A faded ad from the early days of Highland Park, Mich., once a city in ascent. The mural was revealed when an adjacent building was demolished. By DAN BARRY © Dan Barry
What is it about old advertisements, sometimes called “ghost signs,” that so intrigues us? After all, they are nothing more than expired expressions of commercialism, conveying little care for art or posterity. Yet our scanning gaze will almost always get lost in their echoing calls for attention. Why?
Perhaps we see them as faded invitations to another time, asking us to imagine the everyday rhythms of life when their fresh-paint message first shouted from a brick facade. We study the typeface rarely used today, the phrasing of language that rings odd to the modern ear and, most of all, the names of companies and products once so vital and now no more.
“It’s a reminder of our own timeline and how quickly things become obsolete,” said Frank Jump, a photographer and the author of “Fading Ads of New York City,” (The History Press, 2011). “One minute people had thriving businesses building buggies, and the next minute Henry Ford is pushing out automobiles on an assembly line and nobody wants horse and buggies anymore.” – Dan Barry – READ MORE
- In Highland Park, Mich., ‘Ghost Signs’ of a Brighter Era – NYTimes.com.
- New York Times writes about Highland Park ‘ghost murals’ a year after Detroit blogger -MLive. com – Ridiculous & bitter commentary.
