From the late 1800s to the early 1950s, painted wall signs brought our communities notice of products like Coca-Cola, Grapette Soda, Kis-Me-Gum, and Uneeda Biscuit. Photographer Jeff Holder and author Cynthia Haas have preserved and recaptured these rapidly fading images of the past.

This is the first scholarly collection to examine the social and cultural aspects on the worldwide interest in the faded remains of advertising signage (popularly known as ‘ghost signs’). Contributors to this volume examine the complex relationships between the signs and those who commissioned them, painted them, viewed them and view them today. 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.

Old advertising painted on the sides of buildings in South Carolina also known as 'ghost signs

The Genealogy Annual is a comprehensive bibliography of the year's genealogies, handbooks, and source materials. It is divided into three main sections.p liFAMILY HISTORIES-/licites American and international single and multifamily genealogies, listed alphabetically by major surnames included in each book.p liGUIDES AND HANDBOOKS-/liincludes reference and how-to books for doing research on specific record groups or areas of the U.S. or the world.p liGENEALOGICAL SOURCES BY STATE-/liconsists of entries for genealogical data, organized alphabetically by state and then by city or county.p The Genealogy Annual, the core reference book of published local histories and genealogies, makes finding the latest information easy. Because the information is compiled annually, it is always up to date. No other book offers as many citations as The Genealogy Annual; all works are included. You can be assured that fees were not required to be listed.

Lettering on buildings and in the public realm affects our environment. The core of this manual is formed by archigraphy projects that represent a strategy of how architecture can be enriched by graphic elements. The structural, material or visual methods can thus be used as inspiration for the reader’s own designs. A compilation of lettering techniques, advice on project management, make this manual a tool for architects and graphic designers.

The fading advertisements on the walls of Birmingham's buildings paint an illuminating picture of the men and women who built an industrial boomtown in the first half of the twentieth century. Advertising expert, artist and writer Charles Buchanan unravels the mysteries behind Birmingham's ghost signs to reveal glimpses of the past now hidden in plain sight. Featuring stunning color photography by Birmingham native Jonathan Purvis.