Friday 13 February 2009

Ghost signs (9): Peckham

A few Peckham ghost signs (mostly to be seen from the 436 bus route!).


First, Harry James the Bootman offers no nonsense. One imagines workboots which would last and last, rather than fashion footwear.


This ghost sign in Queen's Road still has a clear slogan: 'For Health'. However, what should we be buying for our health? That part of the image has faded badly, but it was for a company called Daren who made bread: see this image of their advert for 'the best brown bread'.

The parts which have survived also suggest a whole history of previous billboards placed on top.


A Gillette advertisement has survived in a colourful form; layers of other painting also show through. Contrast it to the version on Commercial Road, Spitalfields below.

5 comments:

Sam Roberts said...

Hey Caroline, nice signs. The 'For Health' one is a mystery, although that slogan reminds me a lot of similar lines from old Hovis signs. In Angel there's one that says 'Builds Health' and in Harringey there's one that says 'The Golden Brown' in a very similar typeface. See them here.

The Gillette one is new to me, where is it? The Spitalfields one is probably the best out there in my opinion.

CarolineLD said...

Thanks! The Gillette one is on Peckham Road, more or less opposite the Academy at Peckham.

I never thought of Hovis, but it does seem possible: the other lettering could be either a remnant of another ad or a bakers' name.

Peter Ashley said...

Ghost signs can sometimes come startlingly to life. A few years back they temporarily took down a hoarding in Twickenham and underneath was a c1937 painted wall for a car distributors. There must have been a hoarding over it for many years, as the colours were still fresh. You can see it in the book More London Peculiars, if Caroline will forgive the shameless plug.

CarolineLD said...

Forgiven - in fact, I'll add a plug for another of your books, Unmitigated England which I got recently and enjoyed immensely.

Peter Ashley said...

Thankyou Caroline.