This April 2023 BLAG newsletter features a bumper five new online articles, details of a very special book on Kickstarter, an events roundup, and a 'Ghost Sign Corner' with a direct link to our friend Joe Ferry. Read on for these, and lots more adventures in sign painting...

BLAG 03

Next week, Issue 03 of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine) goes to the printers. This time it is being sent with an additional file that will become an exclusive gift inside the magazine itself. Blaggers around the world can expect their copy, with gift, to arrive in June and July.

What's New Online?

In the lastest bl.ag online articles a sign painter goes missing in action, two flat brushes get reviewed, Newcastle welcomes back a gilded heritage sign, the door is opened to a remarkable collection of ephemera, and we get to look behind the scenes of a formal apprenticeship scheme.

Recreating Newcastle's Iconic Tyne-Tees Steam Shipping Sign

Learn from Ash Willerton's process for painting and gilding a replica heritage sign board on the River Tyne.

Learn from the Project

Detail of a gilded sign on glossy black background.
Reflection of the Tyne Bridge on Ash Willerton's Tyne-Tees Steam Shipping sign.

The Apprentice: Colossal Style

Take a look behind the scenes of Colossal Media's apprentice program, learning to paint large-scale mural advertising signs.

Get the Lowdown

Observers watching a demonstration o sign painting technique.
Learning at the shop on Colossal Media's Apprentice Program.

Tools of the Trade: Test Driving LetterArt's Flats

Get the final verdict as Studio Sign Co.'s Nick Lee tries out LetterArt's flat brushes.

Read the Brush Review

Step-by-step photos showing gilding and painting of a letter 'S'.
Review of new LetterArt brushes by Studio Sign Co.'s Nick Lee.

Will you become a paying member of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine), or leave a one-off tip in support of the publication?

For just $5/month you can directly contribute to our adventures in sign painting as a Browser, get full access to everything at bl.ag online, and read BLAG 01 digitally. As a Blagger you'll also receive BLAG in print twice each year.

Sign Up Today

Found in Frome: Moore & Sons' Farm and Feed Ephemera

Step inside humble West Country animal feed shop to see its vast collection of ephemera amassed over 100 years.

Step Inside the Shop

Man at a shop counter surrounded by signs.
Ernie Clothier and just some of the Moore & Sons ephemera.

Missing in Action: Cyril Foster, the Trinidad Sign Painter

Join the search for Trinidad sign painter Cyril Foster and its unexpected end.

Meet Cyril Foster

Man painting with a brush on a palette.
Cyril Foster with his brushes and palette.

Linktree

The Golden Era of Sign Design

Chicago's Beverly Sign Co. had a profound impact on sign design in the twentieth century. This book, being funded on Kickstarter, will feature over 100 of their original sketches and the stories behind them.

Back the Book on Kickstarter

Photos of sketches for signs.
Just a fraction of the material set to appear in The Golden Age of Sign Design.

Podcasting with Martina Flor

I was touched to be invited by Martina Flor to be a guest on her Open Studio podcast. I can't bear to listen back to it (I regrettably call all artists 'crazy' at one point!) but you can let me know how I did...

Listen to the Podcast

Promo graphic for Martina Flor's podcast with Sam Roberts.

Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: Chas Clarkson

Sydney sign firm Chas Clarkson celebrates 130 years in business this year, and Barbara Enright kindly shared this history page from their website.

Read the History

Two men standing in the doorway of a sign shop and its window displays.
The Clarkson Brothers' sign shop in London's Charing Cross, before they both emigrated with Charles (Chas) Clarkson setting up in Sydney, Australia.
Shout out to our wonderful sponsors A.S. Handover, The Design Trust, Mike Meyer Sign Painter, and Ronan Paints. And our patrons Blackout Signs & Metalworks, C&P Graphics, Chicago Sign Systems, Colossal Media, Dragging the Line, John Moran, Right Way Signs, Sepp Leaf Products, Skiltmaler Gundersen; Stender Bros. Sign Co., and W&B Gold Leaf.

Events Roundup

In addition to the new online BLAG Events, here are some highlights from the Event Listings page. Let me know if I've missed anything you've seen or are involved with.

View All Event Listings

BLAG Events

Our first online BLAG Chat is just over a fortnight away with stories and brush lettering demonstrations from Barbara Enright and Carla Hackett.

Get Your Free Ticket

Flyer for event with picture of woman painting a poster.
Tickets for On the Brush with Barbara Enright and Carla Hackett.
BLAG Events
Sign painting, sign and lettering events organised by BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).
BLAG (Better Letters Magazine)•Better Letters
More BLAG Events. Make sure you are logged in for the free/discounted tickets.

Letterheads

Tickets are now available for the Burds of the Brush meet in Copenhagen. This year there are also meets in Christchurch New Zealand and Sydney Australia, both open to international guests.

Letterheads Meets on Better Letters Magazine
Reviews, photo galleries, and films of Letterheads meets.
BLAG (Better Letters Magazine)•Better Letters
The Letterheads tag at bl.ag online.
Hand-lettered flyer.
Burds of the Brush in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Workshops

Mike Meyer is back with a three-day class in Minneapolis, and other folks have workshops coming up in: Portland Oregon (this weekend!); Phoenix and Tuscon Arizona; San Francisco California; Penland North Carolina; Stockholm Sweden; Huddersfield UK; and Barneveld Netherlands, among others.

Event Listings
Sign painting and lettering event listings from BLAG (Better Letters Magazine).
BLAG (Better Letters Magazine)•Better Letters

Ghost Sign Corner

Regular readers will recall the three alphabets from Joe Ferry that were published at bl.ag online back in January. Mark Oatis, who originally shared the alphabets, has added another layer to the Joe Ferry story...

Joe worked for The Brisson Sign Company, and the photo below shows the ghost of a sign that they, and likely Joe, painted pre-1950. It advertised Brecht Candies, and I managed to find a 1920 photo of the front of the building. The Brisson name can be seen faintly in white on black, just to the top right of the 'Brecht Dock' panel.

The Brecht Candies ghost sign, painted before 1950 by the Brisson Sign Company, and the factory building in 1920, courtesy of Denver Public Library Special Collections, X-23925.

Mark notes that:

"I've often wondered if the lower-case 'm' in 'make' was a mistake, since 'Life' and 'Sweeter' were both deserving of Caps. The very large factory building and office headquarters of Brecht (once chock-a-block with gorgeous smalt signs with dimensional letters) is now home to tony urban condominiums."

And a quick look on streetview shows that the sign itself has also been lost to what looks like aggressive cleaning work. RIP.

Back Issues

Now out of stock, BLAG 01 is available to read online.

And there's still time to get your hands on a copy of BLAG 02 which is also on its way to being gone forever, although the bonus material is only available to paid subscribers.

Buy BLAG 02

Two magazine covers.
Covers of BLAG 01 and BLAG 02.

Don't forget that BLAG 03 (with special gift) will be landing with Blaggers around the world in June and July. Sign up today to first in line for your copy.

Become a Blagger Today

And Finally

With all the talk of artificial intelligence coming for our jobs, we can take heart from the fact that this 200-year-old calligraphy-producing 'automaton' never lived up to its promise. There's another one here.

Still from a video of an 'automaton' producing calligraphy.

Thank you for reading this latest BLAG (Better Letters Magazine) newsletter. Don't forget to share with friends (click/tap 'forward' on this email, or tell them to subscribe here), and get in touch with things to include in future issues.

All good things, Sam

bl.ag / @betterletters / sam@bl.ag