BLAG 01 - Magazine - Page 58
Book Club
Ghost Signs: A London Story
Ghost Signs: A London Story
Sam Roberts & Roy Reed
Isola Press 2021
ISBN 9780995488694
Ghost Signs: A London Story is a detailed
examination of a city’s fading painted signs, while
also giving a general introduction to the topic. Its
opening chapters are a walk through the origins
and survival of signs on walls, including their
production and how the walls were solicited for
advertising. The book also explores contemporary
arguments regarding protection and preservation,
including the repainting of ghost signs.
The main body of the book is grouped by the
types of businesses advertised. These chapters
include “Feeding the City”, “Branding the City”,
“Entertaining the City,” and so on. Each one
has a short introduction, followed by the signs
themselves and cross-references to other
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parts of the book with relevant material.
Signs are presented through a mixture of wideangle and close-up photography, with many
also accompanied by archival and other
contextual images.
Every one of the 250+ signs in the book has its
own individual story told, alongside transcriptions
of their wording and location information. These
details are supported by an online map, which
includes over 500 additional London ghost signs
that aren’t in the book.
BLAG
