Ghost signs still haunt Edinburgh

Leila Kean has a busy day job, but in her spare time she runs a page on Facebook called Edinburgh Ghost Signs which she began about five years ago while on maternity leave.

She used to write for Time Out and while researching an article, happened on unusual things like the Turkish Baths in Portobello and other titbits of Edinburgh history.

It reminded her that she was really interested in nostalgia and ephemera, and sparked her curiosity about old signs. Now the Facebook page gets sporadic attention whenever a new sign comes to her notice.

Just down from Bruntsfield Place there is a sign for a chimney sweep which is one that Leila used to pass by on her way to school.

She said: "I used to look up and thought it was a bit like Mary Poppins. It was a relic of a trade that people were moving away from, leaving coal fires behind us."

Leila also really likes the shop frontage at the former tailors on Ferry Road just opposite Leith Library. She says it is a good example of the fonts used in the 1970s or 80s rather than a ghost sign in its strictest sense.

She explains that every time she goes out wherever she is, she is on the lookout for more, but it can depend on the time of day and the light. Leila continued: "There's some times that honestly, something just pops out of a wall suddenly, it is super faded, but the light's hitting it at nine o'clock in the morning and you see if for the first time."

And she could do with some help to find more signs, since these can be uncovered during renovation of a shopfront and then just as quickly disappear again. Others are restored, like the one at the Buttercup Dairy on Warrender

Park Road, which the current occupants, Fraser Livingstone Architects have restored and retained.

A Facebook follower who spotted one of Leila's photos told her that her grandfather was the signwriter, so this is quite recent history in some cases. Leila freely admits that it can all be a bit geeky, but it does add to our city's rich history.

Leila is also fond of the signs for businesses which are actually carved in stone above entranceways, like the stone carving in Maritime Street which depicts Bacchus, the God of wine above a former wine merchants. But one sign which she really loves is the Miller's Linoleum sign on Leith Walk.

She explains that some of these are just admired by people for the craft, as well as the letter form itself rather than purely for social history reasons.

But there are lots of them out there - so keep an eye out and share any images with Leila on Facebook or Instagram. Facebook: /GhostSignsEdinburgh Instagram: /edinburghghostsigns