Given our country’s economic status over the past three years, nostalgia has become a welcome escape. I suppose virtually every generation fondly reminisces about some aspects of the “good old days,” even the Greatest Generation that persevered through the Great Depression, but it’s probably now become a national pastime.
A new website, paintedad.com, is a definite feel-good. It’s through the efforts of Wm. Stage, who wrote the famous “Ghost Signs” book in 1989 and, more recently, “The Painted Ad: A Postcard Book of Vintage Brick Wall Signs”, which celebrates black-and-white images from the turn of the century (20th, that is). His daughter, Margaret, assisted. (You can’t order the book on the site, but it includes information about the publisher, Floppinfish Publishing Co. Ltd., which, like Stage, calls St. Louis home.) Stage began photographing wall and ghost signs in 1974.
The site’s a work in progress that will be updated. Its galleries are currently divided into East of the Mississippi; West of the Mississippi; and Historic: “the latter being b/w images from past times, largely taken by photographers who were not necessarily trying to document signage, but signage happened to be in the background,” Stage said.
Many of the gallery postings are only captioned by the location, the year the photograph was taken, and the photographer’s name. The section called “Recent Posts” provides images with significantly more detail.
The site includes a bibliography, but, unfortunately, none of the listings have hot links. However, there are links to related websites.
Stage explained that none of the images are for sale, because “We don’t want to steal anyone’s copyright or unjustly profit from others’ labors.” He is happy to accept submissions as jpeg files, as well as any commentary on the website’s contents. Email Stage at wm4932@yahoo.com or Margaret Stage at margaretstage@yahoo.com.