Painted signs and mosaics

Kiddies Korner, Farncombe

2012-02-17T13:24:00.003Z

This wall was painted twice but while Kiddies Korner is no more (the lack of address or contact number seems to indicate the shop was located very close to the sign, possibly next door), the estate agent previously advertised here is still in business in Godalming, a couple of kilmetres away.

The most recent sign reads:Kiddies Korner
Everything for the Baby
Baby Wear - Wool - Prams - Push Chairs - Carry Cots - Nursery Goods
As for the previous sign, it advertised:J. Nugent
Debenham & Co Ltd
Estate Agents
Phone Godalming 2679
Location: Farncombe Street, Farncombe, Surrey / Picture taken on: 12/10/2008

Ingersoll, Clerkenwell

2012-02-15T06:58:00.002Z

Since the Ingersoll ghost sign disappeared, the only other trace left by this watchmaking company still visible in London is, as far as I'm aware, the mosaic on the top of its former factory in Clerkenwell.

The factory was built in the 1930s for property speculator Gilbert Waghorn. Before it was completed, Ingersoll agreed to move in. Thus the architect, Stanley Waghorn (the brother of Gilbert Waghorn, who designed several factories around Barking and Stratford) modified slightly the parapet on the St John Street façade to incorporate the green and off-white mosaic with the logo of Ingersoll.

Production of Ingersoll watches in Clerkenwell certainly stopped when the new factory of the Anglo-Celtic Watch Co. Ltd opened in Ystradgynlais, near Swansea, in 1948, or shortly afterwards. Ingersoll Ltd was one of the two shareholders of the Anglo-Celtic Watch Co., the other being Smiths Industries Ltd (Vickers Armstrong was originally part of it but withdrew in 1948).
In the 1950s, the Clerkenwell factory was bought by Condé Nast and became the pattern factory for fashion magazine Vogue. As a result, the building is now known as Pattern House rather than the Ingersoll building. In the mid-1990s, after 60 years of industrial use, it was converted into lofts.

Location: St John Street / Pictures taken on: 10/01/2012

Franklin Homan, Rochester

2012-02-14T08:12:00.006Z

Around 1903 four houses at the eastern end of Rochester High Street were demolished to make way for the brand new showrooms and warehouse of furnishers Franklin Homan Ltd. A picture taken c. 1900 shows the High Street before work began, with the original office of Franklin Homan Ltd, auctioneers and estate agents. Even though it was not stated on the façade of the office at the time, Franklin Homan was also trading as a cabinet maker and upholsterer (maybe this side of the business was conducted from another office).
One of Homan's most famous customers was Charles Dickens, who contracted him to furnish two bedrooms at Gads Hill Place. The writer, who had purchased this country house in 1856, sent his instructions while visiting the United States for the second time in 1867-1868. Yet upon his return what he discovered was not entirely to his taste and Homan undertook the necessary changes (Dickens considered this to be his, not Homan's fault). Following the death of Dickens in 1870, Franklin Homan was asked to value and sell the furniture and other domestic effects for the executors of the will. He also conducted the writer's funeral. For more information on the relationship between Cahrles Dickens and Franklin Homan, you can refer to A Week's Tramp in Dickens-Land by William R. Hughes (pp. 70-71).
I have not found when Franklin Homan retired or died, nor have I been able to establish the relationship between the two persons who seem to have succeeded him: Franklin George Homan and Hubert Franklin Homan. However I suspect the two sides of the business -auctioneering and sale of properties, and furniture supplier- were kept and F. G. Homan was in charge of the former (his name is often mentioned in relation to legal documents. He died in 1922) while H. F. Homan dealt with the latter. Thus it could be Hubert Franklin Homan who was behind the construction of the large building on the High Street.
Whatever really happened after Franklin Homan left, what is certain is that on July 6, 1938, at a meeting convened at 178, High Street, the members of Franklin Homan Ltd decided to wind up voluntarily the company.
Since then the building has been occupied by several companies and shops, including electrical appliances specialist Seeboard (part of the South Eastern Electricity Board) but none of them removed the two ghost signs found on the gable walls of the former Franklin Homan showrooms and depositories.

Since buildings partly obstruct the view, two photos are necessary to see the whole ghost sign on the west gable wall.

Furniture
Franklin Homan Ltd
Removals and Depositories
Virtually nothing hindered the view of east gable wall. Consequently it was possible to paint a much longer sign, which detailed the activities of the company. Even if part of the sign was oblitarated when three windows were opened, the text can be easily reconstituted.

Carpets
Furniture
Franklin Homan Ltd
The Largest Furnishing
Showrooms in the County
Household Removals
And Depositories.
Location: High Street, Rochester, Kent / Pictures taken on: 26/06/2011

Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas, Havana

2012-02-13T12:42:00.003Z

Spotted not too far from the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, this bright sign was painted a couple of weeks before the 9th congress of the Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (UJC - Youth Communist League) opened in early April 2010. As with other UJC signs, it incorporates the league's emblem designed in 1962 by Virgilio Martínez with the figures of Julio Antonio Mella, Camilo Cienfuegos and Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, and the words "Estudio, trabajo, fusil" ("Study, Work, Rifle"). As for the sentence written below, "Everything for the Revolution", it is a classic slogan reproduced throughout the island.

For more information, please see the post about another sign painted by the UJC in Havana.

9 Congreso
Todo por la Revolución
I really like how the "9" has been cleverly incorporated into "Congreso", even using the first 'o' to make the proper ordinal "noveno" ("ninth").

Location: Avenida de la Independencia, Havana / Picture taken on: 21/03/2010

Garage automobile, Burie

2012-02-10T15:21:00.003Z

When Mr Bagonneau thought of advertising his garage, he didn't hesitate to use the whole façade of his house next door. A garage mechanic by profession, he also sold, exchanged, and rented cars. As expected tyres were also avaible. As for petrol and oil, they were of the Energic and Energol brands respectively, the name under which BP products were marketed in France.

Garage automobile

Pneus

Vente

Echange

Location

Energic

Bagonneau
Mécanicien

Energol

The name and occupation of the owner are still proudly displayed above the door.

BP's presence in France goes back to 1921, when the Anglo-Persian Oil Co (future BP), together with Paul Paix et Compagnie (the owners of the Courchelettes oil refinery near Douai in northern France, opened in 1863), the Société Navale de l’Ouest and Estrin et Compagnie (both involved in maritime transport) founded the Société Générales des Huiles de Pétrole (SGHP). Originally the SGHP's portfolio included, apart from the Courchelettes refinery, oil depots in Dunkerque, Calais, Le Havre, Marseille and Oran in Algeria, as well as the Lavéra oil refinery near Martigues in southern France. The same year the SGHP took over the oil refining and distribution activities of George Lesieur et Fils (of cooking oil fame). The SGHP continued its expansion over the following decades before becoming in 1954 the Société française des pétroles BP. In 1987 the name was changed to BP France.
The Energic and Energol brands appeared in the late 1920s but while Energol lubricants can still be bought today, Energic disappeared from petrol stations several decades ago.

Click on the picture below for a larger than usual version.

Location: Avenue de la République, Burie, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 03/06/2010

Commercial Buildings, Clapham Junction

2012-02-09T11:14:00.007Z

In the last quarter of the 19th century, a property developer keen to promote his two newly constructed buildings had their names painted on the end wall of the eastern unit: "Commercial Buildings." It is perhaps surprising that the name appears on the side but not on the main façades of the buildings, as it is usually the case. The two buildings, separated by Dorothy Road, are of similar design (shops on the ground floor with flats on the three floors above) but the east one, which accomodates eight retail units, is twice the size of the west one. Was there a similar ghost sign on the west building? This is highly unlikely. Even if it had been painted higher up it would still have been obscured by the Lavender Hill Post Office next door.
The Post Office and the two Commercial Buildings appear on this postcard from c. 1911. Both the Post Office and the building in the background with the neo-classical portico (largely hidden by the tramway) have since been replaced by modern horrors. However, one of these ugly modern buildings is lower than the construction it replaced and one can have a much better view of the ghost sign below than it was originally the case.

Commercial Buildings
Location: Lavender Hill / Picture taken on: 05/03/2010

Strike's Stores, Thames Ditton, update

2012-02-09T10:57:00.003Z

Regular readers of this blog may remember the Strike's Stores ghost sign in Thames Ditton. I just saw a postcard from c. 1912 on which the painted sign is clearly visible. I have amended the original post and included a link to the aforementioned postcard.

Academy, Holloway

2012-02-08T07:42:00.005Z

At the back of a building overlooking Digswell Street is a barely noticeable ghost sign. The main entrance to the academy it advertised was most certainly in Crane Grove. Unfortunately I haven't been able to discover what this academy was for.

Academy
Limited

Location: Digswell Street / Pictures taken on: 17/01/2012

Posada Nueva del Progreso, Barcelona

2012-02-06T11:11:00.004Z

In the late 19th or early 20th century, travellers looking for a bit of modernity in the narrow streets of the Barri Gòtic, the medieval heart of Barcelona, could have stopped at the Posada Nueva del Progreso (Progress' New Inn) for some food.

Nowadays all that remains is this rather unusual ghost sign - not because of its design, but because of what is written and how it is spellt.

Posada
Nueva del Progreso
Se sirve
a
cubiertos
y a
racciones
Indeed the expression "servir a cubiertos y a raciones" is not very common. Actually it does not even appear on any document available on the net, including old books and articles. What was meant there, I believe, was that one could have either a proper lunch or dinner with food served at a table (thus available with "cubiertos" ie cutlery) or just something over the counter ("a raciones"), which could be eaten there or taken away.
As for the spelling of "ración, -es" with a double 'c' it is very odd to say the least and is certainly a mistake by the sign writer.

Location: Carrer del Cardenal Casañas / Pictures taken on: 23/10/2011

C. Hawkes, Leytonstone

2012-01-27T08:01:00.007Z

Looking for low-priced furniture around Leytonstone? A few decades ago you might have been able to find something at C. Hawkes's. Nowadays the premises are occupied by an electrical appliance retailer.

C. Hawkes
Cash Furnisher
A Wide Choice of
New Designs at
Keen Prices
Household Removals
Given the typeface used on the central part of this ghost sign, I would say it dates from the 1950s (but I may well be wrong). Its design is reminiscent of the one used on the bottom line of the London Co-op sign in Walthamstow.

Location: Harrington Road / Pictures taken on: 15/05/2011

John Hill, Islington

2012-01-26T08:13:00.006Z

John Hill & Co was founded between 1898 and 1900 (both dates have been suggested) by F. H. Wood, a former employee of William Britain, the country's largest toy manufacturer at the time. John Hill's hollow cast metal figures were originally manufactured in Islington, at 2-22 Britannia Row. However most of the factory was damaged beyond repairs during the Second World War and in 1946 the company relocated from London to Burnley in Lancashire. The building close to Essex Road survived though, and with it the ghost sign that once promoted the company.
John Hill's figures became rapidly popular, largely because they were sold individually rather than in more expensive box sets of ten or eight like Britain's (Britain remained the market leader though). They were also cheaper than Britain's but the sculpture was less detailed and the painting less meticulous. Thus John Hill's figures were often found in more modest households while better-off families offered their offsprings Britain boxes. On a plus side, their postures were often deemed to be more realistic than the martial ones of Britain's toy soldiers. If Indians and cowboys sold well, by far the most demanded figures were those of soldiers and John Hill, who at some stage began marketing its toys under the more fashionable name Johillco, offered a wide range of regiments, both British and foreign. The demand for military toys increased with the Boer War but the heydays were between the First World War and the 1950s, when they were superseded by space toys.
In 1956 Johillco released its first plastic figures under the name Hilco. Yet with a catalogue that didn't adapt rapidly enough to kids' changing tastes, the company's share of the toy market began to decline. Coronation memorabilia and some movie tie-in figures didn't compensate for the diminishing sales of toy soldiers and their equipment. As a result John Hill & Co closed in the early 1960s.
Nowadays some of their figures are sought by collectors and can be seen in toy museums around the country.

Britannia
Works
John Hill
& Co
Metal Toys
Manufacturer
Location: Britannia Row / Picture taken on: 10/04/2008

Schuhmacher, Aue

2012-01-25T07:04:00.006Z

Amazingly the façade with its ghost sign was left untouched when this house overlooking the railway tracks in the small industrial town of Aue in the Erzgebirge district of Saxony was renovated.

I doubt that shoes and other leather goods are still being made inside.
Did this ghost sign survive because no work was needed on the façade? Or was it a conscious decision by the owners? After all maybe they wanted to preserve something they considered to be part of their family's history?

Leder - Schuhmacher - Bedarfsartikel
A different typeface, which looks older, was used for 'Leder' ('Leather'). Was it to emphasize that both shoes and other goods were made of leather? Or did 'Schumacher - Bedarfsartikel' replace an earlier sign and 'Leder' was kept to save on paint?

Location: Pfarrstraße, Aue, Sachsen / Pictures taken on: 26/12/2009

Strong's, Lymington

2012-01-24T07:25:00.007Z

Half of the ghost sign painted across the façade of this cottage, one of pair built in the early 19th century, has disappeared, making it very difficult to identify Strong's activity.

Stong's Rom... ...s
Regarding the part of the ghost sign describing Strong's business, part of the third letter has faded but it looks like a 'M'. The following letter has completely disappeared but after that there seems to be the upper part of a 'E'. If that were the case, the only fitting word is 'rompers.' Was Strong a specialist in young children's clothing?

Location: Belmore Lane, Lymington, Hampshire / Picture taken on: 17/10/2009

The Norfolk Arms, Bloomsbury

2012-01-23T09:59:00.004Z

It is very frustrating to see perfectly decent pubs turned into would-like-to-be trendy gastropubs. Yet in the case of the Norfolk Arms, it may have been a blessing, at least for the building. Indeed the landlords of what had become a rather seedy place seemed to care little for the premises and one could have been forgiven for not noticing the nice Victorian tiles of the façade or this lovely mosaic by the side entrance as they laid buried under layers of grime.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, patrons of the Norfolk Arms included founders of The Pogues, Shane McGowan and Peter 'Spider' Stacy. The latter once declared about the pub

I don't know why we went in there. The landlady was a real old battleaxe and I must have been barred about twenty times. I wasn't doing very much either - kissing a girlfriend at the bar or something like that. Just general drunkenness.

I wonder if from time to time the joy and rage that exude from Rum, Sodomy & the Lash and other albums by The Pogues can still be heard these days at the Norfolk Arms?

Location: Leigh Street / Picture taken on: 17/01/2012

Refreshments, King's Cross

2012-01-20T06:14:00.003Z

After the Great Northern Star yesterday, here is the ghost sign left by one of its closest competitors. Found a few meters further up the street, this was probably a more modest venue.

Refreshments
Location: York Way / Pictures taken on: 17/01/2012

Great Northern Star, King's Cross

2012-01-19T09:18:00.004Z

Taking its name certainly from the Great Northern Railway that operated services into King's Cross station just across the road, the Great Northern Star was one of several places where travellers could have something to eat before boarding a northbound train or upon their arrival into the great metropolis.

Great Northern Star
Coffee & Dining Rooms
Great Northern Star
Coffee & Dining Rooms
Location: York Way / Pictures taken on: 17/01/2012

Frozen blog

2012-01-19T09:10:00.003Z

Some of you (and me) might have experienced some problems lately when trying to read posts on which comments had been left. It simply froze! I have now changed the settings from embedded to pop-up comments and it seems to do the trick. Until next time that is.

Pictorial postcards, Covent Garden

2012-01-18T07:48:00.004Z

Friends from around the world who visit us often comment that finding nice postcards of London that don't cost an arm and a leg is a bit of a challenge. Were the ones available at this shop any better?

Pictorial
Postcards
&
General
Stationery
Location: Monmouth Street / Picture taken on: 31/03/2008

Homepride wallpapers, Walworth

2012-01-11T07:34:00.002Z

Before moving to a new dwelling (using Fuller's services of course) some might have redecorated the rooms with wallpapers purchased at this shop on Walworth Road.

Homepride
Wallpapers
Location: Walworth Road / Picture taken on: 16/07/2009

Ameublement & literie, Cognac

2012-01-05T06:53:00.000Z

At first sight there is nothing extravagant about this ghost sign spotted in a narrow street of Cognac. However have a second look at the lettering and you'll realise this is a very fine example of Art Nouveau design. Quite unique!

Ameublement & literie
[Furniture & Bedding]

Location: Rue Henri Fichon, Cognac, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 31/01/2011

High class confectioner, Willesden

2012-01-04T07:25:00.007Z

First of all, a very happy New Year to all the readers of this blog.

Today's story isn't that happy though. Indeed, while sometimes ghost signs emerge when modern billboards are removed or buildings demolished, the opposite is also true. Actually it even seems to be a more frequent occurence. To a certain extent this is the case with the ghost signs below, painted on a wall adjacent to the Spotted Dog on Willesden High Road. Unfortunately the last pints were poured on 20th May 2007 and the pub, which had opened in 1762, was earmarked for redevelopment in 2008. Last November, after fetching our visas for Cambodia at the embassy nearby (it saved us queueing at the border, plus I was kindly offered a CD of Cambodian music), I wandered through Willesden and noticed that work on the site was now well under way. The new complex, a combination of flats and retail units which retains the Georgian façade, extends over the alley that runs between the pub and the building with the ghost sign. That's where the problem lies. For the floors above the alleyway to stand, a massive pier has been erected and obstructs most of the ghost signs. Thus Mr Humphrey and Stepani, whose only trace left seems to have been these painted signs, are sinking further into oblivion.
Indeed the space on this wall was used on several occasions. The first sign painted there promoted a business by the name of Humphrey (the letters emerge between the larger ones of 'Stepani'). Since none of the other words found on this wall uses the same straightforward typeface, I believe the rest of this sign disappeared completely when the two newer ones were painted. The next sign advertised Stepani & Company, suppliers of ice and water (that this sign was painted next to a pub is slightly ironic). Was Stepani (but no longer '& Co') also the high class confectioner mentioned in the third sign? The absence of a name would suggest so. But then why wasn't the whole space used? Maybe a small structure, such as a hut for a newspaper seller, hid the left of the wall but didn't go as high as 'Stepani'?

. Stepani

& Company Makers of Pure ... Ices Supplied for Parties ... Iced Mineral Water ...		High Class Confectioner Caterer and Tobacconist ... of Havana Cigars
		Try a Freshly Made Cup

With regards to the last three lines, which undulate elegantly and were painted partly in black ('Try a Freshly'), partly in white ('Made Cup'), I think they related to a part of the sign that disappeared when part of the wall was rebuilt. Freshly grounded coffee maybe? Something was painted to the right of these lines but I can't identify what this is.

Location: High Road / Picture taken on: 14/08/2009

Bosch, Phnom Penh

2011-12-30T11:17:00.004Z

The location of this painted sign will tell you why I didn't post anything over the past three weeks. Indeed I was travelling in Cambodia, where I came across a few painted signs. Most were modern ones, painted on metal sheets to signal repair shops, hairdresser saloons and the like. More interesting, from a historical perspective, were the very faded signs of businesses and shops painted on the façades of unrestored colonial buildings. These were written either in French or in Chinese (in the 18th and 19th centuries many Chinese migrated to Cambodia, where, until the Khmers Rouges seized power, they played an important role in commerce, banking and transport). Needless to say, given the destructive madness of the Khmers Rouges, there aren't many left. Those that survived were certainly already barely legible in 1975.
Yet today's sign is of a different nature and, actually, it is the only advert for a product painted on a wall I saw in three weeks. I spotted it while on my way from the train station to Psar Thmei, the Central Market (both are lovely Art Deco buildings). It promotes Bosch's thermo-elastic spark plug and was painted there certainly because many motorbikes, remorks (the local version of Thailand's tuk-tuks), taxis, and buses congregate around Psar Thmei.

The company founded by Robert Bosch in 1886 in Stuttgart patented the first spark plug in 1902. The particular model advertised here was launched in 1976.

Bosch
Thermo-elastic
Note the words "Bosch / Germany" on the body of the spark plug.

A few words in Khmer are written above the drawing but I really don't know what they say.

The lower part of the sign includes drawings of a boat engine as well as a whole series of road vehicles that could require Bosch's Thermo-elastic spark plug.

To conclude, I should mention that this painted sign also includes four Chinese characters, arranged vertically to the left of the spark and visible on the second picture. Judging by their darker colour and state of preservation, it seems they were painted at a later stage. Why they are so small is strange since there was quite a bit of space available.

Location: Street 118, Phnom Penh / Pictures taken on: 21/12/2011

Horses, brakes and carriages, Alton

2011-12-07T07:21:00.003Z

Unfortunately I don't have any information about this particular business, which supplied horses as well as brakes and carriages. Before horses could pull a carriage safely, they had to be trained and a brake -a simple four-wheelled carriage frame with only a seat for the driver- was used for that purpose. Maybe some of their customers included the managers of the breweries attracted to Alton by the quality of its water, the extensive barley fields and hop plantations found in the vicinity, and the proximity of the London market?
Sadly a window was opened when the building was converted to other uses and a large part of this ghost sign, including the name of the owner, disappeared.

Horses, Brakes and Carriages, ...
Eve...
Proprietor
Below is a larger version of this ghost sign.

Location: Turk Street, Alton, Hampshire / Pictures taken on: 11/04/2010

Redfern's rubber heels, Islington

2011-12-03T09:15:00.004Z

Dominating the western end of Chapel Market, a (former) working-class street market, in Islington, this large painted sign reminded shoppers, and certainly sellers, that they could have a much more comfortable experience if their shoes were fitted with Redfern's rubber heels.
Compared to other ghost signs promoting Redfern's products posted on this blog, the design of this one is very different. These so far include a barely visible example in New Cross as well as two very neat and well-preserved ones for the company's rubber mats in Wandsworth and its rubber heels in Fulham. The post about the Wandsworth sign includes some information about the company's history.

Redfern's
Rubber
Heels
Make Walking a Pleasure
Location: Grant Street / Picture taken on: 19/03/2008

Casa Rivero, Havana

2011-12-01T08:04:00.004Z

The Casa Rivero no longer imports electric goods but its ghost sign still hangs on the façade. The texture of both the wall and the rusting metal sheet on which this ghost sign is painted combined with the fading colours make it pretty unmissable.

Tel. W. 9115		Casa Rivero		Tel. M. 2414
Importador efectos eléctricos

Location: Calle Muralla, Havana / Picture taken on: 04/04/2010

Woollons, dispensing chemist and photograpic dealer; Kensal Green

2011-11-30T07:52:00.005Z

Since photographic processing and printing involves different chemical products, it is hardly surprising that these operations were conducted originally mostly by chemists. A couple of ghost signs posted on this blog, from Bath and Islington, illustrate this association between pharmacy and photography. Recently I discovered another one, this time in Kensal Green.
I could not find when Charles H. F. Woollons, MPS (Member of the Pharmaceutical Society), opened his store on Kilburn Lane. Since his widow Louisa died in 1937, aged 78, it seems reasonable to assume he was born in the 1850s. After graduating he might have worked for another chemist before opening his own business. In any case Woollons's name and address, 28 Kilburn Lane, appear in a 1906 issue of The Pharmaceutical Journal and in the 1908 edition of Yearbook of Pharmacy. Interestingly Woollons is also mentioned in a 1906 issue of Photographic Monthly. When C. H. F. Woollons retired or died, his son Charles B. Woollons, MPS, took over the Kilburn store. By 1937 he also owned a branch at 254 Hendon Way, which was managed by his new partner, chemist and druggist Leopold Barnato. Actually Barnato was also deeply involved in photography and filming. In 1936 he photographed and edited the two-reel documentary "Airport" by Ellis E. Somake, which "was judged 'the most efficient production viewed' in the 'Amateur Cine World's' the ten best films of 1936." This documentary was also awarded a certificate at the 1936 Royal Photographic Society Exhibition of Cinematography.
Did the Kilburn branch survive Charles B. Woollons? This seems unlikely. Indeed by the 1960s Leopold Barnato had given up the chemist and druggist side of the business to concentrate fully on photography and traded under the name "Woollons of Hendon." The company was trading until recently at 256 Hendon Way but no longer seems to.

C. Woollons
Dispensing ... Photographic Chemist
Fo... [?] ...m
... ...s
At least the sign at the back of the building has not been painted over.

Dispensing
Chemist
Photographic
Dealer
Given the style of the lettering, this ghost sign certainly dates back from the time of Charles H. F. Woollons.

Location: Kilburn Lane and Ilbert Street / Pictures taken on: 28/11/2011

Good things to eat, Salisbury

2011-11-29T08:14:00.002Z

Somehow I wonder whether the message on this ghost sign can be trusted? 'Things' makes me suspicious.

Good
Things
To Eat
This was painted over another sign, of which only a few letters still appear here and there.

Location: Fisherton Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire / Picture taken on: 09/08/2009

Millbridge motor & cycle works, Walthamstow

2011-11-28T18:22:00.002Z

All this company seems to have left is this ghost sign south of Walthamstow centre.

Millbridge
Motor &
Cycle Work
Location: The Crescent / Picture taken on: 17/02/2010

Berens Garage, Kensal Green

2011-11-25T17:37:00.003Z

As I passed through a quiet residential street of northwest London earlier today, I stumbled across this ghost sign for the Berens Garage. The only mention of this particular workshop I could find is the 1937 edition of The Royal Automobile Club Guide and Handbook.

Berens Garage
Automobile Engineers
Location: Berens Road / Picture taken on: 25/11/2011

Tailor and habit maker, Putney

2011-11-24T11:34:00.003Z

The tailor and habit maker may be long gone but the attractive if rather sober mosaic survives to this day. Somehow the overall shape reminds me of the patterns used by tailors to create suits and other garments.

Location: Upper Richmond Road / Picture taken on: 15/08/2008

Money lent, Clapham

2011-11-23T07:52:00.004Z

This ghost sign for a pawnbroker may be barely visible nowadays but decades ago people getting off at Clapham High Street station could hardly have missed it as they made their way down Voltaire Road towards the High Street.

Money Lent
This sign was painted twice, using a slightly different typeface. It is possible these were actually painted over an earlier sign as traces of other letters can be seen here and there.

If the written part of this ghost sign is very basic, the traces of paint to the right are far more interesting. These appear to represent three hanging spheres, the symbol of pawnbrokers. The bars holding the spheres, with their volute ends, are even relatively elaborate. Was this painted sign enough or did the pawnbroker also had a proper three-dimensional version hanging from the façade?

This particular symbol has been used since the Middle Ages but its origins are a matter of debate. In A History of Pawnbroking, Past and Present (1847), William A. H. Hows looked at some likely and unlikely origins of this symbol (pages 44-48). The link with Lombard traders and merchants, whose activities also included banking, is the one generally accepted.

Location: Clapham High Street / Pictures taken on: 09/04/2008

Merceron, Tonnay-Charente

2011-11-22T07:09:00.002Z

Even though shoe retailer Merceron is now closed, this 1970s-style ghost sign, by the railway tracks, can still be seen by those coming from the west and going towards the center of the small town of Tonnay-Charente. Passengers on the La Rochelle - Rochefort - Saintes line can also catch a glimpse from passing trains.

Merceron
Chausseur [Your Shoe Retailer]
Tonnay-Charente
Since a visit by a cheeky graffiti artist, it now looks as if Bart Simpson has been caught in the act of painting illegally this Merceron sign on the wall.

This ghost sign is also visible from the other railway crossing on Rue de l'église.

Originally a completely different product was advertised on this wall: Valentine paints (for more information, see this better-preserved Valentine ghost sign from Saintes). The letters can hardly be seen nowadays but this is confirmed when the picture is modified through Photoshop.

Location: Rue d'Alsace-Lorraine, Tonnay-Charente, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 25/08/2011

W. English & Son, Manor Park

2011-11-21T09:57:00.006Z

For more than 130 years W. English & Son has been arranging funerals and supplying memorials to people of East London. According to the company's website, it has been doing so since 1880 but that clashes with the date painted on the wall below. One explanation could be that originally W. English dealt solely in memorials and only became a funeral director in 1880.
Nowadays W. English & Son has two branches, in Bethnal Green and South Woodford. Did they have another office at some point in Manor Park?

A close look at the first and penultimate lines of this ghost sign shows this wall was painted on two occasions. Originally these two lines readThe English ...
Branches In All Parts Of LondonThis last line was a bit of an overstatement, unless W. English was already part of a wide network of monumental masons. Note that a rather elaborate Gothic-style typeface, of the kind more often associated with newspapers' titles, was used for 'The English.'

As for the more recent sign, it readsW. English & Son L^td.
Est. 1871 [or 1817 *]
Beautiful & Lasting Memorials
Erected in any Cemetery
or Churchyard
Inscriptions & Renovations
Phone Ilford 0.32
* It seems the sign painter got the last two digits mixed up. Having realised his mistake, he painted them again but the result is confusing, thus the date could be 1817 or 1871 (when the paint was fresher the original error was certainly properly hidden).

To conclude on a humoristic note, when I discovered this ghost sign, which brings together 'English' and the idea of death, I was reminded straight away of a video advertising a French school in the US: click here to watch it.

Location: Rabbits Road / Picture taken on: 15/05/2011

Dining rooms, Acton

2011-11-18T08:42:00.002Z

A very modest painted sign for one of Acton's former dining rooms.

Dining
Rooms
Location: Horn Lane / Picture taken on: 11/07/2011

J. W. Webb's dental surgery, Dulwich

2011-11-16T07:46:00.004Z

Sadly, if Google street view is to be believed, it seems this ghost sign is now largely hidden by a billboard.

J. W. Webb's
Dental
Surgery
Location: Heber Road / Picture taken on: 24/08/2009

Bodega cervecería, Barcelona

2011-11-15T09:59:00.004Z

This painted sign crowned by the cheerful face of a cook promises customers tasty tapas, good serrano (dry-cured) ham, and, obviously, since we are in Barcelona, pan con tomate. This simple dish is a classic and easy to prepare Catalan tapa. First toast some slices of rustic bread. Then rub some garlic cloves and after that some tomatoes cut in half until the tomato juice softens the bread a little. Finally sprinkle some olive oil and a bit of salt. That's it, the pan con tomate, or more appropriately the pa amb tomaquet (in Catalan), is ready to be eaten! As this place is both a bodega and a cervecería, the tapas can be washed down with either wine or beer. Now I'm hungry!

Bodega cervecería
Calidad en tapas
Pan con tomate
Buen jamón serrano
Location: Carrer de la maquinista, Barcelona / Picture taken on: 25/10/2011

Paddock Wood printing works, Paddock Wood

2011-11-14T11:41:00.003Z

Thanks to its relatively frequent train services, the small town of Paddock Wood is a good spot from where to explore on foot the Kentish countryside on a day out from London. That's why earlier this year I passed through its main shopping street, at the beginning of a walk to some villages of the High Weald and on to Royal Tunbridge Wells. To be honest Paddock Wood itself doesn't have much to attract visitors but I was happily surprised to discover a couple of ghost signs, including this one for the former local printing works.

Paddock Wood Printing Works
... Old Established ...
Location: Commercial Road, Paddock Wood, Kent / Picture taken on: 03/09/2011

Sunlight soap, Highbury

2011-11-11T07:50:00.003Z

Several ghost signs advertising Sunlight Soap have already been posted on this blog. A few paragraphs about the history of the Lever company and its use of cinema to promote its soap accompany some of these posts, so please visit them to learn more about this once popular brand.

This wall also includes, below the advert for Sunlight Soap, a smaller ghost sign for a local shop. Paint retailers Murray Brothers clearly couldn't spend as much as Lever to promote their business.

Sunlight
Soap
Largest Sale in the World
-------
Murray Bros.
Oil & Color Stores
Note that the painted street sign has also survived:Conewood
Street
Location: Conewood Street / Picture taken on: 06/04/2011

Ariel, Kennington

2011-11-09T10:40:00.001Z

Many people will be familiar with this Ariel advert, one of the great ghost signs of London. Founded in 1870 Ariel first produced bicycles. Almost three decades later the company launched a motorized tricycle before moving in 1901 into the emerging motorcycle market. The company also produced some cars but its name is forever associated with motorcycles, which it manufactured until 1967. You can find more information about the history of Ariel on the website of the Ariel Owners Motor Cycle Club and on Wikipedia.

Ariel
Leaders
Of Design
Writers
This ghost sign was painted on the former premises of motorcycle dealer Writers, located next to the Durning Library on Kennington Lane (according to a 1927 issue of Commercial Motor, Writers Motor and Cycle Works traded at 163 and 165 Lower Kennington Lane. House numbers were not changed when the name of the street was shortened).

What makes this ghost sign really attractive is the presence of the company's logo. Designed in the mid-1930s, it represents a reared up black horse looking towards the public and its rider in a stylized form typical of the period (note how the designer cleverly placed the 'A' of Ariel on the muzzle of the horse). Unfortunately the colours of the horse rider's outfit -black boots, white trousers and red riding jacket- have badly faded. Originally it would have been pretty similar to the one on the right. However one difference was the colour of the the riding hat, which was painted black on the ghost sign. This slight change seems to have been introduced in the 1950s and can be seen on this 1955 poster.

The letters of "Ariel" seems to have been painted in either orange or red colour with black shadows. The use of this typeface by the company predates the design of the horse by about a decade as it already appears on some adverts printed in the 1920s.
However the elegantly-written slogan "Leaders of Design" (note the large 'S' for the plural) seems to have made its first appearance in a printed advert published in 1951. It doesn't seem to have been very popular though and was replaced by more engaging slogans in later adverts. Thus this ghost sign, which incorporates elements from different decades, may well have been painted in the early 1950s.

Location: Kennington Lane / Pictures taken on: 09/04/2008 and 10/10/2008

Saint Paul's pianos, Willesden

2011-11-08T10:20:00.000Z

Saint Paul's Pianos was set up in the 1920s by Sydney Chidley, the son of composer, music instrument manufacturer and inventor Rock Chidley. The pianos he sold were usually second-hand instruments, which he repaired in his workshop located further up High Road in Willesden. Another shop was located in Birmingham. It seems Sydney Chidley gave up his business following the death of this wife and his subsequent remarriage. All this information comes from various messages left by Sydney's great grandson on several blogs and discussion forums.

Saint
Paul's
Pianos
This ghost sign was repainted when the current occupiers of 50 High Road moved in. I have mixed feelings about the outcome. One the one hand it looks over-restored but on the other hand one should be grateful it wasn't completely removed.

Location: Linacre Road / Picture taken on: 14/08/2009

Salle des fêtes, Echillais

2011-10-29T15:43:00.002+01:00

Are you looking for a venue for your wedding party? Don't worry, I've got the perfect solution: the salle des fêtes of Echillais, a charming village near Rochefort. All right, this may not be the most romantic venue and facilities are certainly a bit outdated but actually Echillais has more to offer, including a stunning Romanesque church and the Martrou transporter bridge built between 1898 and 1900 over the River Charente.

Réunions
Publiques
.é...
[Public
Meetings
...]

Salle des fêtes
Bals
Noces
[Village Hall
Balls
Weddings]

Location: Rue de la Renaissance, Echillais, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 23/08/2011

The Albion Coffee House, Kennington

2011-10-27T09:12:00.005+01:00

The house where this ghost sign was painted is part of a terrace built in the early 19th century. Did the Albion Coffee House open immediately after construction? I can't be sure but the style of this painted sign is reminiscent of others from the first half of the 19th century.

The Albion Coffee House.
Location: Kennington Lane / Picture taken on: 16/09/2011

Tobacco, Camberwell

2011-10-26T09:29:00.002+01:00

A building near Camberwell Green used to have two ghost signs for completely different products: one designed to improve one's health and one causing long-term damage. Indeed on its north side a painted sign promoted the 'miracle' medicine Beecham Pills, while on its south side another sign pointed to the main product sold by a tobacconist.

Tobacco
There was most certainly something written to the left of 'Tobacco' but it has faded too much to be able to read anything.

Location: Denmark Hill / Picture taken on: 11/04/2008

Dyson, Eton

2011-10-18T12:28:00.002+01:00

The Gothic-style lettering used on this doorstep mosaic at the beginning of Eton High Street is quite unusual. Unfortunately I haven't found any information about Dyson's business. In 1883 these premises housed the jewellery shop of Alexander Nehetnias Joseph. Was Dyson there before or after that date? Nowadays 4, High Street is home to the Rhubarb & Custard photo gallery.

Dyson
N^o. 4
Location: High Street, Eton, Berkshire / Picture taken on: 20/03/2011

Wells & Rush, Petersfield

2011-10-17T07:34:00.002+01:00

Back in the 1920s Chapel Street in Petersfield was a busy shopping street and the double fronted drapery shop of Wells & Rush offered ladies from this Hampshire town a wide range of cloth and garments. This piece of information comes from an article published in the Petersfield Post and is the only one I found about this particular shop.

Wells & Rush.
Sash Drapers
And
Milliners
The picture above was taken early on a summer day. Below is the same ghost sign, ten hours later.

Location: Chapel Street, Petersfield, Hampshire / Pictures taken on: 20/07/2008

E. F. Kutschke, Bautzen

2011-10-13T08:24:00.005+01:00

Bautzen, in eastern Saxony, is well-known for its medieval and baroque architecture. If most buildings in the historic centre have been nicely restored, some façades in the surrounding parts of the city have been left untouched and a couple still display the names and trades of the people who lived and traded there.

E. F. Kutschke Dachdeckermeister
[E. F. Kutschke Master Roofer]
Actually there are two ghost signs on this narrow space between the ground and first floor windows. Both advertised a Dachdeckermeister, the original one being more towards the right. Not enough can be seen to be able to identify the full name but the few letters that can be spotted don't match those of E. F. Kutschke.

Location: Rosenstraße, Bautzen, Sachsen / Pictures taken on: 08/10/2011

Fine Old Douro Port, West Ham

2011-10-04T07:49:00.002+01:00

The Angel in Church Street, West Ham, was rebuilt in 1910, but when was this sign painted?

Fine Old Douro Port
From 3/.	Per Bot.

Shillings ceased to be used on February 15, 1971, when the UK adopted the decimal system for its currency. On that day, one shilling became worth five pence. Therefore three shillings were equivalent to 15 pence.
I doubt this ghost sign dates for the rebuilding of the pub. Indeed, once cumulative inflation is taken into account, a bottle worth 3 shillings in 1910 would cost between £13 and £14 today. That would have been quite pricey for the vast majority of people in West Ham, an industrial borough where many workers lived in slums. But maybe The Angel attracted wealthier patrons? Still I think a later date is more likely for this ghost sign.

The Angel has been empty since 2003. What will happen to it and to this ghost sign? I'm afraid they may both disappear in a near future if property developers move in.

Location: Church Street / Pictures taken on: 15/05/2011

Marshall, importer of segars, Finsbury Park

2011-09-30T13:47:00.005+01:00

The vast majority of signs posted on this blog are directly painted on walls. However the one advertising Marshall's business consisted of cement letters, painted in white, and inserted into a thin concrete layer resting against a brick wall.

Marshall.
Importer of Segars
Wholesale & Retail
Islington
A couple of letters have fallen, showing the recess in which they were fitted. Some letters may have been replaced at some point as some look slightly newer and the level of finish is not the same everywhere.

The rather unusual spelling 'segar', instead of 'cigar', was actually relatively common until the second half of the 19th century, even if several publications pointed it was incorrect as the word came from the Spanish 'cigarro.'

Location: Finsbury Park Road / Pictures taken on: 01/04/2008

Holmes, plumber & decorator, Greenwich

2011-09-29T18:12:00.004+01:00

Once more, here is a business whose only trace seems to be this ghost sign. The alternance of typefaces gives it a certain character.

C. Holmes
Plumber &
Decorator
Contractor For
Alterations
And Repairs
Sanitary Work of Every Description
Estimates Free
Phone GREEN. 1187
I am not absolutely sure about the initial of Mr Holmes's first name. It may as well be a 'G.'

Location: Siebert Road / Picture taken on: 1305/2011

Chaussures, La Rochelle

2011-09-28T07:00:00.000+01:00

This series of posts about the ghost signs found along Rue des merciers in La Rochelle started with a shoe shop and ends with another shoe shop. However this time there is no palimpsest nor name on this façade, just what was being sold at this address.

Nine ghost signs for a street that is barely 200 meter long, that's not bad!

Chaussures
[Shoes]
Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

Bergevin, La Rochelle

2011-09-27T09:28:00.000+01:00

Raymond Alphonse Bergevin is a name a few collectors of old French postcards may be familiar with. Born in 1878 in La Châtre, a small town in central France, he moved to Rue des merciers in La Rochelle, where he started working as a watchkmaker, jeweller, and art dealer alongside his father. An invoice dated from 1904 shows he continued in his father's steps after his death. However Bergevin's passion was photography. Some of his early pictures were printed as postcards by Charles Collas in Cognac but around the mid-1910s Bergevin decided to give up his original activities and become a full-time photographer and printer.
Bergevin's first postcards were printed on rather grainy paper in blue or green. By the early 1920s though, he had developed his photo and printing techniques and was specializing in luxury postcards and illustrated art books. His postcards showed not only the buildings and scenery in the départements of Charente-Maritime, Vendée and Vienne but also daily life in the villages of the region. These were often signed 'Ramuntcho.' Ramuntcho was the hero, and title, of one of Pierre Loti's most famous novels, published in 1897. Set in the French Basque country, it included detailed accounts of the Basque culture and traditions. The name may have been chosen because Bergevin also ambitioned to record the way of life and customs of his region. Additionally Bergevin was friend with Pierre Loti, who, when he wasn't travelling around the world (he was an officer in the French navy) spent some time at his house in Rochefort, just south of La Rochelle. Finally, and more pragmatically, the name Ramuntcho was well-known across France: the novel had been a best-seller, a theatrical version had been staged at the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris in 1908 and in 1918 it had been turned into a movie.
Bergevin's work was rewarded with a Gold Medal at the 1937 World Exhibition held in Paris. He kept publishing postcards and art books until the end of the Second World War, when he retired. He died in October 1953. Most of his personal archives are now kept in the departmental archives of Charente-Maritime, while those of Vendée hold around 3,000 postcards depicting life in 79 villages and small towns of that département.

Bergevin
Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

Sabots et galoches, La Rochelle

2011-09-26T14:01:00.005+01:00

This is my favourite ghost sign from Rue des merciers in La Rochelle. It promoted the clogs factory Cadot. It was certainly painted either under Napoléon III or during the first years of the Third Republic as it appears on a picture of the street taken in 1876.

Fab^que de sabots & galoches
Gros - Detail
[Clog & Wooden Soled Shoes Factory
Wholesale -Retail]
Although in most dictionaries 'galoches' and 'sabots' are translated as 'clogs', there is a difference between the two: the sabots are made entirely of wood while the galoches combine a wooden sole with a leather upper.

This ghost sign also include a picture of a galoche.

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011

Félix Potin, La Rochelle

2011-09-23T11:50:00.001+01:00

A few metres from the Mercerie along the Rue des merciers is a shop many people in France would have been familiar with: Félix Potin. The origins of this chain of food stores go back to 1844, when Félix Potin, then aged 24, opened his first outlet in Paris. At a time when it was relatively common for grocers to add flour to sugar or chicory to coffee, or to sell sugar loaves that never reached the right weight, Félix Potin rapidly became well-known for selling "the right weight at the right price." Indeed from the very start, this was one of the four principles of his business, the others being good quality products, lower profit margins, and fixed prices on display. In order to attract customers, some basic goods were sold at a loss but that was covered by higher margins on some sweets or luxury products like cocoa. Within a few years Potin opened a few outlets across Paris. Then in 1860, at the corner of Boulevard de Sébastopol and Rue Réaumur, he inaugurated his flagship store: behind its 22-metre long display windows, customers could find on two floors all the foodstuffs they could imagine and even more. One year later Félix Potin inaugurated his first factory in La Villette and became the first grocer to manufacture his own products bearing his own label. Within one year twenty-one tons of sugar were crushed, seven tons of cocoa were processed, and tons of peas were automatically shelled at La Villette. All these foodstuffs were packed and labelled "Félix Potin." In a drive to cut down on intermediaries and keep prices down Potin purchased orchards in the south of France, vineyards in Champagne, and even extended his reach beyond the Mediterranean Sea. In Tunisia he acquired what would become Potinville, an estate of 3,000 hectares near Tunis, one fifth of which was planted with vine. Expansion continued but in 1870 the Second Empire collapsed and the Prussian army surrounded Paris. Without supplies the population of the French capital faced starvation. Dogs, rats, anything that could be eaten ended in cooking pots. That's when Potin bought for 27,000 francs Castor, one of the two elephants of the Jardin d'acclimatation and sold the meat in his stores. Félix Potin died one year later, leaving a fortune of 6 million francs, two large stores and several small outlets.
Far from resting on their laurels, the heirs of Potin continued to develop the family business: new factories were opened, the flagship stores of the Boulveard Sébastopol and Boulevard Malsherbes were rebuilt, home deliveries were introduced, and new stores bearing the name Félix Potin opened throughout France. These were franchises granted to well-noted office workers who married a cashier, and often came with a small flat above the shop. In 1904 a new, luxurious store, ten-floor high, opened Rue de Rennes in Paris. By the late 1920s, the company Félix Potin owned 70 subsidiaries, ten factories, and controlled hundreds of shops.
However by the 1920s the arrival of new competitors selling foodstuffs at even lower prices reduced the company's profits. Additionally in 1930 the family was forced to sell a villa in Bagatelle for 28 millions after the shady actions of one of the directors had left a huge hole in the accounts. Following the death of Jean Potin just after the Second World War, his wife inherited the company but she lacked the business sense of her predecessors. Running it according to her mood, Félix Potin declined rapidly. In 1958 the company and its 1,200 shops were bought for 5 millions by André Mentzelopoulos, who split the company in two: trade and real estate. Even though over the following decaces Félix Potin acquired several small competitors, it faced growing competition from supermarkets. In 1996 the company was liquidated.

I haven't found any specific information about the Félix Potin store in La Rochelle. Before Félix Potin moved in, the building housed another grocery store, owned by E. Garnier.

F
é
l
i
x

P
o
t
i
n

Félix Potin

E. Garnier

n
i
t
o
P

x
i
l
é
F

It is rather unusual to have a name written sideways on both sides of the windows.
Below are some details of the façade.

Félix PotinThere is a real palimpsest where 'Potin' was written, with a total of three different layers. However, apart from a few letters here and there, all I managed to decipher is:... Argent
...ur V...illé
E. Garnier
Actually these were not the only ghost signs for Félix Potin and E. Garnier in La Rochelle. Indeed the building had two entrances, one, above, on Rue des merciers and another one on Rue Saint-Yon, where the name and nature of these two businesses were clearly indicated too.

Félix Potin

Produits alimentaires
Produits Félix Potin

E. Garnier
Below are some details of the ghost signs on this second façade.

Félix Potin
Produits alimentaires
Produits Félix Potin
Produits alimentaires
Produits Félix Potin

E. Garnier
It seems 'E. Garnier' was written twice.

Location: Rue des merciers, and Rue Saint-Yon, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011

Mercerie, La Rochelle

2011-09-17T06:10:00.001+01:00

What could be more normal than a ghost sign for a shop that specialised in haberdashery in Haberdashers' Street?

Mercerie
[Haberdasher's]
A very simple sign written in a dark red tone often used in the late 19th century.

This business competed directly with the one of E. Marthe a couple of hundred meters away.

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

R.I.P. Ingersoll, Aldwych

2011-09-16T19:47:00.005+01:00

Ever since I first noticed it, I always have a look at the Ingersoll ghost sign when I make my way from the City Lit to the bus stops on Aldwych. That was the case last Thursday, when I even wondered if the man smoking by the door had ever paid any attention to what was written just above him. Little did I know then that it would be the last time I would see it. Earlier today I noticed the ground and first floors have been completely repainted and in the process the ghost sign disappeared, certainly for good.
For those who missed it, here is a picture again, slightly larger this time. For more information about the Ingersoll Watch Company, go to the original post.

Ingersoll Watch Co Ltd
Goods Entrance
4 Kean Street
Location: Kean Street / Picture taken on: 08/10/2008

Au chic parisien, La Rochelle

2011-09-16T06:36:00.002+01:00

Au chic parisien: it's all in the name! Just when I was taking my pictures, a man stopped to tell me his mother used to come here to buy her lingerie and clothes. Indeed for decades this shop supplied the wealthy inhabitants of La Rochelle, and especially the ladies, with all the latest and best in fashion.

Au
Chic	parisien

This ghost sign was written twice. The original dark letters were replaced by much more visible red ones with an ocre shadow.

This ghost sign is slowly disappearing as the paint cracks more and more.

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011

Bussonière, La Rochelle

2011-09-15T07:08:00.001+01:00

Since the old harbour and the bassins of the Marans to La Rochelle canal are not too far from the Rue des merciers, it is not that surprising to find among its shops one that specialized in cordages. Bussonnière also sold strings, which other shopkeepers in the street might have purchased in order to wrap their parcels.

Bussonnière
Cordages Ficelles [Cordages Strings]
Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

Au bon accueil, La Rochelle

2011-09-14T10:32:00.006+01:00

'Au bon accueil' (literally "At the good welcome") is a name usually associated throughout France with restaurants or hotels but in La Rochelle it seems to have been chosen by a clothes shop for men and children. Unless, of course, the two parts of this ghost sign referred to two different businesses.

Au bon accueil
Confection pour hommes et enfants [Clothing for Men and Children]
Note that 'Au' was written vertically at a slightly higher level. Doing so left the whole space under the windows for 'Bon accueil' but when the sign was still colourful, it might have looked a little bit imbalanced. With regards to the second part of this sign, the writer made good use of the arch.

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

Chaussures Richard, La Rochelle

2011-09-13T11:56:00.005+01:00

Rue des merciers, or Haberdashers' Street, is one of the most typical streets of La Rochelle: timber-framed medieval houses, with their wooden parts protected by slate, and Renaissance buildings, with elaborate gargoyles, alternate with the more sober façades of houses built in the 17th and 18th centuries. Originally laid c. 1100 when Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine, fortified the city, it was then known simply as the Grande rue. In 1286 a charter granted tax exemptions to the cloth merchants who traded along its course. As a result their numbers increased and the street became rapidly known as Rue des merciers. In the 17th century this was changed to Rue des drapiers, or Drapers' Street, before its two first names were combined in the early 19th century into Grande rue des merciers. A few decades later 'Grande' was dropped from the name but the street remained as popular as ever with the inhabitants of La Rochelle and the surrounding area, who continued to buy their clothes and, increasingly, other goods in its shops.
Walking in a northward direction towards the covered market, it doesn't take long to spot the first ghost sign, or rather ghost signs as there are at least three layers on this façade.

Two signs can be read without much difficulty. The difference in style seems to indicate they advertised two different businesses.

Maison
de
Confiance
------
Chaussures Richard
The sign for the shoe shop Richard was painted twice. For the second version, the sign painter used smaller letters.

A close look at the sign written on the first floor between the two windows reveals something was written before Maison de confiance (Trustworthy Shop) was painted.

The words that can still be deciphered are:
...
F...es
Ancienne maison [Formerly]
...n
Pellereau
I haven't found what business was Pellereau in. Maybe this was one of the fashion shops found along the Rue des merciers?

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011

Miroiterie Langevin, La Rochelle

2011-09-12T16:50:00.002+01:00

Documents reveal that the Langevin mirror workshop was already trading in 1898. This is the only information I found about this particular business, which targeted especially car owners.

Miroiterie [Mirror Workshop]
Langevin
5 rue du palais
Glaces pour autos [Rear-view Mirrors for Cars]
The different letterings, the pastel-like background and the old-style street light really take us to another era.

Over the past couple of years I posted a few ghost signs from La Rochelle. The city is actually full of them and over the next days I will introduce some seen along one particular street.

Location: Cour du Temple, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011

J. P. Bastos & Ca, Lisbon

2011-09-09T06:12:00.000+01:00

Here is a rather modest sign, spotted while waiting for one of Lisbon's old tramways to arrive at its terminus on Rua da Alfândega. Paint manufacturer J. P. Bastos & C^a was founded more than 100 years ago. The company was known in Portugal for its Redlac brand of paints. In August 2007, J. P. Bastos was bought by one of its competitors, Argacol – Tintas e Vernizes, S.A.

J. P. Bastos & C^a L^a
Tintas - Vernizes
[J. P. Bastos & Co. Ltd.
Paints - Varnishes]
Location: Rua do Instituto Virgilio Machado, Alfama, Lisboa / Picture taken on: 05/11/2010

Gordon, Highgate

2011-09-08T06:24:00.002+01:00

It looks as if a couple of signs could have been painted on this wall. It seems even that one business, by the name of Gordon, had signs painted on two if not three occasions. Unfortunately part of the wall is now hidden by the extension to the property and the new chimney stack, and several words have badly faded. Consequently I haven't managed to decipher anything more than that name nor been able to find any detail relating to any Gordon based on Archway Road.

Words in small letters were painted just below the roof across the whole wall but they have been fading too much to make any sense of them. One ghost sign, to the left of the chimney stack reads "char". To the right of the stack there is a barely visible "S." On the same portion of the wall, "Gordon" was written twice, using different characters: first on the lower half, and later, on the upper half. As for the large "...on" letters, they could be spelling the end of "Gordon" too. These letters were painted over an earlier sign, which ended with the word "...gers."
If anyone has any idea about this ghot sign, please leave a comment. Thanks.

Location: Archway Road / Picure taken on: 14/08/2008

Philips, Istanbul

2011-09-07T12:29:00.003+01:00

Even though this advert for the Dutch multinational Philips was painted in a small street, it can be glimpsed from Istiklal Caddesi (at least by my mum - thanks for for pointing it to me!), Istanbul's most famous avenue located in the Beyoğlu district.
This painted sign must date from the mid-1980s as the only document with the same slogan available on the net is a Philishave advert printed in June 1985 in the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet. At that time each department within each of Philips's national subsidiaries was responsible for advertising and marketing campaigns. Thus several ran simultaneously and with different slogans. This came to an end in the mid-1990s when Philips launched its first global campaign under the slogan "Let's make things better."

Philips alın. Gelecegi yaşayın
[Get Philips, Experience the Future]
Since my Turkish is non-existent, I am not absolutely sure about the translation.

Location: Taksim Caddesi, Beyoğlu, Istanbul / Picture taken on: 17/06/2011

Chemist, Rochester

2011-09-06T07:41:00.002+01:00

A simple but relatively classy doorstep mosaic greated customers to this chemist's on Rochester High Street. The design seems to date from the inter-war years (but I may be wrong). It was probably laid for Gerald Arthur Morris, who had been trading as a chemist at this address at least since the early 20th century. Business must have been good and in 1904 The Pharmaceutical Journal reported he had opened a new branch pharmacy on Ordnance Street, Chatham. G. A. Morris was a keen photographer and printed several postcards before the First World War. He also offered a photographic developing, printing and enlarging service, as mentioned in a few journals from the early 1920s.
Nowadays the premises are occupied by a hairdresser whose name was certainly inspired by the doorstep mosaic: Hair Chemistry.

Location: High Street, Rochester, Kent / Picture taken on: 26/06/2011

The Skinners' Arms, Godalming

2011-09-05T07:46:00.007+01:00

In early 1957 an advert in The Estate Gazette invited interested parties to the Kings Arms Royal Hotel, where the building at the southern end of Church Street in Goldaming would be sold at auction. Since then it has been divided into four shops but traces of its former use remain in the form of a ghost sign running high up along its façade. For some time it had been The Skinners' Arms. I didn't find when this public house opened but parts of the property date back to the 17th century, although the façade itself dates from the extension of the builing in the 19th century. The name comes from the Worshipful Company of Skinners, whose presence in Godalming goes back to 1588, the year Lawrence Atwell bequested to this Livery Company a row of small tenements with a adjoining small parcel of ground.
The Skinners' Arms was tied to Courage's Alton brewery. London brewer Courage expanded into the Hampshire market town in 1903, when it acquired G & E Hall's brewery. Actually this was the company's first venture outside London. By then Hall's brewery supplied around 20,000 barrels a year to public houses in and around Alton as well as in London but Courage came with ambitious plans. The company contracted William Bradford & Sons to design a new brewery, able to produce 50,000 barrels a year. Courage's Alton brewery, a model of the genre, opened in 1904. Over the following decades the site was enlarged and production increased. By the late 1920s it reached 120,000 barrels a year. Courage continued brewing in Alton until 1969, when it converted the brewery into a canning and kegging plant. Ten years later the site was sold to Bass who demolished the old buildings and opened new brewing facilities. Nowadays the brewery belongs to Molson Coors Brewing Company (UK) Ltd.

Courage Alton

The Skinners' Arms

Ales & Stouts

Courage Alton
The Skinners' Arms
Ales & Stouts
Location: Church Stret, Godalming, Surrey / Pictures taken on: 02/05/2011

Sächsische Malzfabrik, Bad Sulza

2011-09-02T09:08:00.005+01:00

As the name of the town suggests, much of the activity in Bad Sulza revolves around its mineral waters and the benefits they bring to one's health. Yet a few industries developed during the 19th century in this little town surrounded by agricultural land, 22 km northeast of Weimar. One of these was a malt factory, founded in 1864 by Ludwig Groß, an entrepreneur from Leipzig, who also opened the 'Hotel zum Großherzog von Sachsen' near the town's train station. The malt factory with its distinctive square tower was built near the River Ilm and in the proximity of the Erfurt-Halle railway line. Very little information about its history is available other than in 1912 the factory was bought by Robert Deinhardt, the owner of Weimar's brewery. This made him the largest malt producer in the region.
As for the Sächsische Malzfabrik (Saxon Malt Factory), it was founded on 29th January 1889 in the industrial district of Plauen in Dresden. Once more I haven't found much about this company. It seems it remained in private hands until the early 1950s but was certainly taken over by the East German authorities afterwards.

Looking at the ghost sign on the tower, I would assume the Sächsische Malzfabrik bought at some point the Bad Sulza malt factory from the brewing business controlled by Robert Deinhardt or, following his death in 1937, his family. However that may be totally wrong.

Sächsische Malzfabrik [Saxon Malt Factory]
...
Bad Sulza
Unfortunately I haven't been able to decipher what was written between "Malzfabrik" and "Bad Sulza."

Location: Bergstraße, Bad Sulza, Thüringen / Pictures taken on: 23/04/2010

Dubonnet, Pons

2011-09-01T07:29:00.007+01:00

Rue George Clémenceau may be a quiet dead end street now but until a few decades ago it was the main thoroughfare through the historic little town of Pons in France. The street follows the course of the Saintes-Bordeaux road originally built by the Romans. Since the Middle Ages it has been part of the Via Turonensis, one of the four French Ways of St James (the one that goes from Paris to the Pyrenees, and passes, as the name indicates, by Tours). In 1160 Geoffroy III, lord of Pons, built a hospice where pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela could rest and recover. The different parts of the hospice extend on either side of the road while the central building, resting on three bays, spans the road. Eight centuries later cars had replaced pilgrims in a street that had become part of the Nationale 137, the trunk road running from Saint-Malo in Brittany to Bordeaux via Rennes, Nantes, La Rochelle and Saintes. This explains why advertising agencies bought or rented spaces on several properties along its course and painted large signs on the gables. Needless to say, at peak times traffic didn't flow steadily through Pons. The streets were narrow and cars could barely pass each others under the arches of the hospice. That gave car drivers ample time to take in the names of alcohols, lubricants, and of other products and services promoted on the town's buildings. As for lorries they had to follow a diversion. This lasted until the opening of the Pons bypass in the 1970s. Traffic through town declined and the advertising spaces on the walls of houses ceased to attract new adverts. As a result several painted signs can still be seen in town, including the one below for the well-known aperitif Dubonnet. A French classic!

Actually it is a double Dubonnet. The original sign covered the entire gable. It was partly covered when a much smaller sign was painted on the part of the gable closer to the road. Was this because something obstructed the view of the original sign? Or did Dubonnet want to have its name on a newer red background (as in Montrichard) instead of the traditional blue background but was unwilling to pay for a whole wall?

Dubonnet
Vin tonique au quinquina
[Dubonnet
Tonic Wine With Cinchona]
The smaller and more recent Dubonnet sign was painted just above a billboard which has now disappeared.

In 1998 the hospice was listed and was one of the 71 monuments added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites under the description Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. A restoration campaign followed and to prevent any careless driver from damaging the structure, including the Romanesque portal, and make the visit more pleasant, the street was blocked. What used to be a major thoroughfare is now a dead end street and only visitors to the hospice may notice this ghost sign!

Location: Rue George Clémenceau, Pons, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 19/08/2011

Western's Laundry, Crouch Hill

2011-08-31T13:47:00.006+01:00

This ghost sign has been slowly fading away but when freshly painted it would certainly have caught the attention of the passing public with its modern design and its deep blue frame, a colour that matched the ultramarine tiles used on the front of the laundries (unfortunately these and the chrome lettering are long gone).
From the few pieces of information I could find, it seems Western's Laundries Ltd was founded during the first decade of the 20th century. By the 1960s, if not earlier, it had become part of the Sunlight group. Its laundries, located in north London, remained open until the 1980s.

Western's
Laundry
Service & ...
Every ...
...
A white band with the letters "has a" is wrapped around the first letter of 'Service.' Was this part of the Western's Laundry sign or of an earlier one?

Location: Middle Lane Mews / Picture taken on: 19/10/2010

Dorking Aerated, Dorking

2011-08-30T12:00:00.003+01:00

With the second line of this ghost sign missing -and possibly more- the nature of the business advertised on this wall remains a mystery. What could be "aerated"? My first thought was bread -because of the Aerated Bread Company- but since it is painted on what looks like an industrial building, I don't think this was the case. Aerated water? Aerated concrete? Whenever I'm in Dorking, it's at the end of a walk through the beautiful Surrey Hills and by then the local museum is closed. Maybe one day I should pass there before heading for the countryside and check if they don't have any information about this ghost sign.

Dorking Aerated
M...
Location: Ranmore Road, Dorking, Surrey / Picture taken on: 27/02/2011

Garage, Tonnay-Charente

2011-08-26T19:57:00.007+01:00

Yesterday, before catching a plane back to London, I stopped in the little town of Tonnay-Charente, on the northern bank of, you've guessed it, the River Charente. As I walked through the quiet streets I discovered several ghost signs, including the ones below, which may not be with us for much longer. As stated on the notice displayed on the door, this former garage has been bought and will be converted into flats. I doubt the property developers will keep these painted signs on the façade.

Automobiles
Cofran
Lubrifiants
Garage de l'Hotel de Ville
Mécanique
Tôlerie
Peinture
Since this garage was located exactly in front of the townhall, its owners didn't have to search for too long for a name.

The paint is cracking nicely and in spite of the passing of time the blue hasn't lost its depth. A lovely sign!

Even though the last letters of the ghost sign between the shutters have disappeared (they must have been painted on the shutter), one can easily recognise the logo of Cofran. Cofran lubricants have been manufactured since 1936 and the company is now one of the the world leading independent lubricant manufacturer.

Slightly more difficult to read was Automobiles, painted between the first and the second floors.

Location: Rue Alsace-Lorraine, Tonnay-Charente, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 25/08/2011

R. C. Evans, Catford

2011-08-15T16:55:00.003+01:00

This ghost sign for this butcher was painted twice. Although the text remained the same, the original design was slightly different: key words stood out thanks to their red shadows while the other ones were written in italic.

R. C. Evans
Family
Butcher
Purveyor of
English
& Scotch
Meat
Finest Quality
Lowest Prices
Location: Sangley Road / Picture taken on: 23/07/2009

Unidad básica Joaquín de Agüero, Camaguey

2011-08-12T08:01:00.006+01:00

On 12th August 1851, Joaquín de Agüero and three of his companions, Tomás Betancourt, Fernando de Zayas and Miguel Benavides, were executed by firing squad in the city of Puerto Príncipe (nowadays Camaguey), in central Cuba. The previous day they had been sentenced to death by the Spanish colonial authorities.
Joaquín de Agüero may not be the most famous hero in the struggle for Cuban independence but some of his actions are worth remembering. Born in 1816 in Puerto Príncipe in a family of small landowners, Agüero was sent at the age of 21 by his father to Havana to study law but returned two years later because of his father's ill health. His father died shortly afterwards and at the end of 1840 Joaquín de Agüero inherited the family's farms and six slaves. Two years later he founded the first free school in Guáimaro, a town of a few hundred souls about 70 km southwest of Puerto Príncipe. If the authorities thanked him for his action, they became extremely concerned when, on 3rd February 1843, he freed his eight slaves and gave each of them a plot of land they could cultivate and earn a living from. At the time pressure was mounting to abolish slavery but the Spanish authorities and large landowners were firmly opposed to such a measure. In that context, Agüero's decision was perceived as a grave offense against property, reason and justice and he was summoned by the governor of Puerto Príncipe to explain his action. Fearing for himself and his family, he left for the United States a few months later but, homesick, returned to Cuba after three months.
Back on the island, Agüero spent most of the time at El Redentor, his farm near Guáimaro, and became increasingly involved in the underground independence movements. By 1849 he was a leading member of Puerto Príncipe's Sociedad Libertadora, whose aim was to organize an armed uprising. This took place on the 4th July 1851 in San Francisco de Juracal, near Guáimaro. Agüero and his followers published a declaration rejecting Spanish authority and demanding independence before heading towards the more remote part of the region. Yet the forty-man strong force was badly organized and inexperienced in military matters. Hunted by Spanish troops, they were rapidly defeated. Agüero was betrayed and arrested on his way to Puerto Príncipe, from where he was hoping to reach the coast and escape to the US (*).

Following the independence several streets, avenues, squares and schools were named after Joaquín de Agüero. In Castrist Cuba, where many shops and companies have adopted the names of some of the island's leading figures, the name of Agüero is also associated in his hometown with a collective catering enterprise that offers, according to the painted sign below, sandwiches, drinks and enormous ice creams!

Empresa alimentación colectiva
Unidad básica Joaquín de Agüero
*: in spite of having "Puerto" in its name, in the 19th century Puerto Príncipe was nowhere near the coast. Originally, when it was founded in 1514 as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, it stood on the northern coast of Cuba, near present-day Nuevitas. However because of repeated attacks the site of the settlement was changed a couple of times before the inhabitants moved inland in 1528, halfway between the Atlantic Ocean to the north and the Caribbean Sea to the south. The name was later shortened to Puerto Príncipe. The city was renamed Camaguey in 1898 when Cuba gained independence from Spain.

Location: Avenidad de los Martires, Camaguey / Picture taken on: 30/03/2010

Dining rooms, Battersea

2011-08-10T17:39:00.004+01:00

By the end of the 1870s, London had an estimated 600 dining rooms. Some simply stated it on their front window, as in this picture taken in Brentford High Street, while others painted it in large letters across their façade.

Dining Rooms
Location: Queenstown Road / Picture taken on: 10/10/2008

T. Harry, Stoke Newington

2011-08-06T17:58:00.002+01:00

I don't have much to tell about T. Harry's business. Were these depositories used mainly by individuals or by the many industries that opened along Manor Road from the end of the 19th century? Over the years these included, among others, a drain pipe manufacturer, jam manufacturers (including D. Politi's company, which in the 1920s began making apparently good Turkish Delights), a large number of clothing manufacturers (including the London Shirt and Collar Dressing Co), several garages, a printer, and makers of cycles and umbrellas.
Although this ghost sign is very simple, it displays a rather unusual abbreviation: "C^es."

T. Harry & C^es
Depositories
Location: Manor Road / Picture taken on: 01/04/2008

Millicent, Soho

2011-08-05T19:50:00.002+01:00

I was lucky the door of this building was open, otherwise I would have missed this doorstep mosaic. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly in which street it was: Noel Street, Berwick Street, D'Arblay Street or Wardour Street.

Location: - / Picture taken on: 14/08/2008

Boots, Fulham

2011-08-03T17:32:00.004+01:00

Given its style, this ghost sign certainly advertised footwear rather than Boots the chemist. This may be confirmed the day the wooden sign goes: the very end of a word can be seen at the same level as "Pretty."

Boots
Location: Dawes Road / Picture taken on: 17/04/2008

Pither, Wokingham

2011-08-02T17:25:00.008+01:00

The shop is gone, but Pither's ghost sign still dominates the main street of the small Berkshire town of Wokingham.

I haven't found when this butcher's opened but in the 1860s, James Pither, who was the landlord of the public house The Swan in nearby Arborfield, also traded as a cattle dealer and as a butcher. Maybe he later moved to Wokingham or someone from his family did. In any case a postcard of Broad Street from c. 1919 shows the painted sign was already there. In 1932, his name appeared in the following notice published in The Meat Trades' Journal and Cattle Salesman's Gazette. The Organ of the British, Colonial, and Foreign Live Stock and Dead Meat Trades:

S. A. Pither, Ltd, 15 Borad-street, Wokingham, Berks--To carry on the business of butchers, meat salesmen, etc. Nominal capital: £1,000 in £1 shares. Permanent directors: S. A. Pither, 15 Borad-street, Wokingham, Berks (mang. dir.): Mrs. L. Pither, 15 Broad-street, Wokingham, Berks

Nine years later, on 18 July 1941, The London Gazette announced that

ALL persons having claim against the estate of Thomas Ballard Pither late of Number 22 Broad Street, Wokingham in the county of Berks retired Butcher (who died on the 27th day of January 1941; and whose Will together with a Codicil thereto was proved by Alan Howard Perkins and Herbert Bernard Jones the executors therein named on the i8th day of April 1941 in the Principal Probate Registry) are required to send particulars thereof to the undersigned on or before the 3oth September 1941, after which date the executors will proceed to distribute the estate having regard only to the claim of which they shall then have had notice.—Dated this i4th day of July, 1941.

Did the shop close when T. B. Pither retired or did it remain open for a few more years before falling victim to the competition of supermarkets?

Pither
English Meat Purveyor
The ghost sign can be seen on this picture taken c. 1955.

Location: Broad Street, Wokingham, Berkshire / Picture taken on: 31/07/2011

Furniture factory, Istanbul

2011-07-28T15:30:00.001+01:00

Part of this post was rewritten following the comment left by Bert.

As today marks the second anniversary of this blog I thought I ought to post something special. That's why we are heading once more towards Istanbul for one of these rather exceptional ghost signs I mentioned in my first post about the city's painted signs.
Contrary to the Konica Minolta sign or the Karbosan, Oerlikon and Teka palimpsest, which occupy prominent positions and are relatively recent, this one is in a narrow street that climbs from the neighbourhood of Tophane on the Bosphorus shore to İstiklâl Caddesi, the famous avenue that runs through the upper part of the Beyoğlu district (formerly called Cadde-i Kebir, it used to be better known to foreigners by its French name, Grande Rue de Pera). It is also much older and may even date from the time when the city was still called Constantinople (the name was officially changed in 1930).

Much more importantly, this ghost sign is a perfect illustration of the cosmopolitan character of the city at the time. Indeed this furniture factory belonged to A. Loucrezis, a member of the Greek community (here the latinized form of the name is spellt with a "c", although keeping the "k" as in Greek would have been certainly more correct), who advertised his trade in three languages, Ottoman Turkish, but using the Armenian script, Greek, and French.

ՄԷՖՐՕՒՁԱԹ ՖԱՊՐԻՔԱՍԸ

A. LOUCREZIS

A. ΛOUKPEZHΣ

...

ΕΡΓOΣTAXION
ΕΠIΠΛΩN

Thanks to its political, economic and religious importance, the capital of the Byzantine and then Ottoman empire attracted throughout much of its history people from across Europe, Asia, and north Africa, who settled alongside the Turkish and Greek populations. In the 19th century, the district of Beyoğlu (or Pera as it was known by then) became home to many Europeans traders, businessmen, and official representatives of foreign governments. French was at the time the international language par excellence and was often used to bridge the language barrier between communities. It was also the language of the elite: many Ottoman statesmen, educators, bureaucrats, and intellectuals were educated at the Lycée Impérial Ottoman de Galata-Sérai, in the heart of Beyoğlu, where courses were taught in French (some classes still are). Although French continued to be spoken during the first half of the 20th century, its use began to decline when foreign communities started to leave the city during and after the First World War. Thus even if Loucrezis's business was certainly relatively modest, it is not surprising to find that part of the sign was written in French.
Yet the two largest minorities in the city were the Greek and Armenian ones. According to official statistics published in 1914, more than 205,000 Greeks and almost 83,000 Armenians lived in the city, alongside more than 560,000 Muslims. A good proportion of them lived in the district of Beyoğlu. The working class neighbourhood of Tophane in particular was populated until the First World War mostly by Greeks and Armenians. This explains why the factory's sign was written in Greek and possibly why the Armenian script rather than the Turkish Ottoman script (based itself on the Arabic script) was used for the Turkish version as many of Loucrezis's customers would have belonged to these communities. Although there were differences between Turkish and the Armenian dialect spoken in Constantinople (itself a subdialect of Western Armenian), members of the Armenian community would have been able to read this painted sign. However it must be added that it was not uncommon for Turkish to be written using the Armenian script as the Ottoman Turkish script was relatively complex and Turks who did not receive a good education very often struggled to read it. Thus by resorting to the Armenian alphabet, Loucrezis killed two birds with one stone.

ՄԷՖՐՕՒՁԱԹ ՖԱՊՐԻՔԱՍԸ		A. LOUCREZIS
...

Converted to the romanized Turkish ortography this part of the sign, written using the Armenian script, reads Mefruşat Fabrikası, which translates as "Furniture Factory" (many thanks to Bert for providing the translation).
Unfortunately what was written underneath the window has faded far too much to be able to read anything. I can't even tell which language was used but I would assume it was once more Turkish written with Armenian letters.

A. LOUCREZIS		A. ΛOUKPEZHΣ
ΕΡΓOΣTAXION ΕΠIΠΛΩN

This part of the sign shows the name of the owner written in both Latin and Greek letters, while the Greek inscription underneath the window can be translated as "Furniture Factory."

ΕΡΓOΣTAXION
ΕΠIΠΛΩN

[Furniture
Factory]

For the French part of the sign, which is slightly longer than its Turkish and Greek counterparts, one has to look at the left door jamb.

Fabrique
et
dépôt
de
meubles

[Furniture
Factory
and
Depository]

Something was also written on the right door jamb but it has faded too much to be able to decipher anything.

Unfortunately I haven't found any information about Loucrezis's furniture factory. It would have been interesting to find out when the factory closed and in which circumstances. Did the owner retire and nobody took over? Did he go bankrupt, and why? Or was he forced to leave the city?
Indeed in the first decade of the 20th century, several nationalist movements, including the Young Turks, started 'encouraging' non-ethnic Turks to leave the country. The assets of those who left were usually transferred to the Turkish bourgeoisie. Although several minorities were affected, given its size, the Greek community of Istanbul felt originally relatively secure. The situation worsened during the First World War, the ensuing Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, and following the establishment of the Turkish republic, when hundreds of thousands of Greeks were massacred, executed, or deported. In 1923 the two countries signed the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations", which only ratified what had already happened and was still continuing on the ground. Within a few years, around 1.5 million Orthodox Greeks and half a million Muslims voluntarily or forcibly left Turkey and Greece respectively. The criteria weren't ethnic but religious. Given the religious importance of Istanbul for Orthodox Greeks though, the community of the city was excluded from the agreement but even for these, living and economic conditions deteriorated. Many members of the different minorities felt intimidated or pressured and progressively left Beyoğlu, where they were replaced by ethnic Turks from Anatolia. Some resettled elsewhere in the city but many left Turkey altogether. The economic situation of minorities deteriorated further following the adoption by parliament in 1932 of a law that banned foreigners from 30 professions. As a result 5,000 Greeks left Turkey within one year. Since carpentry was one of the occupations included in the list, it is possible Loucrezis was forced to shut his factory down. In 1935 a law forced Turkish citizens to adopt a surname, and on this occasion non-ethnic Turks were encouraged to take Turk-sounding names. In the case of the Greeks, they were asked to drop the endings in "-dis" or "-poulos". Other measures that increased pressure on minorities included the obligation in 1938 for all inhabitants of the country to speak Turkish in public, bans on their cultural activities, or the replacement of teachers in their schools. In 1942, as the economic downturn caused by the Second World War left a hole in the country's finances, the government introduced the Valig Vergisi, a wealth tax that only affected non-Muslim minorities and aimed at ending the quasi-monopoly of the non-Muslim bourgoisie on the economy.
Yet events took a more dramatic turn in September 1955, when, following an attack on the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki (it was later proven that the bomb had been planted by a Turkish nationalist), groups of Turkish nationalists attacked properties of the Greek and other non-Muslim communities in Istanbul and Izmir. In two days, 16 Greeks died and dozens were wounded. Seventy-three Greek Orthodox churches, one synagogue, eight chapels and two monasteries were devastated. A total of 5,538 properties were sacked, burnt and destroyed, 3,584 of which belonged to Greeks. Between 50 and 200 women (the figures vary) were assaulted or raped. Was it in the aftermath of these dramatic events that Loucrezis's factory closed? Or did he stay and tried to survive in spite of the boycott of Greek businesses organised by several nationalist movements? Nine years later, 12,000 Greeks who didn't hold a Turkish passport were deported. Between 1955 and 1965, the Greek community of Istanbul shrank from between 80,000 and 100,000 to 48,000. More left in 1974-75 when the conflict in Cyprus re-ignited tensions between communities in Turkey. By 1978 it is estimated 7,000 Greeks lived in Istanbul. At present, around 2,500 still live there. Maybe one is a descendant of A. Loucrezis.

Given the political upheavals of the past century, it is quite astonishing that this ghost sign survived. Let's hope it will still be with us for decades to come.

Location: Kumbaraci Yokuşu, Beyoğlu, Istanbul / Pictures taken on: 17/06/2011

J. Girling & Sons, Leyton

2011-07-27T12:47:00.004+01:00

According to a 1952 issue of The Estates Gazette, auctioneers J. Girling & Sons had their main office on High Road, Woodford Green, a couple of miles north of this ghost sign. Did the auctioneering firm have a branch in Leyton? Maybe there was more information on the part of the wall now painted in white?
If the firm's name is rather plain, the downstrokes and upstrokes of "Auctioneers" really catch one's attention.

J. Girling & Sons
Auctioneers
Location: Balmoral Road / Picture taken on: 15/05/2011

The Wessex Hotel, Gloucester

2011-07-26T10:06:00.011+01:00

The
Wessex
Hotel
Located near Gloucester stations (*), the Wessex was one of several hotels catering essentially for rail passengers and one can imagine many commercial travellers stayed there. However, with stations and goods depots nearby, the Wessex and its immediate competitors were certainly not for light sleepers!

The part of the city to the northeast of the former city walls, between Eastgate and the market, experienced a period of rapid development from the 1830s onward, fuelled by the development of Gloucester as an industrial centre and the subsequent increase of its population. The opening of the city's first railway station on land near the cattle market in 1840 accelerated the growth of the area. The Wellington Hotel opened shortly afterwards opposite the station and, just across the road, the Gloucester Hotel welcome its first customers in 1854. The two were then joined by the Spread Eagle Hotel (however it closed in 1898 and was converted into the YMCA). Station Road (formerly Market Street), which ran for most of its course alongside the Midland Railway's goods depot, was one of the last roads to be developed but the opening of the Midland Railway station at its eastern end in 1896 led to the construction of several prominent buildings, including the Royal Hotel in 1898 opposite the newly-built station, and in 1903, next to the 1895 County Chambers, the Wessex Hotel with its distinctive ground floor façade of green glazed tiles.

The manicule pointing to the hotel has badly faded
It seems the Wessex Hotel closed down towards the end of the Second World War. Its owner(s) had the property valued in 1944-45 with a view to selling it. The building subsequently housed several offices, while the ground floor is now home to an Indian restaurant.

For those who missed the painted sign, the name of the hotel was also inscribed above the entrance door.

*: the development of railways in Gloucester is relatively complex. By the time the Wessex Hotel opened in 1903, the city had two stations linked by a footbridge: one for the Great Western Railway and one for the Midland Railway (in 1951 they were renamed Gloucester Central and Gloucester Eastgate respectively). Eastgate closed in December 1975 and all services that used it were rerouted to Gloucester Central. The latter was redeveloped a couple of years later and is the station currently in use.

Location: Station Road / Clarence Street / Pictures taken on: 24/07/2010

H. Callcut & Son, Finsbury Park

2011-07-20T07:01:00.003+01:00

This ghost sign is in such a good state that one can wonder if it hasn't been restored. Of course the other possiblity is that it is rather recent. In any case, H. Callcut & Son doesn't seem to be trading at this address anymore.

Decorators H. Callcut & Son.
Roof & Drain Work Sanitary Plumbing		Paperhanging Whitewashing & General Repairs

The scroll on which Callcut is written is certainly unusual but I think a better effect would have been achieved if it hadn't been so perfectly symetrical. However the different letterings used to list Callcut's specialist work are particularly elegant. Together with the embellishing decorative lines, they really make the lower part of this ghost sign very special.

Location: Blackstock Road / Pictures taken on: 01/04/2008 and 06/04/2011

Woolverton & Co, New Cross

2011-07-19T08:06:00.006+01:00

Woolverton & Co was only one of the businesses set up by wine merchant Charles Frederick Forbes Buckingham. In all likelihood Buckingham was born in 1870 and baptised on the 28th July of that year at St Mary's Church, Lewisham. He died on 19th September 1939. A few weeks later, on 24th November, The London Gazette published the following notice:

CHARLES FREDERICK FORBES BUCKINGHAM,
Deceased.
Pursuant to the Trustee Act, 1925.
NOTICE is hereby given that all persons having any debts claims or demands against the estate of Charles Frederick Forbes Buckingham late of 25 Sydenham Hill London Wine Merchant and lately carrying on business under the style of Woolverton & Co. at 183 Lewisham High Road London and under the style of the Anchor Stores at 282 High Road Wood Green London who died intestate on the 19th September 1939 and of whose estate letters of administration were on the 7th November 1939 granted to Katie Evelyn Buckingham and John Villiers Forbes Buckingham out of the Principal Probate Registry are hereby required to send written particulars thereof to the undersigned on or before the 3rd February 1940 after which date the said estate will be distributed having regard only to the claims then notified.—Dated this
16th day of November 1939.
SANDOM KERSEY and TILLEARDS, 12, Deptford High Street, S.E.8, Solicitors (089) for the said Administrators.

What happened to Woolverton & Co following Buckingham's death? The name suggests he had some partners but whether they kept the business going is unknown.

Wollverton & Co
Wine & Spirit
Merchants
Location: Lewisham Way / Picture taken on: 23/07/2009

Bevin, Bevin & Co, Arundel

2011-07-18T10:37:00.007+01:00

A wholesaler of kitchen and other household goods, Bevin, Bevin & Co was founded in the ealy 1950s. Unfortunately since the company's doesn't have its own website and only its address appears online, I don't have more information about it.

Bevin, Bevin & C^o. L^td.
However the buildings occupied by Bevin, Bevin & Co have an interesting history as they were originally part of the Eagle Brewery. There are some uncertainties regarding the early history of the brewery. It appears to have been founded in the late 1720s or early 1730s. In the late 1820s (possibly 1828) it was taken over by Puttock & Co, who had tied houses in Arundel, Littlehampton, Angmering and certainly a few other places across Sussex. A few years later, in 1832, it passed into the hands of Robert Watkins, the agent of the Duke of Norfolk. One could easily imagine there were not only economic but also political reasons behind this acquisition. Indeed the owner of Arundel Castle was also the local MP and his main opponent at parliamentary elections was George Constable, who owned the Swallow Brewery, Arundel's other brewery, and controlled six public houses in the town. Between 1839 and 1871 the Eagle Brewery was tenanted to William Osborn and William Duke. In 1872 the brewery and its 22 tied housed passed into the hands of Henry Harrison. Six years later it was acquired by Isaac Cowley Lambert and Edward Thomas Norris, who founded around 1882 Lambert & Co. By 1898 the company changed its name to Lambert & Norris Ltd. Under Lambert & Norris's ownership, the number of pubs tied to the Eagle Brewery increased to 81 but in spite of this apparent success, difficult times laid ahead. By the turn of the 20th century sales of beer were declining as more and more people were switching to water and several breweries went through hard times. This precipitated a wave of amalgations and take overs in which small players in the brewing industry became preys for larger companies. In 1910 Lambert & Norris's brewery and pubs were taken over by Friary, Holroyd & Healys Brewery Ltd of Guildford, the forerunners of Friary Meux Ltd. The new owners continued to produce beer in Arundel for about 25 more years (although according to some sources it stopped c. 1915) but by the late 1930s, all brewing activity had ceased and the site became used as a depot only. Nowadays, apart from the buildings between Tarrant Street and River Road bought by Bevin, Bevin & Co, traces of the Eagle Brewery can be seen in Tarrant Street. At one end of a row of houses once owned by the brewery the pub The Eagle is still open to customers, while at the opposite end, the inscription "Eagle Brewery Offices" can still be seen on the façade.

Location: Brewery Hill, Arundel, West Sussex / Picture taken on: 11/07/2010

News of the World, Seven Sisters and Croydon

2011-07-17T07:09:00.003+01:00

Read
The

News

Of
The

World

Best
Sunday
Paper

Location: West Green Road / Picture Taken on: 04/06/2008

Enamel signs don't fall within the limits set by the title of this blog but I couldn't resist celebrating the first Sunday without one of Britain's crappiest tabloids, News of the World (for a painted sign, check this picture taken around 1912). Founded in 1843 this weekly publication quickly specialised in reporting crimes and titillating the lowest instincts of its readers (anything that involved sex was always good enough). Rupert Murdoch's acquisition of the title in 1969 didn't lead to any improvement of its contents, far from it. Much has been written lately about the very dodgy, if not illegal, methods used by the paper to get its scoops and which led to its demise. Unfortunately there are still many rags of the same kind out there.

Tullett's
Newsagent . Tobacconist
Confectioner
Order Here
News
Of The
World
Best Sunday Paper
Location: Surrey Street / Picture taken on: 17/06/2008

Local Arms China, Kingston

2011-07-16T07:03:00.001+01:00

Here is a most intriguing sign, or rather name: "Local Arms China". What could that have been? A souvenir shop maybe, as "Picture Postcards" could suggest? I once headed to the local library, hoping to find a mention or a picture of that particular shop, but I had to give up after going through the whole local history shelf. So here I am, still scatching my head everytime I'm Kingston and pass in front of this building. If anyone could help, that would be most appreciated. Otherwise I'll go bold very soon!

Picture Postcards
Local Arms China
Location: Clarence Street / Picture taken on: 08/09/2008

Launderette, Golders Green

2011-07-14T09:52:00.004+01:00

Once again I haven't found any information about the business advertised through this ghost sign.

Actually the wall was painted on two occasions. The original ghost sign read:First
National
Cleaners
Cleaning
LaunderetteIt is possible it extended onto the lower part of the wall.

On the more recent ghost sign the name of the owners has disappeared, the focus being on the service provided:

28 min.		Double Wash
Launderette
28 min.		Self Service
Dry Cleaning

The opening times (7 am - ... pm) are now hidden by the growing thujas.

Location: Golders Green Road / Picture taken on 21/06/2011

Tailor, Meissen

2011-07-13T10:14:00.004+01:00

While the previous sign seen along Talstraße in Meissen was a really amazing palimpsest, this one is much simpler. It certainly dates from the late GDR period.

Damen u. Herrenmaßschneiderei
[Bespoke Tailoring for Ladies and Gentlemen]
Location: Talstraße, Meissen, Sachsen / Pictures taken on: 20/12/2009

Brymay, Acton

2011-07-12T14:04:00.000+01:00

Construction on the site of the former Acton tram depot is progressing and very soon the Brymay sign below will disappear.

The design of this post-WW2 ghost sign for Bryant & May, the country's leading manufacturer of matches, is virtually similar to the one in New Cross.

Brymay
Safety
Matches
Although the upper part has now faded too much, one can assume the slogan "British Matches For British Homes" stood above the Brymay logo.

Location: Uxbridge Road / Picture taken on: 11/07/2011

Bad news from Chiswick

2011-07-12T12:53:00.004+01:00

Unfortunately the ghost sign for Berger's Magicote at the corner of Chiswick High Road and Thornton Road has been completely obliterated.

Below is a detail of this sign showing the two pots of of Berger One-Coat Magicote Gloss.

Picture taken on: 22/05/2008

Winsor & Newton, Ealing

2011-07-11T09:39:00.005+01:00

Founded by William Winsor and Henry Newton, two keen painters from London, Winsor & Newton has been supplying artists, arts students and amateur painters with fine art materials since 1832. The company's website includes a comprehensive history and, for those who can't make it to Harrow, a tour of the factory and of the museum.

G. W. Joy
Agent For
Winsor &
Newton's
Artists Colours
& Materials
Traces of an earlier painted sign emerge here and there but I can't make anything out of the few letters I deciphered.

Location: Uxbridge Road / Picture taken on: 19/07/2008

The Royal Coffee & Dining Rooms, Holloway

2011-07-10T06:52:00.002+01:00

Such a grand name! Such a large ghost sign! But, sadly, these coffee and dining rooms don't seem to have left much of a trace, at least online.

Coffe & Dining Hillyard's Rooms
-------
The Royal
Coffee & Dining
Rooms
Location: Holloway Road / Picture taken on: 14/08/2008

Byrrh, Saintes

2011-07-09T06:30:00.002+01:00

That will be a double Byrrh! This is the second ghost sign for this aperitif made of dry wines from Languedoc-Roussillon, mistelles, and chinchona I came across in Saintes (for the other one, and more information about Byrrh, click here. For a better-preserved example, spotted in Cognac, click here).
Why two adverts for the same product on the same wall? There were two advantages to this: firstly the repetition had a greater impact on the passing public, and secondly it prevented Byrrh's competitors from advertising their drinks next to it. Indeed there was always the risk that a competitor's sign would be more eye-catching, although in that case the white letters on red background were certainly unmissable.

Byrrh
Vin Tonique
Byrrh
Vin apéritif au quinquina
Note the last line was written across the lower part of the second "Byrrh."
It looks as if the upper Byrrh ghost sign could have been painted on two occasions.

As for the lower one, it was covered at some point by another advert.

Some letter can still be deciphered here and there but not enough to make any sense of it:Voila
...anau...
Location: Rue Saint-Eutrope, Saintes, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 29/01/2011

Furlongs, Woolwich

2011-07-08T08:14:00.004+01:00

Furlong has been a familiar name in Woolwich since the early 19th century. Indeed, over the years, the Furlongs have been running many businesses, essentially in Powis Street. William Archdeacon's Greenwich & Woolwich directory for 1852 shows John and James Furlong working as auctioneers, house and estate agents, valuers and undertakers, cabinetmakers, and agents to the General Fire and Life Office.
The venture into the car business only began in the late 1940s or early 1950s. The website of Furlongs (motor engineer) Ltd claims "Yup, Still here after 60 years..." This is supported by a few lines in the 26 March 1952 issue of Motor in which one could read that Furlongs Ltd carried out repairs and sold spares for all models of cars, and that they also specialised in caravan chassis, axle, legs, and tow bracketts. The 1950s were certainly good years for Furlongs. The economy was growing and the number of cars on the roads was increasing steadily. As a result, the journal The Autocar could write in 1957 that

Mr. C. H. Singer has been appointed general manager of Furlongs, Ltd, 160, Powis Street, Woolwich, London, S.E. 18. He was formerly sales manager of University Motors, Ltd. At the present time Furlongs, who are Rover main agents, are building considerable extensions to their premises.

A picture taken c. 1965 shows Furlongs' showrooms on Powis Street. These are long gone and other businesses occupy the premises on Powis Street. However Furlongs retained the buildings at the back, between Powis Street and Woolwich High Street, which they use as off-street car parks. Nowadays the only cars sold by Furlongs are second-hand ones. Together with servicing, MOT, and car wash, it constitutes its core business.

Furlongs

Customers
& Callers

Only

To Thoroughfare
Spares Petrol
Shop & Exit
Location: Woolwich High Street / Pictures taken on: 13/05/2011

K & M Larn, Tufnell Park

2011-07-07T08:07:00.002+01:00

In the late 19th and early 20th century women of Tufnell Park and around could acquire a whole range of clothes, accessories, and cloth at K. & M. Larn's.

K. & M. Larn
Fancy Work
Overalls
Blouses
Corsets
Gloves
Hosiery
Laces
Ribbons
Haberdashery
Flannels
Flannelettes
Calicoes
Underclothing
Maids' Dresses
Caps & Aprons
At the time, flannels would have been made exclusively of carded wool or worsted yarn. The great demand for this kind of cloth led to the creation of flannelettes, made of napped cotton. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica the word appeared in the 1880s. Although the texture was similar, at equivalent prices, flannelettes were usually of better quality than flannels.

Location: York Rise / Picture taken on: 14/08/2009

Karbosan, Oerlikon and Teka, Istanbul

2011-07-06T06:31:00.000+01:00

This must be Istanbul's most photographed ghost sign as it appears pretty much on any picture taken from the Galata Bridge of the Galata Tower rising above the Golden Horn. Yet in spite of its prime location few people may notice it because there is so much around to distract one's attention.

Additionally the fact that the name of one of the companies advertised there is written sideways doesn't help.

Karbosan
Oerlikon [written sideways]
Founded in 1967, Karbosan is a Turkish manufacturer of abrasive products.
As for Oerlikon, it is a Swiss corporation whose origins go back to 1907, the year the Schweizerische Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon (Swiss Power Tool Factory Oerlikon) opened in Zürich-Oerlikon. In 1937 it was bought by German industrialist Emil Georg Bührle and its name became Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon-Bührle & Co (Power Tool Factory Oerlikon-Bührle). In 1964 it was shortened to Oerlikon-Bührle. In the 1960s and 1970s the company diversified its production and portfolio by purchasing several companies involved in a wide ranging of sectors, from shoes and textile to hotels and real estate. By 1973 the group was composed of more than 100 companies. That year it went public and began trading as Oerlikon-Bührle Holding AG. However the group was restructured in the late 1990s after the military equipment branch incurred heavy losses in the late 1980s and 1990s. Under-performing and loss-making branches were sold off, including Bally Shoe (which it had bought in 1977), Oerlikon Contraves (armaments), Pilatus Aircraft, Britten-Norman Aircraft, as well as those involved in hotels and real estate. From then on the group concentrated essentially on new technologies. In order to reflect this major development the name was changed to Unaxis in 2000. In 2005 the Austrian Victory Industriebeteiligung AG acquired a majority of shares and one year later the name was changed to OC Oerlikon to reflect its origins.
The sign must date from the time of Oerlikon-Bührle Holding AG.

For several years these painted signs were hidden behind a large billboard advertising Teka's kitchen appliances. It was removed only recently.

As one crosses the Galata Bridge and approaches the northern shore of the Golden Horn, it appears the eastern side of this building is also covered with ghost signs.

However one has to cross the bridge and walk along Tersane Caddesi to get a better view and realise what a palimpsest this wall is.

Oerlikon
...ayman elktrod..r
...
...
Karbosan
Teka
The Teka group specializes in domestic and professional equipment for the kitchen and bathroom, as well as stainless steel storage containers and electronics. The company was founded in 1957, although its origins can be traced back to the forge that operated in the 1920s in the village of Haiger-Sechshelden in Hessen. Teka was one of the first companies to use stainless steel to make sinks. Over the years it expanded its presence abroad and in 1990 opened an office in Istanbul.

My guess is that the different companies whose names appear on this building - Oerlikon, Kabosan and Teka, in chronological order - all had at some point their offices in this block.

As for the building itself, if it offers great opportunities in terms of advertising, working in it must be frustrating: in spite of its excellent location, its occupants can't enjoy the absolutely amazing view over the Golden Horn and, beyond, the historic centre of Istanbul. Instead their only windows face north and overlook a busy thouroughfare. Maybe whoever built this block didn't want office workers to be distracted?

Location: Tersane Caddesi, Beyoğlu, Istanbul / Pictures taken on: 17/06/2011

Rochester Co-operative Society, Rochester

2011-07-05T09:32:00.004+01:00

Founded in 1884, the Rochester Co-operative Society beginnings were humble. There is very little information about this particular component of the co-operative movement but the few documents available suggest it amalgated with other societies and changed its name accordingly. By the mid-1900s it had evolved into the Rochester and District Co-operative Society, before becoming in the early 1920s the Rochester and District Co-operative and Industrial Society Ltd.
In the mid-1920s the co-operative owned several oulets located at 21-27 and 33 High Street. Some of these were demolished and in 1928 a brand new department store was inaugurated. There, by the main entrance, the Co-operative proudly displayed its logo on a doorstep mosaic.

RCS
If the logo incorporated only the initials of the original co-operative society, its full name -Rochester and District Co-operative and Industrial Society Ltd- stretched along the façade as a picture taken c. 1955 shows.

Location: High Street, Rochester, Kent / Picture taken on: 26/06/2011

Update on Capons

2011-07-05T09:28:00.004+01:00

I've added some information about Capon, the butcher from Rochester, and two links to pictures taken c. 1955.

Player's please, Homerton

2011-07-04T18:06:00.005+01:00

In 1924 George Green, advertising manager at John Player & Son Ltd, came up with the slogan "Player's Will Please You", replaced later by "They're Player's and They Please." By the early 1930s Green shortened these rather ordinary slogans and launched the highly successful "Player's Please!" Not only this was short and catchy, but it could take two different meanings, depending on whether "please" was understood as a verb or an adverb. Indeed it could either suggest, as with the earlier versions, that Player's cigarettes would give the smoker pleasure (as well as bad breath and a few health problems including cancer) or it could be what a customer would say to a tobacconist. Additionally by using such a common sentence Green could appeal to virtually everybody (*). Thus this inclusive slogan, together with the familiar image of the Royal Navy sailor Hero, explained to a large extent the success of Player over its competitors during the interwar period and immediate aftermath of the Second World War.

*: however Player's cigarettes appealed more to middle-class southern England and never really conquered the north of Britain, where working classes preferred the Woodbine.

Player's
Please
Location: Kenney's Street / Picture taken on: 17/02/2010

Ferretería El Molino, Havana

2011-07-01T10:39:00.006+01:00

This large house in the centre of Havana was built in 1887 for one of the city's wealthy families. Living quarters were found on the first floor while the ground floor was rented out to different businesses. One of these was the ferretería, or ironmonger's shop, "El Molino" ("The Mill"), which at some point in the first quarter of the 20th century became a limited company under the name "Ferretería Molinos S. A."
The ferretería and the other shops closed a long time ago and in 1986 the Casa Museo de África opened within its walls.

Ferretería "Molinos S. A."

Ferretería

El Molino
...a..

Like many buildings in the historic centre of the Cuban capital, this house was wonderfully restored a few years ago by the Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad de La Habana, the institution in charge of the capital's heritage. In the process, some of the names of the shops that occupied the ground floor and adverts for the products they sold were uncovered and a team of specialists in preservation and restoration of mural paintings from the Oficina's Empresa de Restauración de Monumentos was called in.
There is some debate about whether ghost signs should be restored to their original design, preserved in their current state or left to fade away. In Cuba the authorities seem to have chosen not to restore them but to keep them in the state they are in when the building they are painted on is being restored. Thus only the treatment necessary to prevent further damage is normally applied.

The picture below has been created by stitching two photos.

Location: Calle Obrapía, Havana / Pictures taken on: 03/04/2010

Botes, Southwark

2011-06-29T07:57:00.004+01:00

Founded in 1972, Botes Builing Ltd undertook construction contracts, building repairs and maintenance. The company went into administration in 2006. This painted sign outside its London offices survived for a few years but has now disappeared.

Location: Park Street / Picture taken on: 10/04/2008