a coworker offered a link to a site called lilek. it is a large collection of old goodies, ads, newspaper comic strips, post cards etc. the author/collector offers much sardonic commentary, and all is well with the world. what the link lead me to, however, is two words, “ghost ads”, or rather three words, really, if you include the alternate “ghost signs”.

as is usually the case with this great-big-world-wide-web-thingy i was reminded that it’s all about words. everything you could want truly is out there, it’s just a matter of settling on the right words to search with.
now walking through new york you occasionally notice a brick wall with a barely perceptible or many times overlapped advertisement from days past. for instance this one (which was beautiful in real life, but i’m not sure is still there) anyhow, i’ve always loved these things, but it never crossed my mind to look for them on the internet. would not have even known what to call them. well evidently people have decided they are called ghost ads and there are resources aplenty on the net. one which deals strictly with new york, and features all sorts of juicy treats aside from just the ads is forgotten new york, a really fun site. others, covering new york or otherwise. 1, 2, 3, and 4. now i thought about giving this last link it’s own post because i did not want it to get lost but it is directly related so… here it is: ruavista. this site has an extremely rich and beautiful selection of stuff from cities all over the world. any artists, typographers, graphic designers, or romantic city dwellers would do well to check it out. a lot to see here. very nice… and that’s it. enjoy.