Invisible Bordeaux has once again teamed up with real-world and online acquaintances to proudly present another set of faded hand-pain...

A second selection of ghost signs in and around Bordeaux


Invisible Bordeaux has once again teamed up with real-world and online acquaintances to proudly present another set of faded hand-painted adverts and signs or, if you will, "ghost signs"! (And don't forget that they can all be located in the handy dedicated GoogleMap!)

This first find is from the right-bank suburb of Carbon-Blanc. It promotes "Meubles Bayle", the furniture outlet founded in Bordeaux in 1854. In the early 1900s, heir Émile Bayle went on to set up a number of neighbouring shops catering for different furniture needs and tastes on Cours d'Albret in central Bordeaux (or "Bx" on the ad, the "ET" probably being the final letters of "Albret").
Today, that concept remains but the location and scale have changed. Bayle now run a host of branded furniture shops (But, Crozatier, Fly, Monsieur Meuble and Cuisine Schmidt) which are all handily positioned next to each other in what they still like to call "le Village du Meuble" in Mérignac.


There are obviously at least three generations of adverts competing for space here, although the white and blue sections on the right have only recently resurfaced. They had previously been covered up by a modern advertising hoarding, as can still be seen on the September 2008 shot that is currently visible on Google Streetview (as pictured right). The metal rods that supported the hoarding are still in position. [Find it]

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This ad for a Renault garage can also be seen in Carbon-Blanc. This incarnation of the Renault logo was used by the car manufacturer between 1959 and 1972. [Find it]

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"À La Ruche" (the beehive), in the right-bank district of La Bastide, would have supplied haberdashery and sewing products and materials, as well as textile dye and shoes. (Photo: @Bordeaux_Expats[Find it]
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Rue du Loup is on the el Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route through the city, hence the scallop shell on the street sign. Perhaps pilgrims could carry out a few running repairs on their footwear at this supplier of leather (cuirs) and shoemaking tools and materials (crépins). [Find it]
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I have a funny feeling that the current owners of this property no longer supply the neighbourhood with "charcuterie de campagne", but I may be wrong... (Photo: Gilles Rose) [Find it]
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This fantastic old shopfront was spotted by @Bordeaux_Expats and @GillesRose. Could find no traces of the "waterproof clothing manufacturer" Emel on Google so if anyone has any further information, do get in touch! (Photo: Gilles Rose) [Find it]

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Today, this building is home to TOC, or "Trouble Obsessionnel Culinaire", a designer kitchen ustensil boutique. In bygone years it was a parlour providing hair care, massages and manicure services (not to mention "postiches", i.e. wigs or toupees) for a male and female clientèle. Spotted by @mllebordeaux. [Find it]


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Rue Capdeville: there's a lot going on here, with various generations of painted signs all fading and blurring into a virtually illegible succession of messages. One appears to be promoting the painter and glazier (peinture et vitrerie) entreprise générale Marcel Salles (formerly Messieurs Magot), located at 74 (?) Rue du Loup.

Further down the wall are just hints of other activities: sommiers (bed frames), immobilier (real estate). Given the state of the walls, it looks as if these signs could soon be fading away for good... [Find it]

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Dubonnet is a wine-based apéritif that was first invented in the mid-19th century (its creator, Joseph Dubonnet, was in fact aiming to create a cure for malaria!). Since 1976, the drink has been distributed by the Pernod-Ricard group. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dubonnet became synonymous with its advertising slogan: "Dubo, Dubon, Dubonnet".

The brand and the slogan remain an occasional roadside sight throughout France, as here in Gujan-Mestras on the Bassin d'Arcachon. Other Dubonnet ghost signs can be viewed on the ghostsigns.co.uk and Painted Roadside Advertisements websites. [Find it]

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A double-whammy for this charming house in the centre of Saint-Loubès. The front wall displays the tenant's status as "garde champêtre", the country warden or rural policeman. Either side of the upper-floor windows are carved "RF" homages to the République française.

Around the corner is this faded advert for "Chocolat Louit", the chocolate manufacturer founded in the 19th century by Émile Louit, heir to a successful family foodstuff business and the man who created Le Journal de Bordeaux... as well as funding a number of buildings in Bordeaux including a doomed theatre, initially known as Théâtre Louit. The Louit chocolate factory was situated in the area where the France Télévisions TV studios can now be found. [Find it]

  • Other Invisible Bordeaux ghost sign features here and here.

4 comments:

  1. De rien, Tim ! J'en ai repéré deux autres que je n'ai pas encore eu l'occasion de prendre en photo : une à l'angle de la rue Chauffour et de la rue Georges-Bonnac (pour une marque de frigidaire il me semble) ; l'autre rue Nancel-Pénard (une ancienne publicité — très en hauteur — pour de la Suze si ma mémoire est bonne).

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    1. Excellent ! À bientôt pour la suite donc... :-)

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  2. Il y a aussi un très gros "Du beau du bon Dubonnet" au début du Cours de la Marne, côté Gare !

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