‘Ghost signs’ – our fading past

Ghost sign on the Stratford Road. Photographed by Caroline Bunford, image courtesy of The History of Advertsing Trust

Something that has always fascinated me are the faded, years old painted adverts one can occasionally spot on the sides of buildings. Some are more obvious, others are almost invisible, unless you know what you are looking for. I’ve recently spotted a couple of new-ish painted adverts for a certain Tennessee whiskey on a couple of buildings along Broad St and whilst they make a change from the more usual ways of advertising, they should definitely not be confused with authentic ‘ghost signs’, as they are referred to by the History of Advertsing Trust.  

In a brief, but interesting article on the Guardian website, Jonathan Glancey calls for these vanishing reminders of our advertising past to be saved from today’s ruthless developers and points us in the direction of the History of Advertising Trust’s excellent ‘ghost signs’ online archive.