Weather-Worn 'Ghost Signs' from Around the U.S. (PHOTOS)

"I've always loved these things, probably longer than I've loved abandoned buildings, " Roll said in an interview with weather.com. "So whenever I see one, I make a point of pulling over to photograph it."

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The vintage, fading signs harken back to a time when ads were painted by hand rather than mass produced. Weather-worn and peeling, some are barely legible. A few still look vibrantly new. 

"Many are exposed when the adjoining building is torn down. These are the best ones because they are authentic and pristine," Roll explained. "But I also like the ones that remain, even being exposed to decades of weather."

Sometimes, after a building is torn down, a shadow-like outline is left on the adjoining buildings, where the sun wasn't able to fade the paint or brick for many years. Roll calls these "ghost buildings."

The photographer said that Frank Jump, who runs the Fading Ad Capaign and published a book on New York's old signs, showed her many of the ghost signs in New York. She thinks the signs are so attractive because they show "a little slice of life in the past," such as how much things used to cost — like one of her photos that shows an advertisement for five cent cigars. 

Other strange advertisements offer "Wine of Cardui for Women" and "Utt's Liver Pills."

Click through the slideshow above to see a collection of Roll's photos of old, abandoned signs throughout the U.S.

MORE FROM WEATHER.COM: Exploring Creepy, Abandoned North America with Liz Roll