Issue 252 - April / May 2024 4 ISSUE 252April / May 2024 email: news@signlink.co.uk signlink signlink signlinkmagazine GHOST SIGN CORNER: Cigarettes Marouf, Ghent Illustrated ghost signs are relatively rare, and even rarer are those with ornate pictorials like this one in Ghent, Belgium. The sign dates from the 1920s and is located on a wall with good visibility from the passing train line. At some later date it was covered up and protected, before being revealed again in 2006. It has since faded considerably. The Cigarettes Marouf brand was manufactured by Matossian, a household name in the cigarette industry from the late nineteenth century until the 1920s. The company was founded in Egypt by two Armenian immigrants: Hovhannes Matossian who set up a small workshop in Alexandria in 1882, and his brother Garabed who did the same in Cairo in 1886. In 1896 the brothers merged their firms and the company grew to become Egypt’s largest cigarette producer, with a factory in Cairo. In 1927 it merged with British American Tobacco under the umbrella organisation Eastern Tobacco Company. The first evidence of Matossian activity in Belgium dates to 1920, and the Marouf brand was marketed here from that date. It’s possible the sign was produced not long afterwards, perhaps as part of their launch into this new market. Sam Roberts is the editor and publisher of BLAG (Better Letters Magazine) www.bl.ag and www.ghostsigns.co.uk Publishing director Page Tuck Sales director Chris Davies Lead contributor Rob Fletcher Contributors Brian Sims, Sam Roberts Contact Editorial: 0117 980 5040 Sales: 0117 960 3255 Production: 0117 980 5041 Accounts: 0117 980 5042 Find us online www.signlink.co.uk Socials All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without the prior consent of the publisher. The views expressed by contributors to Signlink magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher or editorial team and Link Publishing Ltd. takes no responsibility for any errors that may have occurred. The publisher also accepts no responsibility for the advertising content, including any error, omission or inaccuracy therein. Calls may be recorded for training purposes. Link Publishing Ltd. retains the right to publish and re-publish any images or information sent to the publication. Link Publishing Ltd, Unit G, Link House, Britton Gardens, Kingswood, Bristol BS15 1TF Editor Carys Evans carys@linkpublishing.co.uk Online editor David Osgar david@linkpublishing.co.uk Production Shaun Edwards shaun@linkpublishing.co.uk Sales Tim Hall tim@linkpublishing.co.uk Sales Luke Stoneham luke@linkpublishing.co.uk Accounts Kathryn Quinn kat@linkpublishing.co.uk Office therapist Skye MEET THE TEAM Signlink Signlink SignlinkMagazine Printed on Sappi Magno Satin from EBB Paper CBP00015512002182040 Hello and welcome to SignLink April/May! I hope you’re all having a fruitful and busy time with plenty of projects to get stuck into. As I write this, we are preparing to jet off to Amsterdam for FESPA Global Print Expo 2024 and the co-locating European Sign Expo, and with so many industry events happening, I just wanted to draw your attention to the other ways you can access our content. In addition to regularly updating our news site (signlink.co.uk), we post daily news updates on our LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter) accounts (just search SignLink for both), as well as on our Threads account (search printmonthlysignlink). You may have also seen us out and about with our trusty DSLR camera as we cover industry events and pay visits to companies to see behind the doors of their operations. So if video content is more your thing, you can watch all our Sign7 videos on our YouTube Channel (just follow the QR code below), or follow us on Instagram (search printmonthlysignlink). Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this issue! EDITOR S NOTE Carys Evans 205 Prinses Clementinalaan, Ghent, Belgium Picture: Edwin Deschepper Scan the QR code to watch our video coverage over on our Sign7 YouTube channel
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