For a glass of good wine, Stoke Newington and Holloway

Ever since I first saw it, I've been wondering about this glass of wine. What is it doing just next to a school? And why was the glass left intact when the rest of the wall was rather clumsily painted black? Could this have been the work of a street artist?


Location: Stoke Newington Church Street / Picture taken on: 01/04/2008

Then three years later and a couple of kilometres further west I spotted the same glass of wine (it used to be hidden behind a modern billboard) and this time there was something written underneath. However a search on the internet with the slogan "For a glass of good wine" didn't lead to any identification. I guess this ghost sign was promoting a local wine merchant and the logo would have been enough for people to recognize it. Maybe someone could cast some light on this little mystery.

For a Glass of Good Wine
Location: Holloway Road / Picture taken on: 06/04/2011

Ecole libre de musique, La Rochelle

One can easily imagine the sounds of pianos, flutes and other instruments coming out of this former music school, when on hot days the windows were left wide open.

Ecole libre de musique
Location: Quai Maubec, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 01/02/2011

Tarrant, Putney

After taking a picture of the ghost sign below I headed to the library in Putney to see if they had any information about the business advertised on this wall at the back of the High Street. All I found was a picture taken c 1905 of a dairy of the same name on Lower Richmond Road but nothing about Tarrant, the juvenile outfitter.
This sign has badly faded and it looks as if there could have been more written on that wall than what I've been able to decipher.

Tarrant
Juvenile
Outfitter
Location: Chelverton Road / Picture taken on: 25/03/2011

Nuttman Bros, Sutton

If what is painted on this wall is to be believed, Nuttman Bros Ltd was founded in 1881. Seventy-three years later the company was still in business and was listed in the 1954 issue of the Timber Trade Directory. Unfortunately that's the only piece of information I found about it.


The phone number 324 seems to indicate the original part of this sign was painted not too long after the company was founded. It is surprising it wasn't repainted when the director telephone system was introduced in the late 1920s and 1930s, with phone numbers consisting of seven digits: three for the code (which corresponded to the first three letters of the local telephone exchange) and four for the number itself (could some three digit numbers have survived though?). As the Sutton area was served by three different telephone exchanges (FAIrlands for Sutton and Cheam, and both MELville and VIGilant for Sutton and Belmont - with Nuttman certainly served by one of the last two) it might have been useful to know which code to dial, unless of course all of Nuttman's customers were locals and fully aware of the local code (*). Another possibility is that by then the company had moved to other premises but I don't think that was the case. With a large yard at the back of the house, the location was rather convenient.

Est. 1881
Nuttman Bros Ltd
Phone 324
Timber & Fencing
Contractors
Joinery Works
Since the last line hasn't faded as much as the rest of the sign and the lettering is different, I guess it is more recent. I wonder whether "Nuttman Bros Ltd" wasn't painted at a later stage as well, to reflect maybe a change in the social name of the company?

*: A local shop for local people? Sutton is no Royston Vasey though!

Location: Langley Park Road / Pictures taken on: 27/08/2009

Flameout, Crouch Hill

Yesterday my steps took me through Crouch Hill where I noticed two fifths of the Flameout sign are now hidden behind a modern sign.
This North London family-run central heating and plumbing firm was founded in the early 1980s and is still operating today, albeit from other premises.

Flameout
C.O.R.G.I.
Member
Heating Emergencies
Plumbing Breakdowns
24 Hour Service
Service Contracts Available
01-272 2595 / 6
Location: Mount Pleasant Crescent / Picture taken on: 01/04/2008

William Plummer, Eton

With its uninterrupted succession of neat letters, the name on this mosaic seems to come straight out of a schoolchild's exercise book. Sadly that's the only trace left by William Plummer so I don't know what was on offer in this shop. Stationary for the kids at the school up the road maybe?

Location: High Street, Eton, Berkshire / Picture taken on: 20/03/2011

Spencer Maynard, Eastbourne

At least four different signs were painted on this wall at the end of a Victorian terrace in the seaside town of Eastbourne but nowadays only two can be easily identified.
The most obvious one is for furniture dealer Spencer Maynard. Unfortunately I haven't found any information about him. It seems his son Charles Sidney (his other son Sidney Spencer died of influenza in a military hospital in northern France in 1918) took over the family business but experienced some financial difficulties in the late 1920s. In April 1930 the Courts granted him a bankruptcy discharge.
The other sign that can still be seen here is actually a very familiar one. With its off-white letters on a blue background, it promoted:Gillette
Safety
Razors
... Blades
Of the other two signs only a couple of letters can still be spotted here and there.

Spencer Maynard
Dealer
Modern & Antique
Furniture
Works of Art. Pianos &
Goods Bought To Any Extent For
Cash
Location: Seaside Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex / Picture taken on: 26/03/2011