Thursday 25 September 2014

Ghost signs (113): Lewisham paint


This lovely ghost sign on Belmont Hill was uncovered earlier this year when a hoarding was removed - many thanks to Alan Burkitt-Gray for telling me about it. Running Past has done some fascinating research on the sign and dated it to before 1912, making it a particularly exciting example. 

C Holdaway advertises himself as a 'Painter Grainer & Decorator' as well as offering 'estimates for general repairs'. While painters, decorators and general repairs remain familiar in modern life, the 'grainer' is less common today. Graining was a method of using paint to imitate wood - either on non-wooden surfaces, or on soft wood to make it look like more expensive hardwood. It enjoyed real popularity in the nineteenth century, when labour was cheap and wood expensive; today, it is often more economical to use the real thing than employ an artisan to imitate it. How apt, then, that this vintage sign should make reference to an equally vintage trade.



3 comments:

Running Past said...

Thanks for the kind words - glad you found the 'sign' - it is fantastic isn't it?

Jim Hudson said...

That's funny, just moved back to Belmont Hill after many years in Berlin. Had assumed sign must have been there but I never spotted it. Now I know!

Many thanks,
Jim

@archiberlin

Anonymous said...

I love this advert because my name is C HOLDWAY almost the same. i had wondered, despite living near Lewisham for over 40 years, why i had never noticed this advert with my name(Nearly) on it before, but it seems it had only just been recently uncovered.mmm...