History: Sign painting, sign painters, signs and lettering

Lower two-thirds of bifurcated letters 'RO' with scrolls in their centres and gilded and outlined in black.

Projects

Bringing a Gilded Victorian Transom Window Back to Life

Andy at AJ Signs in Dorset gives a new lease of life to a beautiful piece of Victorian glasswork.

Man and woman facing the camera, holding a framed sign that reads "Barker Signs, Est. 1964".

People

60 Years On the Brush: The Barker Signs Story

Maurie Barker founded Barker Signs in 1964, with his daughter Liane now keeping things hand-painted.

Wall sign with tall sans serif letters painted dark blue with a yellow block shade.

People

Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: Gran Canaria’s Tomás Prieto Gálvez

Adventures in life, family, and sign painting with Tomás Prieto Gálvez in the Canary Islands.

Letters cut out of cardboard and arranged in a line with a large 'R' and 'S' followed by a smaller 'R'.

Books

Peeling Back the Layers of Chrystel Crickx's Typographic Legacy

Chrystel Crickx's novel contribution to lettering and type history is celebrated in a new book.

Picture book illustration showing a sign painter painting the sun which is making everything else hot.

Books

The American Folklore Legend of Slappy Hooper, Sign Painter

The telling and retelling of 'Slappy Hooper, World’s Biggest, Fastest, and Bestest Sign Painter'.

Hand-lettered and illustrated advertisement showing three tins of paint (blue, red, yellow) pouring from above the text.

Learning

Why Lead Paint Makes Signs Last: A Toxic Legacy

An account of the enduring (and highly toxic) legacy of lead paint on signs, and sign painters.

Hand-painted portrait of the Godfather holding a massively oversized cat smoking a cigar.

BLAG

Bonus Material from BLAG 04

Bonus content from the adventures in sign painting in Issue 04 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).

Exhibition space with brightly decorated vehicles on low plinths.

Location

Phool Patti Brings Pakistan's Decorative Artform to the World

Meet Phool Patti's Ali Salman Anchan, harnessing Pakistan's decorative art for social enterprise.

Two men posing outside a ramshakle timber shack with a large No.2 painted on the side, and bits of sign painting work around.

History

Sign Painting the Goldrush in Hill End, New South Wales

1870s Australian sign painting and sign painters in the remarkable A&A Photographic Co. collection.

Close-up of a hand picking up a tiny tin of paint made to scale for a larger diorama.

Events

Watch the Free Recordings from BLAG Meet: Inside Issue 03

Signs, sign painting, and more in these free event recordings from BLAG Meet: Inside Issue 03.

Layers of painted advertising fading on a portion of a brick wall.

History

Listen to the Walls: Stories of London's Advertising Past

Hear the stories of seven brilliant London ghost signs, as told by Sam Roberts, aka Mr Ghostsigns.

Plaque-shaped sign with hand-painted words, "Drawing materials, surveying instruments, artists supplies".

History

The Pittsburgh Portfolio of the H.H. Seiferth Sign Company

Hand-painted and gilded signs by H.H. Seiferth in early twentieth century Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Illustration of street scene with lettering for the book's name.

People

The Memories of Arthur Gill, Gold Beater turned Signwriter

Audio from sign painter Arthur Gill's memoirs, I remember! Reminiscences of a Cobbler's Son.

Elderly man standing in front of an enormous fading painted sign advertising Sam Caldwell & Co., Painters & Decorators..

People

Meet Chuck Keiger, Sam Caldwell's Cincinnati Walldog

Story of sign painter and walldog Chuck Keiger, painter of Cincinnati's Sam Caldwell ghost sign.

Close-up of a lower arm adorned with four coloured wristbands: pink; green; yellow; orange.

Letterheads

London Calling: A Personal Perspective

Reflections on London Calling: Letterheads 2018, five years after the international meet.

Close-up of a hand applying paint to a wall with letters outlined in masking tape.

People

The Magic of Mr Masking, Costa Rica's King of Tape

The typographic vernacular of Gerardo Picado's masked and painted letters in San José, Costa Rica.

People

That Saturday Afternoon Jaunt with John Frazier, Original Letterhead

The designs and drawings of John Frazier, Letterhead, designer, letterer, sign painter, and artist.

Man at a shop counter surrounded by signs.

Places

Found in Frome: Moore & Sons' Farm and Feed Ephemera

For over 100 years, a humble West Country animal feed shop has grown a vast collection of ephemera.