Announcing: "Fading Ads of Cincinnati"

- Lined up to make a photograph of the fading "Schuster Electric Co." advertisement on the side of a downtown building.

I am incredibly excited to announce that I've signed an agreement with The History Press to photograph and write a book about "Ghost Signs" in the greater Cincinnati area. Defined as "fading advertisements" and "disappearing art," "ghost signs" harken back to a region's economic and cultural past. Combining modern photography with historical research, I hope to create a book that brings to light these artifacts that are hiding in plain sight.

Since starting Queen City Discovery (QC/D) in 2007, one of my main subjects has been the history surrounding Cincinnati. From articles about the city's abandoned subway system to the "Thomas Edison Ghost Ship" down river - I've tried to combine a love for history and photography. This book offers me a chance to delve into something new while still creating artwork and pursuing the Queen City's rich history.

Thankfully, I have a great resource to start things off with. Since 2011, Bill Rinehart has published "The Writing on the Walls," a blog dedicated to documenting ghost signs not just in the local area, but other places he's traveled. Bill has been kind enough to let me use his work as a reference and I can't recommend his fantastic work enough.

In the coming months I'll be out shooting and exploring as much as I can. I'm hoping to document fading advertisements not just in downtown Cincinnati, but the outlying areas as well.

The areas I'll be focusing on are:
- Downtown Cincinnati
- Cincinnati's neighborhoods
- Northern Kentucky (Covington, Newport, Dayton, Bellevue, etc.)
- Suburban Cincinnati
- Rural Outlying Areas (Mail Pouch Tobacco signs, barn signs, etc.)
- The history of signage and advertising in the Tri-State Area.

If you have any tips or suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate any feedback and will credit appropriately! Please contact me at queencitydisco@gmail.com if there's something you'd like to share.

Thanks for your support, and as always: thanks for reading Queen City Discovery!