The Writing on the Wall
Rediscovering New York City’s “Ghost Signs”
By: Ben Passikoff
A Photographic and Historical Record of the City’s Vanishing Advertisements
As the great city of New York moves, changes, and evolves every day, the few remnants of its past go unnoticed. New York City’s “ghost signs” —advertisements painted across the facades of buildings that date back to the 19th century—are often invisible to the busy New Yorker, but defiantly conspicuous if only we turn our eyes and look upwards. These faded representations of the city’s rich economic and social history are slowly disappearing before our eyes, but not before they were captured by this photographer’s lens.
About the Author
Ben Passikoff started photographing old advertisements around his birth place of New York City when he joined the photography club in high school. His self-published book “The Writing on the Wall” was first launched at The New York Historical Society, in whose archives his photos now reside. He is the youngest contributor in the Society s 212 year history. Ben works as a freelance writer and filmmaker in New York City, New York.”
The Writing on the Wall
Rediscovering New York City’s “Ghost Signs”
By: Ben Passikoff, James Trager (Foreword by)
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Published: 19th September 2017
ISBN: 9781510702943
Number Of Pages: 224
Industry Reviews
“Passionately sought out and photographed…the most exciting visual concept for a book about New York in many a year.”
-George Lois, legendary ad man and designer for Esquire
“A quiet unassuming gem of a book that…offers up a procession of memories floating on the surface of the present.”
-Benno Schmidt, chairman of the board of CUNY and former president of Yale University
“Ben Passikoff has created an important record of the cultural, social, and commercial development of New York City in the 20th century.”
-Gerald Protheroe, Ph.D., chairman of the history department at The Browning School
“A pleasure to flip through and a valuable historical document. . . . Will not disappoint NYC enthusiasts.”
–Blogcritics
“[Passikoff] is documenting fading glimpses of New York’s past. The Writing on the Wall contains over one hundred examples of the city’s disappearing advertisements, along with historical context about the companies that commissioned them. . . . Their brightly painted outlines used to shout to New York pedestrians; now, they’re the haunting reminders of a bygone commercial era.”
-Artsy.net
“Passionately sought out and photographed…the most exciting visual concept for a book about New York in many a year.”
-George Lois, legendary ad man and designer for Esquire
“A quiet unassuming gem of a book that…offers up a procession of memories floating on the surface of the present.”
-Benno Schmidt, chairman of the board of CUNY and former president of Yale University
“Ben Passikoff has created an important record of the cultural, social, and commercial development of New York City in the 20th century.”
-Gerald Protheroe, Ph.D., chairman of the history department at The Browning School
“A pleasure to flip through and a valuable historical document. . . . Will not disappoint NYC enthusiasts.”
–Blogcritics
“[Passikoff] is documenting fading glimpses of New York’s past. The Writing on the Wall contains over one hundred examples of the city’s disappearing advertisements, along with historical context about the companies that commissioned them. . . . Their brightly painted outlines used to shout to New York pedestrians; now, they’re the haunting reminders of a bygone commercial era.”
-Artsy.net
