Ghost Signs: Questions

Signs painted on outside walls of buildings look to me like they come from an era before my time. The faded, chipped ones look like a piece of lingering history. The new ones look like nostalgia. Where did these marketing tools that are also works of art come from?

The History of Ghost Signs

The Wisconsin Historical Society says that wall signs were important in the 1800s to the mid-1900s. Several sites refer to them as “ghost signs” because they fade with time. Other than that, my internet research yielded little historical information. It seems that the history of signs, particularly signs painted on walls, is a niche topic that may require contacting a university. ​

Ghosts Signs Start Stories

Whatever their history, I can admire the craftsmanship and bravery required to paint a sign that takes up most of a wall. 

How did they get the letters spaced perfectly? 

How many people without healthcare fell from the scaffolding?

When I see a fading sign, I wonder about the lives of those who commissioned it and those who painted it. 

Was the buyer hopeful for the success of their business, proud that they were making enough to buy a new sign? 

Did the painters come to work in chilling winds, nose clogged with mucus from a cold, hoping to finish before the impending freeze came and destroyed their work?

When I see a restored ghost sign, I smile because someone wanted to preserve what was old. I look at the new paint showing an old sign and wonder at the story behind those who created and saw the sign. 
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Was a mother dragged down the street by a whiny child who wanted a bottle of soda they saw advertised? 

Did two lovers meet in an alley, the dentist’s sign on the wall high above?

When I see a new sign, I smile because someone made an attempt at combining beauty with utility and that seems rare in business today. 

Why pay for a sign to be painted on a wall when you could order a plastic one to stick in your window? 

I am grateful for the extra effort and expense these people give.

Whether old or new, ghost signs suggest a story about the time and people that created them. Let’s appreciate the beauty, skill, and history this form of art represents.