Fading Ad Blog Rotating Header Image

January 23rd, 2012:

In Highland Park, Mich., ‘Ghost Signs’ of a Brighter Era – NYTimes.com – Dan Barry

In Highland Park, Mich., ‘Ghost Signs’ of a Brighter Era - NYTimes.com

A faded ad from the early days of Highland Park, Mich., once a city in ascent. The mural was revealed when an adjacent building was demolished. By DAN BARRY © Dan Barry

What is it about old advertisements, sometimes called “ghost signs,” that so intrigues us? After all, they are nothing more than expired expressions of commercialism, conveying little care for art or posterity. Yet our scanning gaze will almost always get lost in their echoing calls for attention. Why?

Perhaps we see them as faded invitations to another time, asking us to imagine the everyday rhythms of life when their fresh-paint message first shouted from a brick facade. We study the typeface rarely used today, the phrasing of language that rings odd to the modern ear and, most of all, the names of companies and products once so vital and now no more.

“It’s a reminder of our own timeline and how quickly things become obsolete,” said Frank Jump, a photographer and the author of “Fading Ads of New York City,” (The History Press, 2011). “One minute people had thriving businesses building buggies, and the next minute Henry Ford is pushing out automobiles on an assembly line and nobody wants horse and buggies anymore.” – Dan  Barry – READ MORE

 

Fading Ads of NYC’s Frank Jump @ Queens Historical Society – January 26, 6:30PM

Fading Ads of New York City

PEARL GABEL FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Author Frank Jump in front of one of the “ghost signs” on Archer Ave. in Jamaica, Queens that he writes about in his new book, “Fading Ads of New York City.”

Queens Historical Society
143-35 37th Avenue
(between Bowne Street and Parsons Boulevard)
Flushing, NY  11354
Tel: (718) 939-0647
Visit Web Site
Map

$5.00 members, $8.00 general.

Dates & Hours

Thurs, Jan 26, 2012, 6:30 pm – 8 pm

[portfolio_slideshow]

Join author and photographer Frank Jump for a look at his new book Fading Ads of New York City. For nearly 20 years, Frank Jump has been documenting the fading ads that are visible, but less often seen all over New York. Disappearing from the sides of buildings or hidden by new construction, these signs are remnants of lost eras of New York’s life.

This photo-documentary is also a study of time and space, of mortality and living, as Mr. Jump’s campaign to capture the ads mirrors his own struggle with HIV. Mr. Jump will be focusing on the ads from departed industries in Queens, many from southern Queens. Fading Ads of New York City will be available for purchase and Mr. Jump will be signing copies of his book following the lecture.

  • Directions: By subway: #7 train to the last stop, Main Street, Flushing. Walk two blocks east on Roosevelt Avenue to Bowne Street. Turn left, continue walking until Margaret Carman Green Park. Walk through the park. QHS is the first house on the left hand side.By bus: Q13 or Q28 to Parsons & Northern Blvds. Q12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 26, 27, 28, 44, 48, 65, 66, to Main Street, Flushing and follow the above subway directions.By car: Take the Long Island Expressway from the Queens Midtown Tunnel to the Van Wyck Expressway. Get on the Van Wyck going north. Exit the Van Wyck at the Northern Blvd. East exit. Travel along Northern Blvd. past Main Street for three traffic lights until Parsons Blvd. Turn right on Parsons Blvd. Make a right on 37th Avenue. The Kingsland Homestead is at the right at the end of the cul-de-sac.

About this Organization

Queens Historical Society
Headquartered in the historic house known as Kingsland Homestead, the Queens Historical Society explores the history of the borough from its aboriginal roots up to the present day.
More