A wonderful find today over at In Transit (no more): I agree with Julia: Finally someone captured these beautiful storefronts with insanely gorgeous typography before they are gone. Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York
A wonderful find today over at In Transit (no more): I agree with Julia: Finally someone captured these beautiful storefronts with insanely gorgeous typography before they are gone. Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York
I love the signs of this era. Where I live, it seems like they only last in the the down and out parts of town. It’s sad to see them go.
Feb 16th, 2009 / 11:37 am
I’ve been on several of Paul Shaw’s type walks (a regular at the TDC), and it’s such a sad thing seeing all this great signage disappear (especially in areas of NYC that are slowly being gentrified. Luckily, there are some towns and business where they are trying to preserve what is left of these typographic treasures.
Another storefront art form that is also disappearing are the painted letters you see on windows and on signs.
Feb 16th, 2009 / 12:56 pm
i would love this book so much
Feb 16th, 2009 / 5:59 pm
I love this.
There is a great book about disappearing little shops in England
that I really like:
http://www.amazon.com/Shutting-Up-Shop-decline-traditional/dp/1904587461/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234841855&sr=8-1
Feb 16th, 2009 / 10:39 pm
My grandparents had a remnants store on 20th & Broadway for many years. As a child, I visited them often from Long Island. I would get dropped off and run right into the store. It was so accessible. Truckers hung out in front and were friendly with my grandparents and the store workers. The front window was painted black and above it was lettered the name of the company: Jack Jacoby Co. I’m not sure if it was aesthetic or not. Sadly no one thought to take a picture of it when it was supplanted by a furniture store in the ’80s. But I do know the place held magic for me and in recent years as building entrances have become more and more monumental and impersonal, I’ve found myself missing that simple storefront. Three cheers for the creators of this book! Too often you don’t know what you’re going to miss until it’s already gone.
Feb 17th, 2009 / 7:29 am
Thanks so much for posting info about our Store Front book on your site. We are so glad that everyone is enjoying the photography. The book also is full of quotes from the various storeowners. We currently also have an exhibition at the Brooklyn Historical Society (128 Pierrepont St at Clinton) on display until March 29th, “Counter/Culture-The Disappearing Face of Brooklyn’s Storefronts”. It has large-scale panoramas, portraits of individual stores, and interviews with owners as well as a video. Check http://www.brooklynhistory.org/exhibitions/counter.html
You can also view more Storefront photos on our website: http://urbanimagephotography.com/JamesandKarlaMurraySTOREFRONT.html
Best regards,
Jim & Karla Murray
Feb 17th, 2009 / 3:08 pm