Consider supporting me on Patreon as I start to tackle the 2012/2013 signs! Cause there is still a lot of work to go on this project. #sfba #ghostsigns https://www.patreon.com/sfghostsigns

MAP UPDATE! In April, Google Maps ate part of the San Francisco Bay Area Ghost Sign Map. I've been working since then to do a full overhaul on the map. New photos! New historical resources! More context! I am FINALLY, all these months later, back to square one. That's right, I launched this project in 2011 and as of today that original set of 200+ signs has all been updated. #ghostsigns #sfba https://www.patreon.com/posts/89116915?pr=true

The cart entrance to the old Crown Mill on Washington Street in the Anderston Area of Glasgow. This Italianate building was constructed in 1862, but all that is now left is the boarded up ground floor. However, you can still see traces of the compaby's name as a gost sign above the door.

#glasgow #oldbuildings #anderston #abandobedbuildings #ghostsigns #glasgowbuildings

@rwisa We need photos! (My other hat is #ghostsigns.)

TIL - The brick facade on the Brizard and Young Sheet Metal Wks (Tehana between 1st and 2nd) is actually pressed sheet metal. #sfba #ghostsigns

Next week, I'm visiting #Brussels for the first time.

I'll mainly be at the Letterheads* meet, but are there other interesting locations for #signpainting, #lettering, and #ghostsigns that I should try to squeeze in?

*Some past meets here: https://bl.ag/tag/letterheads

If you have a better guess for that partial sign on the bottom of 1105 Battery St I'd love to hear your theories! Keep in mind that it would need to be a brand/business from before 1930. Perhaps a small alcohol or soda brand that I'm overlooking? #ghostsigns #sfba

Last sign! This one is a bit of a mystery. The big bubble lettering is giving logo vibes. It looks like a scripted “two-story” letter with a loop at the bottom which means it’s probably a “G”; but could also possibly be an F, J, Q, or even P. But what is it! #ghostsigns

The middle sign is missing A LOT of letters but the top line definitely ends in "SS'" and the bottom line is definitely "RESTAURANT." Looking through the records of former occupants, only one matches this criteria -- Swiss Restaurant which operated here from 1914-1925ish. #ghostsigns

The top sign definitely says "LAGER and either "anier" or "inier" -- which means there's a 99.9% likelihood this is a Rainier Beer sign. That old school logo with all the swoops and swirls is pretty unmistakable. #ghostsigns #rainierbeer #sfba

An old facade advertisement in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen

#GhostSign #GhostSigns #Frederiksberg #TypographyInTheWild #SignPainting #Mural

A ghost sign on a doorway at 37 Virginia Street in Glasgow. I love coming across the remains of old hand-painted signs like this.

#glasgow #ghostsigns #glasgowghostsigns
#glasgowbuildings #virginistreet #glasgowhistory #pastglasgow #lostglasgow

@ChemMouse @RoyReed For #ghostsigns in Winnipeg, I would highly recommend checking out Matt Cohen's work: https://www.ghostsigns.ca/

@avail Lovely combo, also worth tagging with #ghostsigns and/or #ghostsign which you'll find on a few posts here from me and others.

NEWS! A follower has helped me ID another "new" San Francisco ghost sign. This Owl Cigar sign sits on 725 Geary St, facing Leavenworth. #sfba #ghostsigns

@Lebol I have a wider recommended reading list for #ghostsigns here: https://ghostsigns.co.uk/publications/reading-list/

Disclaimer: The book I did with @RoyReed is top of the list 😉

@ihazrabies A world away, we have some pages on Thomas Lipton and his innovations in the tea trade in our book: https://ghostsigns.co.uk/book

#ghostsigns #liptons #tea

How many of these Lipton's Tea signs have you seen? Fun Fact! Only two companies leveraged these enamel window signs in San Francisco -- Lipton's Tea and MJB Coffee. #sfba #ghostsigns https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/lipton-tea-signs-san-francisco-18211279.php

"Whispering slogans that were never intended for our ears."

My quote used in this article about #ghostsigns in #Tacoma☺️
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article277690173.html

PS. I'm interested in finding a #mastodon #instance for my #ghostsigns work, separate to BLAG, suggestions appreciated.

Ghost signs are so interdisciplinary that a themed instance is a hard choice, e.g. #history, #advertising, #graphicdesign, #heritage, etc.

PPS. It will be sad to lose my #twitter following, but I think I'm done with that site now.

My motivation for starting Better Letters in 2012 was to raise awareness of hand-crafted, and specifically hand-painted, #lettering among those that commission #signs.

This continues to be a factor in the work I do, championing #signpainting / #signwriting in various ways.

On my recent #ghostsigns walks in London, this #sign, about a year old, offered up excellent evidence of vinyl's weakness in the context of shopfronts.

Hand-painted signs often improve with age, versus this...