Mercado comunitario Mariana Grajales, Sancti Spitirus

In a back street of the historic centre of Sancti Spiritus, the capital of the namesake province in central Cuba, this little painted sign marks the entrance to a small community market named after Mariana Grajales, an icon of women's struggle and of the fight against slavery and for the island's independence.

Mercado
Comunitario
Mariana Grajales
Horario
de 11.00 am a 1.30 pm

Location: Calle Plácido (?), Sancti Spiritus

Carter Paterson & Co, Brixton

Carrier company Carter Paterson was founded in 1860 by Walter Carter, John Paterson James Paterson, and Robert Paterson. It adopted the name Carter Paterson & Co on January 1, 1869 and in 1887, it became a limited company. Its head office was located at 128 Goswell Road, EC1. Like other leading carriers, Carter Paterson & Co worked closely with the railways. In October 1933 the Big Four railway companies (Southern Railway; Great Western Railway; London, Midland & Scottish Railway; and London & North Eastern Railway) took control in equal shares of Carter Paterson & Co Ltd. The company then operated as a subsidiary of another carrier the Big Four had bought at the same time, the Hay's Wharf Cartage Company Ltd. Following the nationalisation of railways in 1948, Carter Paterson was absorbed into British Road Services.

In the late 19th century Carter Paterson was the country's largest carrier, with more than 2,000 horses in its 20 London depots. One such depot was in Mandrell Road in Brixton. The company acquired the premises, which included stables and several buildings, in 1901. These were largely rebuilt and enlarged in 1904 to meet growing demand for the company's services in the area.

CP & Co
Brixton Depot

The same text was painted twice. The original sign used a slightly larger typeface.

In 1948 the depot became the property of British Road Services but it seems BRS closed it a few years later. The property was then purchased by Danish brewing company Tuborg (see yesterday's ghost sign).

Some information about carriers in the late 19th century and their horses can be found in Chapter 3 of The Horse-World of London by W. J. Gordon, published in 1893 (the paragraphs about Carter Paterson are after the third illustration).

In 1983 a large mural, which appropriately includes horses, was painted by Jane Gifford, Ruth Blench, Mick Harrison and Caroline Thorpe. Sadly its future, and that of the Carter Paterson ghost sign, now seems uncertain as a developer has applied to build nine apartments on the site of the former depot.

Location: Mauleverer Road

Tuborg lager, Brixton

Even if brewing company Tuborg moved out of its premises in Brixton more than 30 years ago, the sign on the wall looks amazingly fresh.

Location: Mandrell Road

Justice's pure bread, Greenwich

Born in 1850, James Justice's bakery and pastry shop was located at 195 Greenwich High Road. His name appears in directories published between 1882 and the late 1920s. When James retired, he was certainly succeeded by his son William, who had his own bakery at 67 Thames Street.

Between 1882 and 1908 at least (but no longer by 1911), James Baker also served as a Post Office's Receiving Officer.

This ghost sign is at the back of the building and would have been seen from the eastern end of the platforms at Greenwich station and from passing trains. It's a shame part of it disapppeared when the window was opened.

Justice's
Pure Bread,
Cakes
& Pastry.

Location: Prince of Orange Lane

Tali Jagat Raya, Banyuatis

A stop along the road between Munduk and the north coast of Bali to look at rice terraces in the morning sun also provided an opportunity to take a picture of a recently painted sign.

Tali Jagat Raya is a brand of cigarettes manufactured by the Bentoel Group, Indonesia's second largest tobacco company and a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.

Tali Jagat Citarasa nikmat		Tali Jagat Raya
Merodok dapat Menyebabkan kanker, serangan jantung, impotensi dan gangguan kehamilan dan janin.

Tali Jagat Delicious Flavour		Tali Jagat * Filter
Smoking can cause cancer, heart attacks, impotence and during pregnancy can harm the foetus.

*: "Tali Jagat" means "Rope of the Universe."

Location: Banyuatis, Bali, Indonesia

Butlin's holiday camps, Brixton

Below Brixton's famous Bovril ghost sign is a fragment of a sign for Butlin's holiday camps. It is far less special than the one in Birmingham (the post also includes some information about the company) but is, as far as I am aware, the only one in London.

The typeface is characteristic of Butlin's adverts from the 1950s and 1960s but the blue colour for "Butlin's" makes it unusual. Indeed in the vast majority of cases the name was written in red (the very colour of the jackets worn by entertainers and stewards). The website of the Daily Telegraph has another rare example of an advert from the 1950s in which blue was used.

Even though most of the second line has disappeared, the last letters make it easy to tell what was written there. However the final line is a bit of a mystery.

Butlin's
Holiday Camps
... ...ber

Location: Windrush Square

Bovril, Brixton

Here is a large ghost sign many Londoners will be familiar with: Bovril in Brixton.

Four years separate the photos above from the one below. The sign itself hasn't changed but Windrush Square is now far less green. Shame really.

The ghost sign for the meat extract developed by John Lawson Johnston in the 1870s isn't the only one on this wall but more about this second sign tomorrow.

Location: Windrush Square