I've recently added some new titles to the online book shop. These have an international focus, and include the first children's book that I've ever stocked. Read on for more details, including the current bestsellers.

Visit the Shop

I will soon have more copies of Alfredo Genovese's Fileteado Porteño books, and the first delivery of Bryan Yonki's Hand-Painted LA: Some Los Angeles Signs, so look out for those in a future email.

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For those considering books as Christmas gifts, I advise ordering by 18 December for UK, 8 December for Europe, and 30 November for elsewhere.

Slappy Hooper

The Legend of Slappy Hooper, 30th anniversary edition.

There aren't many children's books that star sign painters, but The Legend of Slappy Hooper is one of them, based on a piece of 1930s folklore from Chicago.

Author Aaron Shepard has re-released the book to celebrate its 30th anniversary, and given me some exclusive copies before they go on general sale.

Get Slappy

Boats & Brushes

The last ever copies of Flowers Afloat sold out very quickly, and so ahead of the forthcoming BLAG Demo with Ginny Barlow, I've stocked some alternative titles from the canal boat tradition.

The Art of the Narrow Boat Painters

A.J. Lewery has written a number of books on the British sign painting tradition, including Signwritten Art. This book, The Art of the Narrow Boat Painters, covers the craft's history, the motifs that characterise it, and some of its important practitioners, all richly illustrated with photos from Lewery's vast collection.

Look Inside

Roses & Castles

Roses & Castles: A Practical Introduction to Traditional Narrow Boat Decoration is a practical 'how to' book, but also includes a healthy dose of history and profiles of prominent craftspeople, past and present.

See More

Roses are Red

If you're feeling inspired by this narrowboat art and decoration, then join us on 30 November for Ginny Barlow's talk and demonstration. (Members get access to discounted tickets.)

Info + Tickets

Berlin Ghosts

Karbid: Berlin — From Lettering to Type Design is in English, French and German.

These days, ghost signs in Berlin are relatively rare. However, many were captured by Verena Gerlach before their loss and appear in the trilingual Karbid: Berlin — From Lettering to Type Design, which is part history and part type specimen. It is a beautifully produced publication, exploring the connections between lettering, sign painting, and type within a specific historical and geographical context.

Get Karbid

Jamaican Signs

Back in 2020, I interviewed Tracey Thorne about her Hand-Painted Jamaica initiative. Accompanying this work are two zines, the more general Hand-Painted Jamaica, and then Lots of Sign which looks specifically at the island's dancehall signs. Both are now stocked in the shop.

Buy Them

More Signs...

More Signs, Graphics & Stuff by Gary Anderson.

Gary Anderson's More Signs, Graphics & Stuff is part instruction, part inspiration. After short chapters on design, illustration, layout, and colour, the bulk of the book consists of drawings and photos of real signs by the author; over 100 in total.

Get More

Top Five

Bestsellers from the BLAG Shop.

These are the current bestsellers in the shop:

Shop Now

Event More Books

If you already have everything in the shop, then expand your library by tracking down some of the titles that have been covered in the past at bl.ag online...

Thanks for reading! Sam