Advertising has certain come along way, it's all flashy, high tech, 4-D and in your face these days but I love it. I'm pretty obsessed with anything to do with marketing and ever since my trip to Glasgow a couple of months ago I have made a point of looking up wherever I go. I've started to notice lots of Art Deco architecture in my home town of Blackpool and a whole mish-mash of styles in Manchester. Another thing you come across every so often are Ghost Signs, old advertising that is no longer in use and faded dramatically. Commonly found on the side of building, these hand-painted signs were the height of cool up till the 1960s but as times moved on so did technology. You can find these pretty much anywhere, if you look for them.
It's sad to see them fade away, taking memories of defunct businesses with them but with all this super modern multimedia advertising it's only a matter of time before a company rebels. I'll bet someone does the opposite and brings it back. You know what they say, what goes around comes around.
Click the links below the images to see the original source.
i adore this post! i've always found ghost signs so beautiful. the faded colours, exposed brick and fonts are always wonderful - i'm always looking for them.
ReplyDeletelike you said, i really do hope they come back in fashion, though as long as the advertisers stick to keeping them in the same old fashioned style.
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LOVE these. That 2nd photo is great. I would hang that up in my house, which is saying a lot. I don't even hang my own photos up in my house.
ReplyDeleteI wish they'd bring the old-fashioned billboard back.
ReplyDeleteI love ghost signs, I hope they come back en vouge.
ReplyDeleteThe Boots one featured in a recent project in the UK, see www.ghostsigns.co.uk
ReplyDeleteWhat a rad post! Love discovering bits of history in random places ... ghost signs hold a special place in my heart :)
ReplyDelete♥ Cat brideblu
So true! You have to look at this:
ReplyDeletehttp://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/stella-artois-ritual-project/
I love signs like this - thank you for sharing all these amazing photos! There are a few around London and I love spotting them.
ReplyDeleteyes, i too i'm a fan of these old ads. there's a certain romance about it all.
ReplyDeleteOh you have got me here. I love ghost signs too. There is one on Portobello Rd is the most recent one I can remember seeing. Thank you for these. Love them. Thank you for your comment today it was great. Xxxx
ReplyDeleteI love each and everyone of these, it's such a shame when they get destroyed as they contain so much history. You're right I think they'll perhaps bring it back or create some kind of twist relating to the style. I think they hold far more character than the advertising of some of today's stuff.
ReplyDeletelove your post!
ReplyDeletei always loved this shades of past :)... i found them impressive
xo
http://mishuella.blogspot.com/
i love the title you gave to this post....at night those signs get all creepy!!!! i think just by looking at these faded signs, one can imagine the hard work behind a business!
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it's really cool how these ghost signs add character to a town or city. honestly, i think they look more interesting now that they are fading.
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Blackpool looks like an interesting place.
ReplyDeletehttp://xtheperfectmess.blogspot.com
Yep, I'll keep you posted on all the Westfield news! It's opening next month in Stratford, near the Olympic Park. There was absolutely nothing there before, it's amazing to see how it's been transformed. Sort of ties in with this post you did, but the other way round
ReplyDeleteLove all these shots and the slowly dissolving advertisements on the walls. Second photo is my favourite... xx
ReplyDeleteVery much enjoying these pics, it nice to see marketing with a bit of tare and wear sometimes. hope you're well! xx
ReplyDeleteNobody ever seems to look up. My high street has some seriously amazing stuff above the shops that nobody ever notices.
ReplyDeleteFantastic post! I work in advertising and am a big fan of the old methods, these are art in themselves in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your lovely comment on Fridays post. I am hoping they have taken the pitch from the post :-). Xxxx
ReplyDeleteRe the Northern Quarter. It didnt have a name when I asked my friend were it was he said 'its the area behind Piccadilly' and I knew where he was talking about. Sorry not to have a better answer. Xxxx
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting post! I'm so glad you collected these photos for us and posterity. ;P The only one I've seen is the Take Courage one visible on the ride from Charing Cross to London Bridge. :)
ReplyDeletewhat spooooky article :)) London has got lots of cool ghost signs.
ReplyDeletehello from london.. :)
MENS FASHION
I love the old faded signs.. There are a few where I live and I always stop and admire them and their time-worn colours. There's a Sunshine Soap one on the side of a derelict building and when the sun hits it it's pretty awesome.
ReplyDeleteMatt, this reminds me that a while ago we were having an exchange about urb-exing and you asked what kind of places I've visited. I went to Cane Hill asylum amongst others in England and a couple of asylums in Russia. I've also been to a couple of hospitals, including the Queen Elizabeth's children's hospital in Hackney and the Haggeston bathhouse in Hackney. I miss doing it.. Cane Hill got some crazy-as-fuck security - dogs and all that - which is completely unlawful, private security firms cannot just set dogs on people. But yeah, basically I hear it's harder to get in and they are about two seconds away from demolishing it (if they haven't already done so) so I'm so happy I got to spend time there.. The real gold though is more about the little places I find by chance, not so much the bigger places I find on the web forum which are more considered to be 'challenges' that you tick off of a check list and have to make a real plan of getting there and whatnot.. I just enjoy that feeling of passing an abandoned house or factory occasionally and knowing I can nip in for a quick nose around..
ReplyDeleteFor me it all started in Apsley as a teenager when me and a few friends new of an abandoned stately home and we used to hang out there sometimes. It was magical. There was a big banquet room and a grand piano that was absolutely rotten. We stopped going there when we realised that a couple of tramps were living in the attic and shitting and pissing everywhere up there. :/ We didn't really think, from the debris they left behind, that they were the sociable type, so we made ourselves scarce, but the seed was planted from that moment. :)
OMG though Mat if you did an illustration that would be AMAZING. Would be wicked cool as a header, no? Let me know if you fancy it and we can arrange appropriate ONE MILLION FRIEND POINTS! Love!
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Aw yay! I met a guy once who knew about all these fading brick paintings all over Bristol. We spent a whole day walking around looking at them, including one that's on the side of a building I used to walk past almost everyday. It's amazing when you realize how little attention you've paid to your environment.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, these are lovely and yet It is a little sad also...but things move on!
ReplyDeleteThese are everywhere in India! Yes I am back! Have missed your blog! Xx
ReplyDeleteLove this post. Ghost signs is such a good term for them. Love the Boots one.
ReplyDeletethese ghost signs (it's actually the first time i've heard this term) are absolutely stunning in my opinion. i've always been interested by the impact time has upon something, and these are interesting based on that, as well as because of their original and beautiful designs.
ReplyDeleteCostin M.
my kind of places x
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