Advertising and Public Memory ─ Social, Cultural and Historical Perspectives on Ghost Signs

This is the first scholarly collection to examine the social and cultural aspects of the worldwide interest in the faded remains of advertising signage (popularly known as ‘ghost signs’). Contributors examine the complex relationships between the signs and those who commissioned them, painted them, viewed them and view them today. Some of the topics covered include cultural memory, urban change, modernity and belonging, local history and place-making, the crowd-sourced use of online mobile and social media to document and share digital artefacts, ‘retro’ design and the resurgence in interest in the handmade. The book is international and interdisciplinary, combining academic analysis and critical input from practitioners and researchers in areas such as cultural studies, destination marketing, heritage advertising, design, social history and commercial archaeology.

Stefan Schutt is Research Program Leader in Cultural Diversity, Technologies and Creativity at the Centre for Cultural Diversity and Wellbeing at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Leanne White is Senior Lecturer in the College of Business at Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

Sam Roberts is the director of Ghostsigns Ltd / Better Letters, and an associate researcher at the Typographic Hub, Birmingham City University, UK