History: Sign painting, sign painters, signs and lettering

"Grave No.7, approx. 800, April, 1945" and "Grave No.2, approx. 5,000, 24th April 1945"

History

Sign Painting the Horror of the Belsen Concentration Camp

The sign painting work of Reginald Price commemorating the dead at Belsen concentration camp.

Books

Sign Production in Ghost Signs: A London Story

Full text and accompanying images from the 'Sign Production' chapter of Ghost Signs: A London Story.

History

Messages Made to Last: Painted Ceramic Advertising Murals

A whistle-stop tour of Europe's key locations for painted ceramic advertising and decorative murals.

Places

Rótulos of Cuauhtémoc: The Whitewashing of Vernacular Signs in Mexico City

The food stalls in Cuauhtémoc are having their hand-painted signs erased by order of the mayor.

History

Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: Smeed's Smart Signs

The story of Smeed's Smart Signs in Herne Bay, Kent, and its surviving gilded glass shopfront.

Films

Face in the Sky (1933)

Video of Face in the Sky (1933), the adventures of two traveling sign painters who find an unexpected passenger in their van.

People

Juan 'el Petudo': Sign Painting King of La Palma

Barely known outside of the Canary Islands, Juan Santana Martin was a renowned local sign painter, leaving a lasting legacy.

Places

Sign Painter Kits at the American Sign Museum

Sign painter kits on show at the American Sign Museum, including a new late-19th century acquisition.

History

Art Deco Inspiration to "Modernize Main Street"

Art Deco sign and lettering inspiration from 1935 architectural competition, "Modernize Main Street".

History

Football’s Awesome Tifos

The story of the huge hand-painted banners created by football fans around the world, aka 'Tifos'.

History

The ‘Red List’ of Heritage Crafts

Lettering and sign crafts, some viable, some 'endangered', according to the Heritage Crafts Association.

Books

A Love Letter to Amsterdam’s Curly Letter

Book about Amsterdam's 'curly letter' is an informative and visually rich guide to the vernacular style.

Events

Festival of Writing at the British Library

British Library exhibition on writing, through the history and practise of 30 different writing systems.

History

Signwriting & Type’s Enduring Relationship

Type Tasting's Sarah Hyndman on the recurring role of signwriting in the development of typefaces.

History

‘Tickets’ and the French Sign Painter in London

'Tickets' and his sign painting partner are trying to make ends meet in London's sign game in the 1870s.

History

A Curtain Call for the Theatre Advertising of Old

Theatre curtain from Ludlow, Massachusetts hosts a time capsule of c.1920s hand-painted advertisements.

People

James Rosenquist: His Billboards Past

James Rosenquist, famous for his work as a (pop) artist, owes a lot to his humble sign painting past.

History

The Grand Exhibition of the Society of Sign Painters

Exhibition at London Letterheads, tribute to the 1762 Grand Exhibition of the Society of Sign Painters.