Skip Navigation

Scout Archives

Home Projects Publications Archives About Sign Up or Log In

Browse Resources

(2 classifications) (5 resources)

Advertising -- United States -- History

Classification
19th century (3)
20th century (5)

Resources

American Sign Museum

The American Sign Museum is the only public collection of its kind, and it is located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its fun, colorful website just may bring back memories for some visitors. Users should definitely watch the video tour of the museum with the founder, Tod Swormstedt. The link can be found near the top of the homepage, and is entitled "Take a Video Tour." The founder explains his goals in...

https://www.americansignmuseum.org/
Screenshot
Cambridge Public Libraries: Directories

The Cambridge Room at the Cambridge Public Library has a vast storehouse of material related to the history of this most historic American city. Recently, they have allowed the staff at the Internet Archive access to a variety of materials, resulting in a number of primary documents that now reside on this site. Here, users can access the annual Cambridge business directories which profile local...

https://archive.org/details/cambridgepubliclibrary
Early Advertising of the West, 1867-1918

The University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections group recently created this compelling collection of early advertisements culled from their Special Collections Division. The collection contains over 450 print advertisements published in local magazines, city directories, and theater pamphlets from 1867 to 1918. The collection is quite catholic, as it features advertisements about...

https://content.lib.washington.edu/advertweb/index.html
Ghost Signs of Louisville

What is the altogether mysterious "ghost sign?" Simply put, it is a painted advertisement on a building, most prominent prior to the 1930s. Many of these advertisements appear on brick walls in urban settings. This unique collection came out of a partnership between the University of Louisville Libraries and the school's Fine Arts department. Students in a course titled Documentary Photography...

https://hyku.library.louisville.edu/collections/bb01d1fe-fd6...
New York City Signs -- 14th to 42nd Streets

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, thousands of businesses (both small and large) advertised their wares through creative and elaborate signs painted on the sides of buildings. Of course, New York had some of the most interesting, and a few of the most compelling can be found on this website, maintained by Walter Grutchfield. Obviously it would be nearly impossible to document all of them, so...

http://www.14to42.net/