Simple Sublimity: Images of Disappeared Common Objects. Traffic Lights from 1936.

JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

These images are about as basic as it gets for the common, everyday, overlooked objects from the disappeared past.  They come from the Course-Linds manufacturer’s catalog for traffic lights and other control systems called, yes, Traffic Signals and Controls, published in Syracuse (NY) in 1936. It is a beautifully designed catalog—excellent illustrations laid out perfectly on their pages, with all of the data you’d ever need to order these things for your municipality. 

What I find so fascinating about the images here is that they depict ubiquitous objects that today would today—given their ephemeral nature—be exceptionally difficult to find. 
Given this catalog, today they are not.

JF Ptak Science Books  Quick Post

These images are about as basic as it gets for the common, everyday, overlooked objects from the disappeared past.  They come from the Course-Linds manufacturer’s catalog for traffic lights and other control systems called, yes, Traffic Signals and Controls, published in Syracuse (NY) in 1936. It is a beautifully designed catalog—excellent illustrations laid out perfectly on their pages, with all of the data you’d ever need to order these things for your municipality. 

What I find so fascinating about the images here is that they depict ubiquitous objects that today would today—given their ephemeral nature—be exceptionally difficult to find. 
Given this catalog, today they are not.