Sam Roberts Bücher

The most comprehensive account of ghost signs ever published, focusing on London's hand-painted relics of advertising past.

As New York prepares to celebrate its four hundredth anniversary, a New York Times correspondent narrates the city's evolution through its architecture, highlighting why it became the nation's largest and most influential metropolis. From approximately seven hundred thousand buildings, twenty-seven are chosen for their emblematic significance in the city's economic, social, and political development over four centuries. The narrative delves into the stories behind these structures, exploring their lasting impact on the city and the global repercussions of their construction. While iconic landmarks like the Empire State Building are featured, the author also uncovers lesser-known tales of the personalities and events that shaped these architectural feats. The selection includes diverse structures, from the city's oldest bridge to the Coney Island Boardwalk, and reveals unexpected sites such as the original meeting place of the United Nations General Assembly, a hidden hub of global internet traffic, and a factory in a struggling neighborhood that produced billions in currency. Additionally, it examines the buildings that precipitated the Great Depression and catalyzed the New Deal. With a wealth of knowledge and engaging facts, the author illuminates the remarkable history, architecture, and promising future of this extraordinary city.

This book introduces the fundamentals of sign painting, allowing readers to learn about the tools, materials and techniques needed to create painted signs. All the basics are covered, from choosing and using brushes, paints, mahl sticks, dippers and pencils, to how to prepare and finish surfaces, transfer designs, mix paint and work with the brush. A gallery section of original alphabets, created for the book by sign painters around the world, provides visual inspiration and demonstrates a wide variety of styles and approaches.

Save money on this book by buying direct from the author at http: //kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk Flying pigs, retro hairstyles and hand grenades are among some of the images found in this book celebrating the art and craft of Cambodia's hand-painted advertising. The book introduces the signs, the people who paint them, and explores their links to Cambodian art, culture and history. The stories of the signs and their makers are inseparable from events in Cambodia over the last 40 years, notably the impact of the infamous Khmer Rouge regime. This crushed both art and commerce, the two spheres of activity straddled by these hand-painted signs. Their rise and gradual fall since this time takes the reader up to the current day and the uncertain future faced by this characteristic feature of Cambodia's streets. In considering the signs, the sign painters speak and share their thoughts, while others provide insights from the perspective of outsiders living and working in Cambodia. These include the author's reflections on his own engagement with the signs, and the stories they tell. This book is his tribute to this charming piece of Cambodian culture that has endured a turbulent past and faces similarly rough waters ahead. The signs featured in this book are given full English translations in a comprehensive notes section. A Khmer translation of the text is also available on the website, alongside a host of other bonus material including videos, additional photographs, and useful links: http: //kratie.ghostsigns.co.uk.