Dec 4, 2018
by
Jacqueline Spafford and Jeffrey Klee, SAHARA Co-Editors
We were struck by how many wonderful examples of signs are documented in the SAHARA collection, and have made a small selection here to show the breadth. While searching the image library we also stumbled across this helpful glossary of sign terms and definitions—a ready-made roadtrip game!
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To learn more about contributing to SAHARA, visit: sah.org/sahara
![1_HSAHARA__1113_33909330 1_HSAHARA__1113_33909330](/images/default-source/news/1_hsahara__1113_33909330.jpg?sfvrsn=5d10599b_2)
No collection of signs is complete without a view of the Las Vegas Strip. Photo by Richard Longstreth, ca. 1975.
![2_HSAHARA__1113_41923403 2_HSAHARA__1113_41923403](/images/default-source/news/2_hsahara__1113_41923403.jpg?sfvrsn=7110599b_2)
This metal silhouette-style sign was apparently also used for target practice. Burlington, NJ, 1987. Photo by Dell Upton.
![3_HSAHARA__1113_40154593 3_HSAHARA__1113_40154593](/images/default-source/news/3_hsahara__1113_40154593.jpg?sfvrsn=7910599b_2)
What does this store sell, you ask? The Posthumuswinkel shop in Amsterdam has been selling rubber stamps since 1865. Photo by Dell Upton, 2017.
![4_HSAHARA_1113154081 4_HSAHARA_1113154081](/images/default-source/news/4_hsahara_1113154081.jpg?sfvrsn=7510599b_2)
Handsome lettering and a stylized eagle designed by Jan Golinski, at the Office of Telecommunication, Postal Services and Telephone, Warsaw, Poland (architect: Julian Puterman-Sadlowski), 1928-34. Photo by Anna Jozefacka, 2012.
![5_HUSAHARA_1113121884 5_HUSAHARA_1113121884](/images/default-source/news/5_husahara_1113121884.jpg?sfvrsn=7d10599b_2)
Neon sign at the Alabama F. and A.M. Prince Hall Grand Lodge, the “Colored Masonic Temple,” Birmingham, Alabama, 1922-23. Photo by Dell Upton, 2009.
![6_HSAHARA__1113_41940064 6_HSAHARA__1113_41940064](/images/default-source/news/6_hsahara__1113_41940064.jpg?sfvrsn=4110599b_2)
This helpful sign tells you a lot about Ukiah, California. Photo by Dell Upton, 1984.
![7_HSAHARA_1113125655 7_HSAHARA_1113125655](/images/default-source/news/7_hsahara_1113125655.jpg?sfvrsn=4510599b_2)
When bigger is better: The Best Products Catalog Showroom, Langhorne, Pennsylvania, by Venturi, Rauch, and Scott Brown, 1977-78. Photo by Richard Longstreth, 1982.
![8_HSAHARA__1113_33268265 8_HSAHARA__1113_33268265](/images/default-source/news/8_hsahara__1113_33268265.jpg?sfvrsn=4910599b_2)
Modern sign on a ca. 1950s grain depot, converted in 2015 to the Red Memories Conference Center, Xinxiang, Henan, China. Photo by Dell Upton, 2016.
![9_HSAHARA_1113159255 9_HSAHARA_1113159255](/images/default-source/news/9_hsahara_1113159255.jpg?sfvrsn=4d10599b_2)
Finally, this great example of mimetic signage uses two-by-fours as French fries. Cantine la Crevettiѐre, Petite Matane, Québec, ca. 2000; Photo by Dell Upton, 2013.