In Pictures: 10 of London's Most Fascinating Ghost Signs

Ghost signs are faded hand-painted advertisements that once covered London's brickwork before printed billboards became widespread in the 1960s. The practice began in the late 19th century, peaked during the interwar period, and 274 examples survive across the capital today, preserved largely by the durability of oil and lead-based paints applied by specialist painters known as "wall dogs."

The book London's Ghost Signs, out on 1 November, explores the stories behind these faded businesses, products and trades. Among the ten highlights featured are Cakebread, Robey & Co in Stoke Newington, a builders' merchants founded in 1882 that became known for its stained and etched windows; the Take Courage sign near Borough Market, painted in 1955 as a tribute to the Anchor Brewery, first established in 1616; and the Brymay sign in New Cross, whose colours were shielded for decades by a layer of soot — Brymay, short for Bryant and May, was a matchmaker founded in 1843. Diespeker & Co near Angel, an Italian mosaic and terrazzo business established in 1881, also features, as does a 1920s Nestlé advertisement in Wandsworth that was directly supporting breastfeeding. A Peterkin custard ad in Wandsworth is linked to a 1926 court case over its claimed egg content, and Cutts & Co, a Peckham printing enterprise founded in 1884, rounds out the list alongside Uden & Sons funeral directors in New Cross, dating to 1881 and still operating today.