Signs of Our Times - A book review

Signs of Our Times – A book review – were Oceanside signs this way too?

An interesting book

The Signs of Our Times ISBN 1-55859-209-1 by John Margolies and Emily Gwathmey

There was a period in American history when America took to the highways. They visited attractions of all sorts, they dinned and stayed in motels for the first time. This period from 1920 – 1960 has some of the most innovative and interesting advertising. The “Signs of the Times” is a collection of photographs taken over a 40-year period, from the 1970s. Many of these signs are fading into the past. They were old when the photos were taken and many no longer exist.

Book-Review-Signs of our Times Were Oceanside Signs this way too?

Cultural Treasures

These are a cultural treasure. They show unique pieces of individual imagination. Today most advertising is national and as such, extremely standardized. These older pieces are compelling and utterly interesting. It makes one want to experience the attractions, the food, or the service. It is also corny, crude, simplistic and utterly fantastic.

Book-Review-Signs of our Times

These include buildings that are built to look like shoes, fish, dinosaurs, and other shapes that would never pass the zoning boards today. Most are the creation of a single person’s imagination and are unique “one off” examples of pop culture. It shows figures such as the muffler man and many huge structures with the single purpose of attracting attention. It the world of virtual reality we have today, they are impressive in a very different way than originally intended, they hark back to a different, more direct, more naïve period. There are signs that show shrimp, hotdogs, Teepees and unique shapes, images of food, people, and other things that are not standard shapes, they are three dimensions, and they are unmeasurable with modern zoning and are just not reproducible.

author avatar
Developer & Designer
I, Frank Murch was born in Honolulu. Dad was an Army Captain. After his separation he drove my 2-year-old self and Mom to Colorado. After starting Kindergarten and terrorizing my parents, brother and sister for 20 years, I graduated both Kindergarten and the University of Colorado. I worked at Coors Porcelain for a time and then a series of high-tech companies in California, Pennsylvania, New York, and Tokyo. Along the way I gathered letters to drag behind my name MSEng, MBA.  30 years later I started Signs for San Diego. Signs for San Diego is a manufacturing company. Much more about building signs than other Sign Companies; it comes from my background. Technical Capability is a focus. We are a wholesale source for the industry. We want to make the best sign possible. It is in my DNA. Applying 30 years of manufacturing experience and 10 years of entrepreneurial experience make us the best sign company around. I also am of the HP management culture, Inclusion, respect and treating people as adults makes Signs for San Diego a happy place to work. We are looking for customers that match our culture, happy, better quality, and better than what is generally available