Ghost sign

A ghost sign is an old hand-painted advertising signage that has been preserved on a building for an extended period of time. The signage may be kept for its nostalgic appeal, or simply indifference by the owner.

History and preservation

Ghost signs are found across the world with the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Canada having many surviving examples.^[1] Ghost signs are also called fading ads^[2] and brickads.^[3] In many cases these are advertisements painted on brick that remained over time.^[4] Old painted advertisements are occasionally discovered upon demolition of later-built adjoining structures. Throughout rural areas, old barn advertisements continue to promote defunct brands and quaint roadside attractions.

Many ghost signs from the 1890s to 1960s are still visible.^[4] Such signs were most commonly used in the decades before the Great Depression.^[5]

The painters of the signs were called "wall dogs."^[6] As signage advertising formats changed, less durable signs appeared in the later 20th century, and ghost signs from that era are less common.

In a New York Times article on ghost signs, Kathleen Hulser of the New York Historical Society, said, "[The signs] evoke the exuberant period of American capitalism. Consumer cultures were really getting going and there weren't many rules yet, no landmarks preservation commission or organized community saying: 'Isn't this awful? There's a picture of a man chewing tobacco on the corner of my street.'"^[5]

Several people maintain websites devoted to ghost signs.^[5]