The time has come for another hand-picked selection of faded
hand-painted adverts and signs, more commonly referred to as "ghost
signs". Remember that all of these signs, and many more, can be located
in the slowly-expanding dedicated GoogleMap!
The sign pictured left can be seen in Bourg-en-Gironde, at the point where the rivers Dordogne and Garonne join to form the Gironde. Most prominent is the ageing panel advert for Byrrh, the legendary wine-based apéritif that blends red wine, the fortified wine known as mistelle, and quinine, a natural white crystalline. It sounds delicious.
Partly obscured is the faded painted advert for Grand Quartier, the large independent clothes retailer (for "hommes, dames, enfants") that was an integral part of Rue Sainte-Catherine in central Bordeaux from 1907 (originally trading as La Samaritaine until a 1929 name change) through to its closure in May 2012. A Mango clothes store will soon be taking its place there. Returning to the sign in Bourg, judging by the presence of the yellow and blue house-like shape that also features, I have a strange feeling there may even be a third sign in there somewhere... [Find it]
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The hair-care establishment that used to be located in this building on Cours Victor-Hugo in central Bordeaux was founded in 1880. The signs continue to herald services ranging from perms and beauty products to the manufacture of wigs. Spotted by Emilie and Guillaume, photos by fellow spotter Gilles Rose. [Find it]
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These two former garages can be seen in the Saint-Ferdinand and Caudéran districts respectively. The first, "Auto-Service" on Rue David-Johnston, still boasts a promise of some kind of "speciality" or "special service", but sadly it's no longer clear what that might have been! R. Brun's establishment, on Avenue du Général-Leclerc, proudly advertised their lubrication ("graissage") and car-washing ("lavage") services. [Find them: Auto-Service | R. Brun]
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Further afield, in Saint-Loubès, across the road from Salle Max Linder, the former Garage de la Renaissance repaired both cars and (presumably motorised) bikes. It now appears to be a private home but the present owners are no doubt safe in the knowledge that, if they were just to make a few minor adjustments, they could easily drive their car into their living room. [Find it]
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This sign, on a side-street in the Chartrons district, is all a bit of a mystery with a number of gaps to be filled in... so any help would be appreciated! There's obviously "Rhum" and "Pall rum" involved, but what are the letters overhead? "O.C.E."? What is the ornate name in the middle? "Serorie"? It's all very intriguing! [Find it]
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In Le Pian-Médoc, this private home was, possibly, once a hive of activity, serving as épicerie (grocery), charcuterie (cold meat delicatessen) and café to the surrounding community. [Find it]
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This is one of the many interesting buildings to be spotted within the fortified walls of the 17th-century Citadelle de Blaye. In the past its duty was to receive and dispatch incoming and outgoing messages, hence the word "messagerie" which can still be seen above the door. [Find it]
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On the corner of a building on the main town square in Pessac, this faded "Défense d'afficher" (no bill posters) sign continues to enforce a law which was first passed in 1881 to regulate where posters could and could not be positioned, particularly with regard to the walls of state buildings such as schools. Partner website Invisible Paris covered the subject some time ago.
Whether the word of warning here has been in place since 1881 is debatable, but it's definitely the worse for wear. And what, if anything, was previously positioned in the crest-like shape below the word of warning? I think that space is crying out for an A4 advert of some kind!... [Find it]
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