44 replies to this topic

[Team Bubble Tea]

Tasmanian Ghost Signs

Ghost signs are old faded signs, usually on a wall or façade they advertise an olden-days product or a business.
The signs can be most visible in damp or wet weather so Tasmania's a great place to hunt down these elusive reminders of our past.

Ghost sign hunting is a fun pastime and can really open our eyes to a vanishing past.

It would be great if you could post any Tasmanian ghost signs you find here. Perhaps give a rough location so other hunters can search for your sign. The more famous the product or company and the more faded the sign the better.

Bushells Tea (Hobart Waterfront)

[Shane V]

Awesome idea for a thread Jon. Very cool pic as well...will be on the lookout from now on

[Team Bubble Tea]

Another Hobart Ghost Sign. At this stage of deterioration it gets hard to tell what the sign was.

The Mercury (Nth Hobart)

Well that's what we reckon!

Cheers Jon TBT

[Shane V]

Still makes for a great pic Jon. Well done. Love the textures, but I am a texture junkie

[Team Bubble Tea]

This is the best standard Tasmanian ghost sign we have. But we tracked it down from another collection of ghost signs, so we can only claim part credit for it. In that photo you could see the last three letters of a company name. It took hours on the Yellow pages to get it's location. It's in a one-way road, you have to look back down against the traffic to see it.

Dr Morses Indian Root Pills (Nth Hobart)

Dr Morses Indian Root Pills survived until the 70's(?) in Australia and Canada.

Jon TBT

[Shane V]

Another cool pic Jon. Going to have a wander around town tomorrow to see if I can see some here.

[Mystic]

Great idea for a thread Jon. Love the pix, and will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for ghost signs in the future.

[Team Bubble Tea]

This set of four (maybe five?) ghost signs is in Launceston on the rear of the old National Theatre.

It's hard to tell what some of them are but the one under the "National Theatre" is an old advert for "Pure Velvet Soap".

National Theatre



Pure Velvet Soap

Cheers, Jon TBT

[Shane V]

You're really good at spotting this sort f thing Jon. Cool shots.

[Mystic]

Well spotted and great shots Jon

[Team Bubble Tea]

Thanks Shane and Mystic!

I guess I didn't mention that we pay the TBT kids to spot ghost signs ... $5 for an excellent ghost sign and $2 for an OK one.

Amazing how focused those young eyes can be...

Cheers
Jon TBT

[Shane V]

Jon

[Team Bubble Tea]

This is a well known ghost sign you can see if you head into Hobart from the south. McCanns music world still operates. But I reckon the prices have increased since this sign was painted.

Cheers
Jon TBT

[Shane V]

I do vaguely recollect seeing this one once...nice catch Jon.

[Team Bubble Tea]

We found this sign some while ago.

A Sunday morning walk around the city centre (Mrs TBT in bed with a second cup of tea) and the kids and I spotted this. From memory the building dates about 1832? and this is most likely one of the original signs. Paint was a LOT cheaper than copper. We got this as the office was being re-signed...

Cheers
Jon

[Shane V]

Another good find Jon. I keep forgetting to look for them when I am out and about...but will hopefully remember next time I am.

[Team Bubble Tea]

Had this Ghost Sign in our sights (view-finder?) for a while now and the lovely damp weather has brought it back to life. Under the top layer you can see "Arnotts". But we're not sure if the lower parts say "biscuits" or not.

Near the Fire Station

[Cascade]

Well spotted and captured.

[Mystic]

Very clever in spotting this.

[Shane V]

Nicely done Jon. Looks like a biscuits and I think I can make out what looks like cereal...could very well be mistaken though.