Cars wanted for cash, Southall

A modern sign that makes a relatively good use of different fonts. However I must admit the zigzagging lines on the sides make me think more of "crash" than "cash."

Cars
Wanted
For
Cash
Location: Wharncliffe Drive / Picture taken on: 19/07/2008

Mercerie - Bonneterie, Mortagne-sur-Gironde

Well before the door was blocked, this former little shop specialised in haberdashery and hosiery. Many traditional trades could be found along the main street of this village on the north bank of the Gironde estuary but they have all disappeared.

Mercerie - Bonneterie
Location: Grande Rue, Mortagne-sur-Gironde, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 07/06/2010

A Million Londoners, Tokyngton

Even though the lower part of this ghost sign has be painted over, it is still possible to recognise an advert for the London Co-operative Society (LCS). It is very different from the one in Walthamstow, with a strong emphasis on the number of people who owned and controlled it. The LCS brought together several co-operative societies. In 1921, one year after its formation, it had nearly 100,000 members. By 1928, following the absorbtion of several societies, its membership had grown to 250,000. It continued to increase throughout the 1930s, reaching 530,000 in 1934, 650,000 in 1937, and 750,000 in 1939. The war slowed down the movement slightly but in 1944 the LCS could claim to have 832,670 members. The million benchmark was reached in the early 1950s. By then the LCS operated more than 550 establishments offering a wide range of products and services across Greater London. The LCS was the largest cooperative in the world and continued to thrive throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. By the mid-1960s it had 1.3 million members but the golden era of the cooperative movement was reaching its end. Membership stagnated throught the second half of the 1960s and between 1969 and 1970 the LCS lost 150,000 members as people turned towards the new supermarket chains. If the LCS had in 1970 a turnover of £90 million, in 1978 it lost £1.8 million. As a result of these financial difficulties and the more challenging environment, the LCS was amalgamated in 1981 with the Co-operative Retail Society.

This sign must have been painted in or shortly after 1950 or 1951: having one million members was undoubtedly something worth proclaiming!

For more information on the history of the LCS, check the website of the Bishopsgate Institute.

A Million
Londoners
Own & Control
The
London
[Co-operative
Society]
Location: Harrow Road / Picture taken on: 17/08/2009

This ghost sign for the London Co-operative Society gives me the opportunity to post two pictures of the LCS logo. The wreath with the co-operative's acronym was found on the green tiled façades of its food stores, under the display window. Unfortunately these two examples were painted over by the new owners of these shops but they are slowly reappearing.


Locations: Fulham Road, Fulham (left) and Richmond Road, St Margarets (right) / Pictures taken on: 15/08/2008 (left) and 21/05/2008 (right)

Wootton's Cash Chemist, Islington

At the corner of Richmond Avenue and Cloudesley Road we have the chance to have not one but two ghost signs. However since there is no name mentioned on the upper one, we can assume they were both promoting the same business, namely Wootton's Cash Chemist. The lower sign was certainly painted in the early 20th century. The different design suggests the upper sign was added at a later date, possibly when printing became a major source of income for Joseph W. Hearle, the owner of this and two other pharmacies in Islington, according to a 1936 copy of Chemist and Druggist: The Newsweekly for Pharmacy.


The name of J. W. Hearle also appeared in 1928 in The Pharmaceutical journal: A Weekly Record of Pharmacy and Allied Sciences in relation to a successful appeal against his conviction on a charge of selling a liniment of turpentine which was not of the nature, substance, and quality demanded by the purchaser, Miss Monica Pickin. In the article about this case, we learn that Joseph W. Hearle began his career as a chemist in 1893 and that he was trading as Wootton's Cash Chemist at 94, Richmond Street (the building where these signs are painted. It is possible the 'avenue' was originally a 'street' or there was a mistake) and various other addresses at the time of the hearings.
Since J. W. Hearle didn't give his name to his business, we can assume he took over a pre-existing one, most certainly set up by a Mr Wootton. Several journals from the 1880s mention William Wootton, pharmaceutical chemist of Liverpool Road, Islington. It seems he worked with his brother Samuel, whose name appears in a 1890 journal, in relation to his ninth successive election as sidesman of the Clerkenwell parish church. One precision: he was a chemist at Liverpool Road, Islington. What happened to him is not known but William Wootton died in 1896, aged 74. Was it then that J. W. Hearle bought Wootton's pharmacies?
Finally the 1936 issue of the journal mentioned at the beginning of this post indicates that Joseph Hearle was not only a member of the National Pharmaceutical Union Executive but also a director of United Chemists' Association Ltd (UCAL). UCAL was a pharmaceutical manufacturing company created in the early 20th century by chemists and druggists from London and Cheltenham. Its factory was located in the Gloucestershire town, and it had additional offices in London and Liverpool. If that was the same Hearle, he certainly had quite a successful career!

Chemicals &
Sundry Requisites
Developing
Printing
Enlarging
Quality & Quick Service
Wootton's Cash Chemist
J. Hearle M.P.S.

Dispensing Chemist Hours of Business 9 A.M. to 6-30 P.M. Thursday to 1 P.M.

Toilet & Nursery Requisites Photographic Materials

I believe 'M.P.S.' was the acronym of 'Member of the Pharmaceutical Society (of Great Britain)'.
As for the term Cash, it meant drugs and other products were not sold on credit, contrary to what was the practice in many shops at the time (for another example of such a shop, see the post about Fred Palmer).

Location: Cloudesley Road / Pictures taken on: 01/04/2008 and 10/04/2008

Painted sign, Yangdi (1)

If anyone knows what these elaborately-painted Chinese characters mean, please let me know. This sign clearly points in one direction, but what is there?


Location: Yangdi, Guangxi province, China / Picture taken on: 17/09/2009

S. Errington, Brixton

Few signs are as elegant as the one advertising S. Errington's furniture business. The different fonts and additional decorative elements are cleverly used to suggest excellent service and furniture of very good quality.

S
Errington
Dealer In
Antique
&
Modern
Furniture
-----
Furniture
Bought,
Sold Or
Taken In
Exchange
Location: Dulwich Road / Picture taken on: 16/07/2009

Cars bought, sold and exchanged; Weymouth

Here is my latest ghost sign "discovery", spotted in a backstreet of Weymouth. The current sign, promoting a used car dealer, was painted over an earlier one. A few letters are still visible here and there, but not enough to make any sense of it.

Cars Bought, Sold and Exchanged
Since the street is too narrow (or the sign too long) I used four photos to create the picture below.


Location: Great George Street, Weymouth, Dorset / Picture taken on: 21/05/2011