Wednesday 29 August 2012

Ghost signs (77): a pale spectre


I've passed this building opposite Waterloo Station many times, but it was something about the light one afternoon which drew my eye to the faint writing on its Exton Street walls. Unfortunately, the letters are almost impossible to make out; 'RISING AGE' is more decipherable than the rest. In fact, lots of playing with contrast and saturation suggests that the text ran continuously along the side and angle of the building, with the bottom line reading 'OF THE AGE'. If anybody can offer further suggestions, they will be gratefully received!



3 comments:

Sebastien Ardouin said...

I have been taking pictures of this ghost sign at different times of day and year (to avoid the leaves) to try to read it. As you write, it runs along the side and angle of the building. The first line was written with much larger letters, about twice the size of those on the second and third lines. I just had a quick look at some pictures but haven't managed to decipher them completely. The second line includes the letters 'ost', which could, maybe, spell "hostel." Unfortunately, the central part of the sign disappeared when the window was opened. The line continues with 'Enterprising' (sorry, no 'rising' on its own here). As for the third line, it starts with the letters 'aper' and ends with 'of the age.' Since I haven't posted it on my blog yet, I haven't done any research about the place so I can't provide any additional information. The local library may have a picture that could shed some light.

Sam Roberts (Ghostsigns) said...

I was going to suggest Sebastien for this one but he's already in there. I'm at a loss, the slogan doesn't fit with any that I'm familiar with so the best bet is photoshop and trying to crack it with the images you have. I'll Facebook/Tweet to see if anyone else has any leads...

CarolineLD said...

Thank you both. Sebastien, I'm impressed by the detective work! Hopefully I can manage to check some old directories in the near future.