Better Letters Magazine - Field Notes from BLAG: January 2025

'Field Notes' is the new name for the BLAG Monthly email, giving me a place to share things of interest that I come across in my research and meanderings on the worldwide web.

You can expect an assortment of links to articles, videos, resources, and other bits and bobs in the wider realms of sign painting, lettering, ghost signs, and more.

Contents

In this edition:

• Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: Althouse & Geiger
• Ghost Sign Corner: Borden's Evaporated Milk
• Members in the News: Koy Sun and Katy V. Meehan
• You Spelled It Wrong: Peaky Blinders
• Book Club: India Street Lettering Zines and Hand-Painted Stones and Marbles
• On the Brush (and Marker): Nan Parati
• Cartoon: Signs of Life
• Sundries, including Instagram cold turkey, Jeepney merch, graveyard robbery, Debbie Reynolds, and more...

Field Notes: January 2025

Ye Olde Sign Shoppe: Althouse & Geiger

Men at work at Althouse & Geiger in Sydney. Photo: State Library, New South Wales.

It's now ten years since Michael Bogle told the story of Sydney's Althouse & Geiger sign painting and decorating firm, founded by American immigrants John Althouse and F.A. Geiger. That piece has some wonderful photos, and there are even more in David A. Smith's account, including their work on trade union banners.

(There's more from Michael Bogle in his piece on sign painting in Hill End, New South Wales, in the 1870s, and you can learn more about trade union banners in the BLAG 05 feature on the Durham Bannermakers.)

Ghost Sign Corner: Borden's Evaporated Milk

Before and after: The Borden's Evaporated Milk ghost sign in Detroit. Photos: Robert Allen and Amelia Benavides-Colón, Detroit Free Press.

Billboards and adjacent buildings play a major role in protecting ghost signs from the sun, and it was the demolition of an adjacent building that exposed this Borden's Evaporated Milk sign in around 2015. Its decay in the subsequent decade is remarkable.

The ghost sign is one of more than a dozen in this nice piece on the Detroit Free Press.

Members in the News: Koy Sun and Katy V. Meehan

Koy Sun on KPBS Arts on YouTube.

The multi-talented and inspirational Koy Sun had a lovely write-up on KPBS, including this video talking about his journey into sign painting, and his residency at Bread & Salt. Nice work Koy!

Vintage neon from the hand of Katy V. Meehan.

Meanwhile, Katy V. Meehan is the subject of an interview with Charlotte Beach for Print Magazine. It's a deep dive into her work on vintage signs, and you can see her in action in the recording of her demonstration at BLAG Meet last year.

You Spelled It Wrong: Peaky Blinders

Eagle-eyed observers spotted a typo on this canalboat lettering.

Recent filming for the British Peaky Blinders series featured scenes set on a canal. This needed some lettering on the boats, but locals were quick to spot a spelling blunder in the Wryley name.

(You can learn a bit more about the tradition of narrowboat decoration in The Art of the Narrow Boat Painters, and the short talk during Ginny Barlow's 'Roses are Red' demonstration.)

Book Club: India Street Lettering Zines and Hand-Painted Stones and Marbles

Cinema lettering in Kolkata from Pooja Saxena's new zines.

The 'Book Club' section of BLAG 04 featured three zines from Pooja Saxena and her India Street Lettering initiative. She's now added a further three with lettering on cinemas from Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Lucknow. These, and the first three, are now available with international shipping from Blaft Publications.

Hand-Painted Stones and Marbles is a practical guide to the craft of creating faux marble effects.

If you've ever wanted to try your hand at marbling, then Hand-Painted Stones and Marbles from Julien Gautier could be just what you need. Richly illustrated, the text is in both English and French, and the book is available here from A.S. Handover.

On the Brush (and Marker): Nan Parati

Letteirng by Nan Parati for the Newport Jazz Festival, signed by the artists ahead of being auctioned the raise money for the Newport Festivals Foundation.

There are lots of folk that have regular gigs doing the signs and sign painting for big festivals, but not many can top the 40 years of work that Nan Parati has put into big events across North America. I learned about her via an auction of Newport Jazz Festival pieces last year, and have since found this longer interview that tells her unique sign painting/lettering story.

Cartoon: Signs of Life

Panel from Toby Morris' 'The Side Eye: Signs of life' in The Spinoff.

Thank you to Lee Littlewood for sharing this comic strip from Toby Morris, documenting his time with veteran sign painter Errol Johnstone in Paeroa, New Zealand. Be sure to scroll slowly to catch some of the movements that Toby has incorporated into the story.

(For more sign painting in cartoon form, check out '¡Ay, Caramba! It's Cartoon Time' at bl.ag online.)

Sundries

Work-in-progress on goods in the Pinay Collection that supports Jeepney artists in the Philippines.

To finish up, a few more links of note:

• Instagram Cold Turkey: It's almost a year since Archie Proudfoot gave an account of his experience taking time away from Instagram, with some lessons for anyone that might be scaling back on their use of that and other social media platforms. (There's more from Archie in this bl.ag online article and in BLAG 04. Also check out Johanna Renoth's piece on marketing without social media for more on that theme.)
• Grave Concerns: Teucer Wilson and the Lettering Arts Trust are raising the issue of headstone carvings being replicated, in violation of the designer's copyright. With signs being similarly in the public realm, could this issue spread further?
• Jeepney Merch: If you liked the 2023 feature on Jeepneys in the Philippines, then you'll love some of this merchandise that has been created to support Jeepney artists.
• Debbie Reynolds' Signed Sign: The Las Vegas Review-Journal has an in-depth account of the restoration of Debbie Reynolds' iconic sign that's housed at the Neon Museum, where you'll also find Craig Winslow's 'Brilliant' exhibit.
• Dumbing Down: We've previously looked at the use of lead in paints, and the dangers it poses. There's now research that attempts to show the impact of the substance on the IQs of Romans over 2000 years ago.

Thanks

Thank you for reading. If there's something you'd like to see in a future edition, then please email sam@bl.ag, and I'll pick it up when I return from the field.

All good things, Sam

bl.ag | @blag@type.social