Hi everyone, Im wondering if I could borrow your brains again for my next chaper on a dissertation about ghost signs....restoration! As i'm not personally in the painting field, i'm really wanting to get some views from you as the professionals. What does everyone think- should restoration be done on ghost signs? How do you decide whether to restore a particular one or not? Should they be left to fade out naturally or should they be preserved for new generations to see? Is it still a piece of history if it has been freshly restored with new style paints? etc. I'd be interested to see this discussion!
Cheers, Sal
Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :
Mark Oatis should answer this question, and we all could learn from a qualified speaker.
Posted by Jon Butterworth (Member # 227) on :
It is a policy amoung Australian Letterheads to restore or replicate old signage where ever possible before we lose part of our heritage.
Gail and Devo hosted the first meet to restore old "Indian Root Pills" signs on a rusty barn near Newcastle. Not only did the crew enjoy the weekend but we all learned valuable lessons as to how the old wall-dogs did such a project. The barn is now a historical landmark.
One year our annual OZ Meet transformed the old town of Portland NSW into a tourist attraction with many walls painted with replica signs of by-gone products.
John Jordon had a meet to repaint ghost signs in Sydney before they disappeared.
Let us not lose our past!
Posted by Sally Wilson (Member # 5343) on :
If you are re-doing a sign, would you try to use the same sort of paint that it was originally painted with in order to retain its historic value?
