Curtis, Sherborne

The only trace Curtis seems to have left is this doorstep mosaic.


Location: Cheap Street, Sherborne, Dorset / Picture taken on: 15/08/2009

Shaving Saloon, Stockwell

Although one can no longer get a clean shave there, a ghost sign still decorates the upper part of this façade, between the first floor windows and the cornice.

Shaving
Saloon
Location: Stockwell Green / Picture taken on: 09/04/2008

Warehouse, Salisbury

If the two painted signs from this cathedral city I posted previously were well-preserved, the same cannot be said of this one. A multiplicity of layers doesn't help either to decipher it: a few letters can be identified here and there, but only one word is complete.

...
Warehouse
...
&
The building this sign is painted on, at 51 Silver Street, appears on a picture taken c 1955. Unfortunately the picture is too small and by then the sign had already badly faded (it is on the third building from the right, on the side wall between the top of the street light and the chimneys).
Old directories available online don't offer much help either, except maybe Kelly's Directory of the Leather Trades, published in 1880. Indeed under "Boot & Shoe Manufacturers - Wholesale" it lists James and William Moore, of Crispin House, Fisherton Street and 51 Silver Street. It is possible that some of the letters painted at some point just below the moulded stone cornice spellt "Moore". It may also be my imagination.


Location: Silver Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire / Picture taken on: 09/08/2009

Everett's Stores, Walthamstow

For quite some time this large ghost sign remained hidden behind a billboard. When the latter was taken down earlier this year what was previously advertised finally appeared.
Everett's Stores was located about 50 yards south of St James Street station in Walthamstow as a picture of St James's Street taken in 1906 and available on the Francis Frith website reveals (Everett's is on the very right of the photo, behind the horse-drawn carriage with the tea advert). The name is mentioned in several documents published between 1894 and 1930 but none provides any additional information about the business.

For
Drapery &
Millinery
Everett's
Stores
It looks as if this wall had been previously covered by another sign.

Location: St James's Street / Picture taken on: 17/02/2010

Sandeman (Port and Brandy), Lisbon

Earlier this month I mentioned that while walking along the streets of Lisbon I came across a few adverts painted on glass. The first couple can be seen outside a convenience store and promote two of Sandeman's famous products: Port wine and brandy from Jerez.
The Sandeman website has several pages dedicated to the history and iconography of this company founded in 1790 by Scotsman George Sandeman (you must be 18 or older to visit it).
The brand is easily recognisable thanks to the powerful image of the Don, "dressed like the Spanish caballeros de Jerez in a Portuguese student’s cape and wide-brimmed hat". It was created in 1928 by George Massiot Brown, a Scottish artist who, given the fame of French poster artists at the time, signed his work "George Massiot" only.


The Don was originally created to advertise Port wine. His black image contrasted with the ruby of the glass of Port and the sunny background. However he became so popular that by the 1930s his image was being used to promote Sandeman's other products such as its Capa Negra brandy from Jerez in Spain.


The label on the bottle is particularly fine.


In a corner at the bottom of this glass advert is the name of the manufacturer


"T." stands for "Travessa". The premises, in the Chiado district of the Portuguese capital, are now occupied by a fashion shop.

W. Heslop, Oxford Street

The ghost sign below reappeared when three buildings near Tottenham Court Road were demolished. Unfortunately I haven't found any information about W. Heslop. Maybe a book with old photographs of Oxford Street could shed some light on this business. I shall keep you posted if I come across something.

24
W. Heslop
24
Given that this sign was painted on a portion of wall relatively far away from the street, the buildings next door must have been pretty low; otherwise nobody could have seen it.

Location: Oxford Street / Picture taken on: 24/11/2010

Private lock ups and taxis, Havant

On the side of a building are two ghost signs that stand out thanks to the decorative foliage in the corners and the middle of the upper one and the unusual shape of the lower one.

The upper sign was painted twice. The original sign advertized aMotor
Garage
The more recent one readsPrivate
Lock Ups
The sign below was painted three times but only the most recent layer can be read:Taxis
It's a shame the lower part has completely disappeared.

Location: South Street, Havant, Hampshire / Picture taken on: 30/05/2010