I’m a real fan of these old shop signs I see everywhere.
As I travel through London on a bus, my eye aimlessly wonders across the façades and balconies, extensions, plants and the layers of paint that make London so rustic, charming and interesting.
And in between the pleasing and the grubby bits my eyes sometimes get to rest on these spots of paints, masked by advertisements, trees and the grime of nearly a century of motorized traffic. Flaking of the brittle, soggy base of decade century old brick and mortar are the traces of businesses gone by, in bold, big letters still proclaiming arts and crafts long forgotten. Who in this day still specialises in “Fountain Pen Repairs”, or advertises “Motor Coaches”?
Old Grandeur, hopelessly romanticized in those precious few seconds between the first glimpse of a sign, and when the upper deck of your the bus jerks to a halt in the monochrome solitude of a sodiumized street at dusk.
Fountain Pens Repaired.
Stoke Newington Church Street.
Buildings like this one could be drab, repetitive and generically anywhere, but the old painting give it real character and a sense of history and place. Charming!
The signs read(clockwise from top right):
Walker Bros. Fount Pen Specialists.
unreadable - Ideal Fountain Pen
Fount Pens Repaired Any Make
The Blue large on on the left advertised a newsagent and safety matches.
and by night…
Framed Sign I, Popham Street, N1
Painted over, I can’t really make out what it says. Probably Pharmaceutical .
What I can read:
***** ZALIA
*****NIGHT CURE FOR
*****TARRAH (NB: prob. cartarrah)
*****S IN THE HEAD
*****NTS INFLUENZA
Painted Road Signs.
Mare Street (I believe)
not legible any more and I forgot to note where I took it.
Framed Sign II -Builders Merchants.
King Crescent, N4
gorgeous! These tiles shimmer in different colours, depending on the angle you look at them and the lighting. It’s just such a fresh spot of colour in an otherwise relatively nondescript, generic normal street.
Framed Sign III, Pub
Garnham Street, Stoke Newington
This one is a real shame. It’s gorgeous, but so faint it’s hard too see even at the best of lighting conditions, and that’s usually when I don’t have my camera with me. (Note to self, never leave the house without)
ALF The Purse King!
Stoke Newington Church Street
Left:
ALF. THE PURSE KING. Reg.
A.RUBINSTEINS & SONS
Right:
LEATHER GOODS
PURSES. POUCHES. HAND BAGS. WALLETS &
P. KIMBERLY TERRACE G**RMO**
Take Courage!
Pub sign, Seven Sisters Road
And if you’ve ever accidentally ventured into this pub dump, the “Blackstock”, the standing hairs at the back of your neck will tell you that this sign has an altogether different meaning!
Stoves Banges Lavatories
Sanitary Fittings Locks.
What Left to say? Utter Brilliance! Just paint on top of older signs without scraping, adding a new base coat or any layout for that matter! Sheer Genius!
**** EBREAD ROBLEY & Co. Ltd.
Builders Merchandise & Ironmongers.
Stained Glass Windows,
Leaded Lights,
Glass, Lead,
Oils, Colours,
Varnishes.
Stoves, Banges,
Lavatories
(underneath:) Baths, Closets.
Sanitary Fittings Locks.
(underneath:) & Lavatories
Locks
ALSO AT WOOD GREEN, ILFORD, TOTTENHAM ****** & DALSTON.
