“The richness of this book lies in the quality and variety of images and the abundance of typographic solutions found within the painted signs. It should be required reading for those interested in the history of visual communications.”
— Society For Commercial Archeology NewsJournal

The first commercially produced, authoritative documentary on wall signs. A coffee-table paperback edition with 110 images, both black-and-white and color.

Acclaim for Ghost Signs: Brick Wall Signs in America

“The richness of this book lies in the quality and variety of images and the abundance of typographic solutions found within the painted signs. It should be required reading for those interested in the history of visual communications.”
— Society For Commercial Archeology NewsJournal

“Stage has gone from St. Louis to Peoria, Portland to Philadelphia …and he has gathered an impressive compilation of the fading relics.”
— American Heritage

“… a delightful focus on a slice of visual Americana.”
— Carl Rohrs, Editor, Friends of Calligraphy Journal

“The graphics of the past, often so prevalent in photographs of historic streetscapes, are intriguing commentary on their period. This book is a fascinating insight into this facet of American history and the attributes of some recent practitioners of this art form.”
— William J. Murtagh, Former Keeper of the National Historic Register

“A sign is obviously at first only a practical thing, a means to sell a product or point out a business. It has no pretensions to lasting value. But as time passes, a sign — like all commons things — gathers romance.”
— Richard Huntington, The Buffalo News

1989
Out of Print