The American Billboard: 100 Years

by James Howard Fraser

Book Overview

A book which tells the story of the American billboard in detail, reproducing a selection of vintage photographs in a special billboard-shaped format. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810927659
• ISBN13: 9780810927650
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: ABRAMS
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 11.6" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Public shouts of the times

Its been out for some years now but I doubt there is a better visual history of the Fraser's billboard book, though having said that I did find that some of the reproduction of posters from decades ago was rather soft. Nicely the material is either presented as photos of billboards or just the poster. Some of the latter are big enough on the page (and pre-used copies of the book are cheap enough) to cut out and frame to make your own product placement wall. The years up to the forties are rather sparsely covered, understandable as there really wasn't an efficient way of historically capturing billboards in the environment but from then the selection is rather good I thought, all the favorites are here: cola drinks; food; cars; fuel; airlines; politics and some lovely public service ones. A Smokey the Bear poster has the remains of a fire showing the actual billboard construction, the poster having been burned away. As I've mentioned you can pick up copies quite cheaply on the net but remember that the hardback edition is fourteen by ten inches and the paperback eleven by eight. Either edition is worth searching out. ***SEE SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.

Classic Campaigns.. Billboard-sized images!

A great design reference.. and a visual feast. These are the roadside images we actually WANT to see. This collection of 166 outdoor works of art brings each decade of the 20th Century to life.. from the birth of the automobile through to modern times. Large images, usually one to the page and sometimes stretching across two, showcase the best in roadside advertising with original art and photos of supersites. Most of the eyecatching designs are award-winners and you can see why.. with traffic-stopping images and snappy copy. The book's text is minimal.. but the captions tell all you need to know.. including fascinating trivia: "Although the Marlboro audience was originally thought to be female, a tough and rugged cowboy has long been the brand's signature." .. A truly fascinating book!