Ghost Type
Fading signs from times gone by
The Brief
Build an image bank of “ghost type”
Trim Size
Any
Learning Points
Photographing type
Boosting historical awareness
Tools
Photoshop, Camera
Inspiration & Resources
With examples from all over the world, vernaculartypography.com is an amazing collection ghost type, or what it refers to as “vanishing symbols of art and culture.”
It’s not often one gets to use the word palimpsest. Literally, a palimpsest is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off so that the page can be reused for another document. In modern usage, it has come to refer to something that has levels of meaning that build on each other. Such is the case with ghost type that has faded, or in some cases been overlaid with more lettering, and taken on new meanings in a different age.
Sometimes ghost type is revealed only when adjacent buildings are demolished, and sometimes it may see the light only fleetingly before the building it adorns is also torn down. But there are also some specimens that are cherished, and people come from far and wide to document them. Part of the appeal is that the lettering is often handmade and reflects local traditions and aesthetics. A reminder of local flavor and individual craft that stands in opposition to the global corporate blandness that is engulfing us.
Ghost type has become so trendy and Instagramable that the look is often re-created with modern techniques, and it’s not always easy to tell the real from the fake ghost type.
Along with lots of other people, I (Nigel) collect these letters without knowing what, if anything, I will do with them. If I may paraphrase New York street photographer Garry Winogrand, I photograph ghost type to see what ghost type looks like photographed. I love the feeling of “a life gone by” that I get when I see ghost type. It makes think that walls can talk.
Make yourself a collection in Lightroom Classic or Bridge or wherever you organize your photos, and you will soon find that you have your own unique document of a world that is fast disappearing in front of our eyes. These days, when so many of us have smartphones in our pockets, it’s easier to collect ephemera. You could combine these images into a new work of art, perhaps create a website, or a book, or use them as texture in a collage, or just post them on your Instagram. But seeing and appreciating the incredible typography of the past is its own reward. Always be on the lookout for ghost type (amongst other things). Your ongoing search will turn a boring walk into an important quest. If you can find beauty in the mundane, you’ll have a lot more beauty in your life.
