Printers' ghost signs

Printers' signs, part 1 (Go to part 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

On Saturday I returned to the British Museum to have a second look at the current exhibition of Mexican prints, a worthy follow-up to last year’s American Scene (although I don’t agree with the legend that accompanies the poster for the 1952 meeting of the Confederación de Trabajadores de América Latina...). Some of the prints on show are absolutely superb and testify not only to the talent of the artists but also to the skills of the printers.
Obviously not all printers would have been able to master the techniques required for fine art printing, and in any case many wouldn’t even have needed them to honour the orders placed by their customers. But did the painted signs some printers paid for reflect their versatility? Below are a few examples of such signs, ranging from simple to more elaborate ones, from bare to pretty descriptive ones.

Printer, Elephant and Castle

Printers' ghost signs, part 3 (Go to part 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7)

At first sight this is another very basic sign. A closer look reveals at least two more lines were painted above "Printer" but they have faded too much for me to be able to read anything but a couple of letters. Maybe the local library has a picture which could give us some answer. I should check next time I'm in the area. The location of this sign may explain why there is nothing fanciful about it. Indeed the building is only a few meters away from the viaduct carrying the Herne Hill to Blackfriars line opened by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway in 1864, and since the sign was painted so high, we can assume its primary targets were not people walking or travelling northwards along Newington Causeway but rail passengers. From passing trains, a simple typeface would have been more efficient than an elaborate one. Of course, back then, the view wouldn't have been party hidden by the tree on the left.



Location: Newington Causeway / Picture taken on: 16/07/2009