Third anniversary quiz: the answers

Last week I posted a small quiz for the third anniversary of this blog. Congratulations to Sam, of Ghost Signs, who recognized most of the ghost signs. Nothing too surprising there!

The answers were:

T Q: this ghost sign features a striking royal animal A: The Smoker's Match, which includes a Swan Vestas matchbox. The drawing of the swan is quite striking and of course the match can be struck!
H A: the same animal gave its name to this venue near a ford across a tautological river. Q: The Swan Hotel in Bradford-on-Avon. The name of the town comes from the 'Broad Ford' across the River Avon (a tautology since 'Avon' means 'river').
R Q: they milked together the London area, Wiltshire, and the West Country, among others. A: United Dairies, a company formed when the Wiltshire United Dairies, Metropolitan and Great Western Dairies, and the Dairy Supply Company amalgamated.
E Q: this ghost sign made cutting this letter safe. A: Gillette, the safety razor.
E Q: any relation to Sir Patrick or Sir Roger? A: Moore. H. P. Moore the clothes and fabric seller that is, not the astronomer nor the actor.
Y Q: "this is the last letter of a striking name, isn't it girls?" said Annie. A: Brymay. In 1888 the matchgirls at Bryant and May's Bow factory, supported by Annie Besant, went on strike. This was the final 'Y.' I just replaced the letters before by extending the brick wall.
E Q: this letter is so well preserved one would suspect there are several cheap coats on this ghost sign. A: Yager's, where coats can be bought for less.
A Q: it was British throughout at this merchant's, so no triangular trade there in spite of the name! A: Hawkins & Co., the grocery and provision merchant, not John Hawkins the sailor and administrator, who was one of the first to run the triangular trade.
R Q: even without Sullivan he found a place for Hercules. A: Gilbert, of 2 Hercules Place. Far less successful than the partnership formed by librettist William S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, since Gilbert's firm doesn't seem to have left any trace but this ghost sign.
S Q: even extinct and confined to heraldry these hunting dogs do not lack bottle. Q: Talbots, the bottlers from Gloucester. The talbot, a white hunting dog, became extinct in the 18th century. It is often found on coats of arms.