Fading London The City's Vanishing Ghost Signs

At its core, London is a city in constant structural flux; an ever-evolving mass of glass and steel that shifts with the demands of contemporary design. Beyond the blaze of neon lights and the shrieks of braking double-decker buses, however, an older city survives. Here, in the margins, London’s ghost signs haunt old alleyways and side streets. This book uncovers intricate fading landmarks of consumerism in London’s more rugged back streets. The various discoloured and worn signs across the city unlock a forgotten social and commercial history, whilst simultaneously offering insight into what life was like in the early 1900s, when our now concrete capital was still blossoming.

Helen Cox is a writer and freelance journalist who is passionate about architecture, travel, history, branding, film, and feminism. She is educated to masters level and has worked both in full time employment and as a freelance journalist for a variety of publications and media outlets.