Fading Ads

The Fading Ads history book series captures the local stories behind those faded advertisements on buildings through anecdotes and historical vignettes. Old ads in Milkwaukee tell the story of a once-beloved German eatery. Advertising on buildings in Detroit remind passerbyers of old paint companies and soda pop flavors from Faygo. From Philadelphia's forgotten Midtown theater to posters rallying New Yorkers to help with the HIV crisis in New York City, this book series reveals how history hides in plain sight. 
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Fading Ads of Chicago
Fading Ads of Chicago
$24.99

Fading Ads of Chicago

9781467141284

$24.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%

Like the Cheshire Cat, much of Chicago's history fades away while perched in plain sight.


For more than a century, the brick walls of the city served as a ready canvas for advertisements that married artistic experimentation and commercial endeavor. Intrepid painters planted signs for horseshoers and Hamlin's Wizard Oil in places where they would outlast the way of life they represented. Since author Joseph Marlin began documenting the city's advertisements more than thirty years ago, many of them have completely vanished beneath the onslaught of blizzard and bulldozer. From national brands to mom-and-pop shops, his collection offers the last glimpse of a bygone era.

Fading Ads of Chicago