Mystery sign, Kathmandu

Mysterious sign by the entrance of a narrow passageway leading to a courtyard.

Location: Kathmandu

Sowden's, Calstock

A very faded ghost sign for a business by the name of Sowden's, painted over an earlier one for Walker.

Sowden's [painted over Walker]

Location: Commercial Road, Calstock, Cornwall

H. Jackson, Tottenham Hale

I don't have any information about the company H. Jackson & Co., whose depot was located in Tottenham Hale.

The position of the text of this ghost sign, in comparison to the white background is slightly odd. Indeed it leaves a large space to the left empty. Was something written there?

H. Jackson & Co
Depot Tottenham Hale.

Location: Hale Road / Pictures taken in February 2010

Ludstone and Son, Southwark

Earlier this week I noticed another ghost sign had disappeared under a coat of white paint (see yesterday's post), this time in Webber Street.

I have not found what kind of business Ludstone & Son was involved in. However the street number -96- tells us this ghost sign was painted in the late 1930s or later. Indeed the section of Webber Street between Blackfriars Road and the Southwark Bridge Road and Great Suffolk Street junction used to be called Friar Street and street numbers only went as far as 58 on the south side (where the building is located). Between 1936 and 1939 several streets around London changed names. In the case of Friar Street, it was incorprated into an extended Webber Street and house numbers were changed accordingly. This would have been when this building was allocated the number 96.

96 Ludstone & Son 96

Interestingly, while this part of London was already quite built up by the late 19th century, the small triangular plot of land between Rushworth Street and the railway viaduct was still unbuilt by 1915 if the edition of The Post Office London Directory published that year is to be believed.

Location: Webber Street / Picture taken in March 2009

Adams, Selhurst

What was Adams's activity? Not enough of this ghost sign has survived to be able to answer this question.

...
... Adams
... all for ... [him ?]

Adams's sign covers an earlier one, possibly for the same business.

Location: Selhurst Road / Pictures taken in August 2012

Wholesale and for exportation, Bethnal Green

If I discovered a new ghost sign while walking recently along Hackney Road (see yesterday's post), I also noticed that one had disappeared. As it was an overcast day I thought I could take a better picture than last year, when there was a strong contrast between the part of the wall in the shade and the part in the sun. However this was not to be: in November 2012 street artists Cept, BRK and SNOE painted a large mural on this wall and in the process covered the ghost sign.

Wholesale And For Exportation

The mural painted in November 2012. With such an explosion of colours and so much action going on, the street certainly does not looks dull!

With the name of the upper part the ghost sign missing, it is virtually impossible to tell which company was being advertised there. Unless someone remembers what the hidden part was or has a photo showing the whole sign. An online search revealed that the premises were once occupied by William Henry Bull, a leather merchant trading from various addresses in London, who was declared bankrupt in 1861, and by T. J. Orange & Sons Ltd, a furniture maker incorporated in 1946. Yet there must have been several firms at this address between the 1860s and the 1940s. It is also poosible, but less likely, that this ghost sign signalled to the passing public another company whose premises would have been further down Hassard Street, such as J. Jarvis, wholesale and export manufacturer and patentee of gentlemen's and ladies' lawn tennis and yachting shoes, based in the early 20th century at number 50.

Wholesale

And For

Exportation

Location: Hassard Street / Pictures taken in March 2012 and May 2013

And son, Birmingham

A building on Moseley Road, on the outskirts of Birmingham, has not one but two ghost signs, one on each side. The first one is the unique 75 year old sign for Butlin's holiday camp. As for the second one, so much of it has disappeared that it is impossible to link it to any business. The lettering, dark letters with a red shadow, would suggest it is even older than the Butlin's one but I cannot be sure.

...
& Son
C... ...
...e
Co...rn...
& H... ...
Of E...
...

Location: Moseley Road / Picture taken in May 2012

Vidal, Lille

Doorstep mosaics may be less frequent in France than in Britain but some good examples can still be seen around, like this one in the centre of Lille.

Location: Rue Saint-Nicolas, Lille, Nord / Picture taken in June 2012

Hales stores, Leytonstone

Whatever was sold at Hales Stores remains a mystery as I haven't found any document about this shop.
The manicule, which invited shoppers to go in, isn't particularly good: the index finger is too wide and too short compared to the thumb, and the length of its nail is quite impressive!

Location: High Road Leytonstone / Picture taken in May 2011

Gilbert, Holloway

I couldn't find any information about Gilbert, so what the firm imported is a mystery so far.

Gilbert
Importations
2 Hercules Place, N.7.
----->

Location: Hercules Place / Picture taken in April 2011

P. Devèze, Blaye

To conclude this series of French ghost signs spotted one day as we followed the northern bank of the River Dordogne and the Gironde estuary between Saint-André-de-Cubzac and Blaye, here is an example of a sign painted not on a wall but on wood.

With its wooden front and long windows behind which products would have been displayed, this is a typical 19th century French shop. Unfortunately I have not found what was once on offer at Devèze's.

P. Devèze

Location: Rue Saint-Simon, Blaye, Gironde / Pictures taken in May 2012

Limited, Exeter

The name of the company that owned the North Warehouse in Exeter was once painted on the outside wall. Yet contrary to the brick store on the opposite bank, where W. Hibberd & Co can still be read, there the ghost sign has faded too much to be legible.

The North Warehouse was built in the mid-19th century. It stands between the River Exe (on the pictures) and Exeter's Canal Basin and opens onto the latter. The basin opened in 1830, five years after work on the extension and widening of the Exeter Canal was completed.

In 1969 Exeter's Maritime Museum opened in the North Warehouse and the adjacent building but it closed down in 1997.

...

Unfortunately I haven't found any information about the previous occupiers of the building.

... Limited

Location: Haven Banks, Exeter, Devon / Pictures taken in April 2012

Major & Sons, Tiverton

The store may have changed hands but the lovely mosaic laid for Major & Sons still welcome customers. Nowadays they sell electrical appliances there but I have no idea what was on offer back then.

Location: Bridge Street, Tiverton, Devon / Picture taken in April 2012

Manufacturers, Exeter

Just off Fore Street in Exeter is a barely visible ghost sign for an unknown manufacturer of uncertain goods.

...es & Sons
.rake Manufacturers

Were they making brakes in this workshop? Or maybe just rakes? Over the years the building at the corner of Fore Street and Friernhay Street saw many different uses, from pub to store, and I have not found any information that could match what is left on the wall. Maybe someone will solve this mystery?

Location: Friernhay Street, Exeter, Devon / Pictures taken in April 2012

Quality and value, Battersea

This is something all customers like to hear or, in that case, read.

Quality
and Value
But what kind of products did this apply to? This is hard to tell since shops came and went, sometimes very rapidly (in the early 20th century the majority of shops in nearby Wimbledon failed to reach their first anniversary. Such a situation was certainly not unique). Between the end of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, at least a butcher, a provision merchant and the United Kingdom Tea Company traded from this address. I doubt the mosaic was laid by the latter though. A large company would rather have had its name written by the entrance and the slogan "quality and value" was not one used by "The 'Premier' Tea Merchant of the World."
In any case, the mosaic was attractive, and the message good and applicable to all kinds of businesses. That may explain why the subsequent owners of the premises kept it.

While looking for some information on that property, I came across the case of Herbert Hancock, who in 1908 was the manager of the Battersea Park Road branch of the United Kingdom Tea Company. Hancock was indicted for embezzlement, theft, and falsification of documents. He pleaded guilty to the latter charge, arguing he had falsified the books for fear of losing his job as business was bad, and was tried on the others. Although he was found not guilty on one account, his other crimes were considered serious enough to sentence him to six months' hard labour. The edited minutes of the case can be seen here (it starts towards the bottom of the page), here, and here.

Location: Battersea Park Road / Picture taken in March 2012

Kate Miller, Godalming

Unfortunately I haven't found any information about Kate Miller's shop. It was located in The Old House, a historic building she shared with other businesses. Part of the building appears often on old photographs but because most photographers stood on the same side of the street, they do not show enough of the façade to see what was on display in the front window.


Location: Church Street, Godalming, Surrey / Picture taken in May 2011

Dyson, Eton

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

Gordon, Highgate

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

Dorking Aerated, Dorking

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

Millicent, Soho

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