Jump - Fading Ads of New York City

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2011 by Frank Jump

All rights reserved

First published 2011

e-book edition 2013

Cover design by Julie Scofield

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.62584.144.5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jump, Frank.

Fading ads of New York City / Frank Jump.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-60949-438-4

1. Advertising--New York (State)--New York--History. 2. Brick wall signs--New York (State)--New York--History. 3. Street art--New York (State)--New York--History. I. Title.

HF5841.J86 2011

659.1342--dc23

2011038134

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is dedicated to Tucker and Eric Ashworth.

Both would have been instrumental in the making of this book and ecstatic about its completion.

Contents

Introduction

Frank Jump is a commercial archaeologist, plain and simple. There is no school, no curriculum for this discipline; one earns his degree by taking an abiding interest in the subject, be it Route 66 filling stations, vintage brick pavers or neon signs, and one delves into the matter. One gets involved. Franks particular passion is one that I share as well: documenting fading advertisements on brick walls, visual whispers from the past found most commonly in the warehouse and factory districts and tucked away in the older neighborhoods of our cities.

Getting involved means canvassing these areas, locating the best examples of fadesFranks sobriquetdeciphering their texts, often obscured or jumbled; perhaps researching some extinct brand of coffee, flour or stove polish; capturing these ads on camera; and, finally, presenting them in an accessible and hopefully enjoyable manner. I am happy to report that Frank Jump has done all this, exceeding expectations in every way. No one paid him to do this; he embarked on this ambitious undertaking without thought of compensation other than the joy that comes from a job well done.

In 1997, Frank Jumps Fading Ad Campaign began as a 35mm chrome photographic project documenting vintage commercial advertisements on brick faces of buildings in the New York City area. Some of these ads, he was delighted to learn, were more than a century old, touting all-purpose patent medicines, horseshoeing services, long-forgotten cigars and whiskeys. He began roaming the city, photographing them in earnest.

Obtaining good photographs is not as easy as one might think. One soon learns that walls are not to be photographed at just any time of day. Depending on which direction they face, sunrise or sunset may work best for bringing out that warm cast on the brick. For other ads that are faded to the point of near-illegibilityghost signsan overcast day may serve to best bring out the outlines of the letters. North-facing walls can be a bother, the sunlight never quite bending enough to fully illuminate the old ad painted there. Moreover, the conscientious documentarian is not content with shooting large ads on the sides of tall buildings from street level; he wants elevation to get the angle right. Frank has more than a few stories about talking his way into lofty apartments and businesses in order to get those shots that otherwise would be impossible. And, if pressed, he would also admit to scaling rickety fire escapes; stopping in the No Stopping zone of the interstate; and taking an unauthorized stroll on the elevated tracks of the J Train, between stations, snapping pictures, ignoring the conductors commands to get the hell off. Had the MTA police arrested him for trespassing it would have been poetic indeed; all for the love of the sign.

Franks pictures and experiences have been funneled into a website and blog, fadingad.com, an interactive and readily navigable format showcasing, as mentioned, the vintage wall signs of New York City and surrounding locales. And there are some pretty good ones, ones that will make you smile, ones that may have escaped our attention had it not been for Franks intrepid odyssey that continues to this very day. Interestingly, certain signs found in Franks pictorial survey have transcended media, attracting artists who render them as watercolor paintings. In these instances, the sign has come full circle: from being painted on a wall, originally, to being photographed to being painted and placed back on a wall. A gallery wall.

And so it was that Franks Fading Ad Campaign would be recognized as something unique and valuable, the popular press, both here and abroad, running features about these hoary old signs and the man who captures them. Now that Frank has this book coming out, I must say that it is about time, for there is a fraternity of commercial archaeologists out there who anticipate turning its pages and drinking its contents like a parched pilgrim at a desert well. Frank once mentioned that of the thousands of ads hes photographed, many have already been covered up, vandalized or destroyed. Yet he took heart that many others still silently cling to the walls of buildings, barely noticed by the rushing passersby. Well, this book will get people to notice.

Wm. Stage

St. Louis, July 2011

Author of Ghost Signs: Brick Wall Signs in America, 1989

On Advertising Legend Douglas Leigh

Although I had learned about and come to respect Frank Jumps work in documenting ghost signs, it wasnt until the summer of 1999 that I had the opportunity to meet him in person. Jump happened to be on a road trip, heading back to New York City, and took time to stop and see what I was doing as founder of the American Sign Museum here in Cincinnati. The museum was very much in its infancy then, and I had just begun to assemble a collection of vintage signs and sign-related items.

Several months later, I had the occasion to visit with Frank and his partner, Vincenzo, at their Brooklyn home. That opportunity was all about our mutual interests, and weve remained friends as both of our projects progressed. I will never forget that first visit to see Frank

My trip to New York was a last-minute mission of mercy. The urgency had been created by a phone call I received from Ilaria Borghese, the great-granddaughter of Douglas Leigh, the creative genius behind Times Squares Great White Way. As she explained, Leighs widow (and second wife), Elsie, was planning to clean out their former Upper East Side apartment in the next two days, and all was going in a dumpster. She said, If you want anything, youd better get up here and grab it.

I couldnt believe itDouglas Leighs incredible legacy being tossed in a dumpster. I booked the next flight I could get to LaGuardia. As I was scrambling to get details together, I remembered Franks invitation from the summer before to stop by. I called him and, in a rather frantic voice, tried to explain my dilemma, asking if he could pick me up at the airport and let me stay overnight. Sure, he said without hesitation. You can tell me all about it when you get here.

He picked me up that evening, and over dinner, I rehashed my conversation with Ilaria and told him my plan was to get over to the apartment and save as much as I could. Frank said he would drive me over to the former Leigh penthouse first thing in the morning. He told me he had to be at work at noon that day but hed do whatever he could to help up until he had to leave.