, accompanied by stacks of visual content in the form of contemporary photography, archival and other contextual images.
Everything is geo-located using google maps and streetview, so the walks can also be enjoyed as an ‘armchair’ experience for those unable to travel to London.
While updating the Stoke Newington walk, I had to revise my dating of the penultimate stop in light of an archival image discovered at Hackney Archives. I’ve written up an account of this, and the accompanying logic, on the blog.
Rossi & Martini in Brussels
I’m currently investigating this fascinating repainting/restoration project in Brussels. It’s the first time that I’ve seen this kind of work attempt to replicate the layers of a palimpsest and I’m trying to find out who commissioned and executed the project.
Please share any leads and I’ll write everything up on the blog. The location is Pl. du Jeu de Balle 32, 1000 Bruxelles.
David Kira, Banana Merchants
This fading fascia can be found in Spitalfields, and appears to be an example of a new business deciding to keep the old shopfront in situ. The Gentle Author has written up the history of the David Kira firm on Spitalfields Life, but I’m intrigued that none of the archival images match the current layout. The article states that the David Kira firm left in 1991, and there’s a photo at that time showing the white block lettering on green background seen elsewhere. So when and why did this version get painted, presumably after the firm had moved out?
Articles of Note
Bristol’s Ghost Signs: A Faded Reminder of the Past by Martin Booth which opens with the rapid reveal and loss of a fading sign for the Fred Baker bicycle shop.
Los Angeles Commercial Signs, 1906–1980 by Catherine Gudis which documents a wide range of historic signs in LA, including a brief note about ghost signs on page 6.
LLoyd’s Dairy And The Lloyd Baker Estate by A London Inheritance which includes contemporary and archival images of the wonderful gilded shopfront for the former Lloyd’s Dairy in Islington, London.
Type Travel Diary by Tom Koch which is actually a series of photo essays from Tom’s travels around the world documenting signs, typography and lettering. (Tom is also the author of the excellent Ghostletters Vienna.)
Top of the Tweets
I trawl the ‘feed’ so that you don’t have to. You can follow and tag me here.
More Bile Beans on the blog.
See Kasey’s Patreon page about San Francisco’s ghost signs.
See the gallery of historic signs in Murcia, Spain.
More Lipton’s ghost signs in the Branding the City chapter in the book.
Some readers may find the scene above distressing.
Blast from the Past
I’ve written hundreds of blog posts and it’s easy to forget the older ones. We talk in the book about Bob & Roberta Smith’s 2007 Shop Local initiative which straddles the realms of art and commercial signage, so here’s my post about his street-based exhibition for Peer Gallery in Hoxton.
Thank you for reading Words on Walls by Sam Roberts. If you value my research and writing on ghost signs then please make a one-off or regular contribution to keep it going. And thank you to those that have already done so – you’re the best!