Sign Language

John Baeder, author of the classic books of Roadside Americana, Diners and Gas, Food, Lodging, has a particular passion for handmade street signs. Collected here are 205 of Baeder’s photographs of his favorite signs. Baeder’s text offers revealing observations about folk art and real life and tells the reader much about letterforms, compositions and brushwork. But, more importantly, the author finds many of these signs true “cries from the heart,” and his personal responses add new meanings to these simple, and often touching, public declarations. Reading this book will add pleasure to car trips and casual walks on city streets.
 

My Version of the Cover

I think the book is a masterpiece

– from a personal letter from Charles Kurault, July 9, 1996