Echoes of Edinburgh’s past can still be glimpsed today, thanks to numerous ‘ghost signs’ which linger around the city, as Paul F Cockburn explains.
Past and present constantly intertwine in Edinburgh, and not just when buildings from different centuries stand side-by-side. Glimpses of the capital’s commercial life, some dating back to the 19th century, are still visible in the form of hand-painted signage on the capital’s buildings. Many of these ‘ghost signs’ have been worn down to near invisibility by the elements; others, covered for decades by later signage, remain remarkably well preserved. They all, however, have a story to tell.
“I knew that Edinburgh had quite a lot of old signage that sometimes you’d see it on the sides of walls,” says Mark Donald, owner of The Milkman coffee shop on Cockburn Street. Nevertheless, when he took on the premises—former home of the Toddle-In—he knew little about ghost signage. “Originally, we were planning on just putting up our own sign, but every time we took down a layer of signage above the door it was like going back at least 10 years, until I was beginning to hope that we might find something really interesting.”
When the final layer was peeled back to reveal “Confections Snacks Cigarettes”, painted onto the stone, Mark was amazed. “Honestly, my instant reaction was: I have to keep it!” he insists. “The paint was beginning to flake, but it was incredibly well-preserved. So, I got in touch with Edinburgh World Heritage, because I was aware they had done similar things on Cockburn Street. They came out, looked at it and were instantly interested in helping out.”
Thanks to an Edinburgh World Heritage grant the flaking paint was reapplied to the wall before protective layers were added on top, preserving the signage for future generations. But what exactly makes some old marketing a ‘ghost sign’?
Sam Roberts, who runs a website on the subject and edited Advertising and Public Memory: Social, Cultural and Historical Perspectives on Ghost Signs, is pretty clear on the matter. “There are lots of arguments for and against the inclusion of other forms—mosaic entry ways or ceramic tiling signage–but for me the phrase ‘ghost sign’ captures two important aspects. Firstly, they are historic signage that has become in some way redundant—they’ve fallen out of use, but we can still see and read them. Secondly, there’s the visual aspect that you only really get from the painted signs; that over time they begin to fade, leaving this translucent, less than full-bodied appearance.”
Thus The Scotsman newspaper’s name, carved into the stone of its former premises on North Bridge, arguably isn’t a ghost sign. However, the simple signage for a chimney sweep in Bruntsfield, or a tailor on Leith Walk certainly qualify. Sometimes the signage is pretty clear even now; the home of the University of Edinburgh’s music department, just off Nicolson Square, still clearly boasts the services of long-gone Martinot’s—manufactures and sellers of “fancy leather goods and walking sticks”, among many other items.
“My background’s in the advertising industry, and I was interested in its history, where it had all come from,” Sam Adams explains. “More by accident than anything, I noticed an old painted sign. I went to the History of Advertising Trust but they didn’t have a lot of material on this particular form of advertising. I was curious and wanted to find out more, so set about doing my own research, documenting as many as I could, talking with people about them. They really strike a cord with people; everybody seems to be able to remember one from their youth or know one near to them. They inspire very strong emotional connections for a lot of people and that encouraged me to continue my researches—and here I am, 11 years later and I’m still doing it!”
Part of the attraction of ghost signage, according to Edinburgh-based Leila Kean, is the history they embody. “We live in quite a throwaway era at the moment,” says the food blogger and producer with LUX–the Food & Drink Agency. “For me, in ‘hunting’ for ghost signs, there’s the unashamed nostalgia factor, but also capturing these glimpses of businesses offers more of a sociological perspective. We see Frederick Street’s merchants, industry at Leith’s shore, dentists, grocers, clothiers across the city. Often, with a quick online search of Post Office records, you can find out exactly when a particular business operated.
“There’s also the artistic interest of looking at older sign-writing styles,” she adds, “the fonts used and the skill of mosaic tiling in shop entrance ways. People are part of the story of every element of these—the time, the discipline and in the craft skills, some of which have all but disappeared these days.”
Leila’s interest in ghost signs, and particularly those in Edinburgh, led her to set up a Facebook page in 2015, to which she and others now upload pictures of ghost signs they’ve found around the city. “Recording them photographically is a good way to preserve something that was there,” she says. “A firm’s success, a family business, a public facility; they’re all part of Edinburgh’s story.
“I’ve seen the interest in ghost signs really rise over the past ten or so years,” she adds. “Social media has, without a doubt, helped in the ease of being able to share captured images, and Facebook pages present an inclusive, easy-to-access forum. I’m delighted if we get a beautiful image sent in by someone to share with the page’s followers. Equally, if it’s a slightly more functional shot of a ghost sign taken in a rush with a smartphone, it’s just as welcome!”
Anyone who doubts the growing interest in ghost signs need only sit in The Milkman for half an hour. “People take pictures of the old sign above the door all day,” Mark Donald says. “It’s good for me as a business owner, as they repost those pictures on social media, but it also draws attention to Edinburgh. In a world heritage site, it all adds up.”
More:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/GhostSignsEdinburgh/
www.ghostsigns.co.uk
First published in Edinburgh Life #March/April 2017.
