Marshall, importer of segars, Finsbury Park

The vast majority of signs posted on this blog are directly painted on walls. However the one advertising Marshall's business consisted of cement letters, painted in white, and inserted into a thin concrete layer resting against a brick wall.

Marshall.
Importer of Segars
Wholesale & Retail
Islington
A couple of letters have fallen, showing the recess in which they were fitted. Some letters may have been replaced at some point as some look slightly newer and the level of finish is not the same everywhere.


The rather unusual spelling 'segar', instead of 'cigar', was actually relatively common until the second half of the 19th century, even if several publications pointed it was incorrect as the word came from the Spanish 'cigarro.'

Location: Finsbury Park Road / Pictures taken on: 01/04/2008

H. Callcut & Son, Finsbury Park

This ghost sign is in such a good state that one can wonder if it hasn't been restored. Of course the other possiblity is that it is rather recent. In any case, H. Callcut & Son doesn't seem to be trading at this address anymore.

Decorators H. Callcut & Son.
Roof & Drain Work Sanitary Plumbing		Paperhanging Whitewashing & General Repairs

The scroll on which Callcut is written is certainly unusual but I think a better effect would have been achieved if it hadn't been so perfectly symetrical. However the different letterings used to list Callcut's specialist work are particularly elegant. Together with the embellishing decorative lines, they really make the lower part of this ghost sign very special.


Location: Blackstock Road / Pictures taken on: 01/04/2008 and 06/04/2011

Great Northern School of Music, Finsbury Park

I haven't found any information about this particular institution but, given the name and the proximity of the London - York mainline, I wonder whether it wasn't opened and financed by the Great Northern Railway for its employees and their families. After all it was fairly common for large employers to provide educational facilities, entertainment, and other services to their staff and relatives and that railway company was certainly no exception.

Great Northern School of Music
Location: Fonthill Road / Picture taken on: 06/04/2011

I. Furst, Finsbury Park

The only mention of a chemist named I. Furst I could find was in a 1933 copy of Chemist & Druggist. In it, it is written that

Mr. James A. Birrell, chemist and druggist, Kinross, has purchased the business of Mr. I. Furst, B. Sc., chemist and druggist, 428 Cumberland Street, Glasgow, C. 5.

Was this the same person as in Finsbury Park? No idea.

I. Furst
B.Sc. M.P.S.
Dispensing
Chemist
Location: Blackstock Road / Picture taken on: 01/04/2008