Jeffrey Johnson’s Favourite Signs
Enigmatic Photographer Jeffrey Johnson deposited a stack of his pictures from the seventies and eighties with Archivist Stefan Dickers at the Bishopsgate Institute, including these photos of signs and ghost signs. Sharing Jeffrey’s relish at this magnificent array, I cannot resist the feeling that he is one after my own heart in savouring both the poetry and aesthetics of London’s old signage.



Win her affections with A1 Confections

Temporary office staff urgently required

Permanent waving clubs held here


More news than in any other daily paper


English clock system


Barry Lampert – Your choice for Hackney

The best food for the whole family sold here

Home cured haddocks & bloaters


The noted house for paper bags

£40 worth for four shillings weekly


Families and dealers supplied


Harris the sign king

Headache draughts

Progressive working class catering






For that natural just combed look

Radio London wireless said ‘The cosy fish bar in Whitecross St serves the best quality fish & chips in London.’

See the light…taste the light

We specialies in suits, donkey coats, officers uniforms, belts & braces, sailors clothing…


Laying out & measuring up undertaken
Photographs copyright © Jeffrey Johnson
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I love Porn and Dunwoody ha ha. And the Tea Room looks like the frontage of a funeral directors!
I love looking at these photos. Fabulous!
A great glimpse of the past!
I wonder if any of the ghost signs still exist?
Brilliant, just brilliant.
A lost paradise, gone forever.
Top notch memories.
Dear GA, if you ever decide to ‘undertake measuring up’ for Spitalfields Life T-shirts, I’d like to purchase a few shirts with the “Commit No Nuisance” sign printed on them. I think One Size Fits All would suffice.
Remember some of these. Window to the past. Thanks