Aerlec (Aluminium) Ltd, Birmingham

Bond Street is home to many fashionable and expensive shops. But that's Bond Street, London. In Birmingham, Bond Street runs through a largely unattractive industrial area to the north west of the city center. However for those interested in industrial archeology the area isn't without interest and Constitution Hill nearby has some good examples of Victorian architecture.

Over the years companies have come and gone but some of them have left their marks on the buildings. One of these was Aerlec (Aluminium) Ltd, which was temporarily based in Bond Street.
As the name suggests, it was a manufacturer of aluminium alloy. It also stocked sheets, rods and tubes. The company is first mentioned in 1939 in two journals for the aviation industry. Indeed airplane manufacturers and plane maintenance companies seem to have been its main customers.

...
Aerlec
(Aluminium) Ltd

Birmingham was heavily bombed during the Second World War and this may have prompted Aerlec (Aluminium) Ltd to relocate to Stoke Wharf, just south of Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. Another reason for the relocation may have been the sale in 1942 by G. S. James, the company's chairman and managing director, of all his shares to British Emulsifiers Ltd for £450,000. The acquisition of Aerlec allowed British Emulsifier Ltd to secure a continuous supply of aluminium alloy.
Aerlec (Aluminium) Ltd continued to trade under its name throughout the second half of the 1940s and most of the 1950s, supplying semi-fabricated aluminium aircraft components. In 1954 the company was sold to Metals & Ores Ltd, which kept the name for another four years but then seems to have dropped it as there are no more mentions of Aerlec in the press after 1958. Metals & Ores moved out of Bromsgrove at some point. The site of the former Aerlec factory is still known as the Metals & Ores trading estate.

This ghost sign must date from the late 1930s as it seems Aerlec (Aluminium) Ltd did not stay in Birmingham for long.

Location: Bond Street / Pictures taken in May 2012

Removals, Thornton Heath

Relatively few ghost signs include an illustration, which makes the one below in Thornton Heath all the more special.

Most of this ghost sign has faded but the central part was certainly hidden behind a hoarding for a while, hence its much better state.

Unfortunately I haven't found any information that could be relevant and tell us more about this ghost sign.

...re [Furniture?] Repository
[Drawing]
Removals to all Parts by
Road ...

In the central part of the sign, the painter has represented a fairly typical horse-drawn furniture van, known as a pantechnicon, from the 19th century. Only the horses are missing. It is very similar to the one that appears on William Francis Freelove's drawing of such a van.

Removals To all Parts

...c... George Coe's Furniture Van ...

Location: High Street / Pictures taken in August 2012

Kay's Motors, West Norwood

Further down the road from the Brymay ghost sign that reemerged recently, the one for Kay's Motors has experienced an opposite fate. The car dealership that owns the courtyard and the building next door has put its sign higher on the wall and painted the lower part of the ghost sign in white. Not RIP but quite an amputation!

For more on this ghost sign (actually ghost signs since this is a real palimpsest), including what was written, please visit the original Kay's Motors post.

Location: Norwood High Street / Picture taken in August 2012

Brymay, West Norwood

Some weeks ago the removal of a hoarding revealed the missing part of the Nestlé ghost sign in Clapham. In West Norwood, it is a Brymay ghost sign that has now fully reemerged.

March 2010

The blue and yellow colours are characteristics of Brymay's signs but the wording is slightly different from that of the better-known ghost sign from New Cross.

British Matches for British Homes
Brymay
Safety Matches
Bryant & May Ltd

Westminster
Gazette

The Brymay sign was painted over an earlier one for the Westminster Gazette. For some information about this Liberal newspaper, please see the earlier post about the Criterion, Westminster Gazette, and Gillette ghost sign in Stoke Newington.

Location: Norwood Road / Pictures taken in March 2010 and August 2012

Suze, Lille

Never two without three. After Bonal and St Raphaël, the Rue du Molinel was bound to have a third ghost sign for an aperitif. This time it is for Suze, France's leading gentian-based drink.

For some information about Suze, you can refer to an earlier post about a ghost sign seen in Saintes.

The name of the company that managed this wall appears below the advert itself. It was repainted at the same time as the Suze sign.

Apéritif
à la gentiane
Suze
-------
Emp. réservé [Reserved Space *]
Courbet
Paris - Lille

*: Emp. stands for Emplacement.

Location: Rue du Molinel, Lille

St-Raphaël, Lille

The side walls and gables of the tall residential blocks of Lille provided many opportunities for large adverts. This particular wall was painted on two occasions at least and even if the ghost signs have badly faded, it is still possible to recognize one particular brand of aperitif: Saint-Raphaël.

For some information on cinchona-based Saint-Raphaël, please see the post about the ghost sign in Rigny-Ussé.

Another product was advertised there but I managed to identify the word 'Royale' only.

...
St Raphaël
... Royale
Quinquina
...
Le ...

Location: Rue du Molinel, Lille, Nord / Pictures taken in June 2012

Aux caves des bouchers, Lille

Two different stores left their names on the façade of this building before 'Aux caves des bouchers' did the same but since the letters are all jumbled up, it is not possible to recognize anything more than just a couple here and there.

I have not found anything about 'Aux caves des bouchers', most certainly a wine merchant's shop, which simply took its name from the street it was in. Considering the blue colour for the background and the typeface used, this ghost sign may well date from the late 19th or early 20th century.

Location: Rue des bouchers, Lille, Nord / Pictures taken in June 2012