Classified
Classified: Local Ads from America’s Small Towns — the eleventh title from Standards Manual — is an exploration of classified advertisements from small-town America circa 1970, collected and archived by Studio Carnley→ as part of their "Local Ads" project.
Collaborators
The 400-page book features an assortment of advertisements categorized by business type. Meticulously documented and scanned at high resolution, the ads are a fascinating insight into the pre-digital search age, where instead of reaching for your phone, you would reach for a phonebook.
View Studio Carnleys original "Local Ads" project here→.
Production specifications:
400 pages
5 × 7"
127 × 178 mm
Stochastic screen offset
Paperback-sewn
Hammer-finish card cover
Silkscreened cover print
Printed in Italy
Classified is a celebration of small-town advertising, and the overlooked genius, ingenuity, and humor in the work that was created purely to sell, but which we can now study and learn from.
In the end, designers today are still trying to fit a lot in a small rectangle — just one made from glass not paper.
Classified’s chapter headers are set in Coign Variable from Colophon Foundry→, emphasizing the shapeshifting nature of classifieds and their often crammed typography.
Like the collection curated by Studio Carnley’s Local Ads instagram, each classified is isolated on the page. The title is printed on fine 70gsm stock allowing, for subtle show-through referencing the telephone directories the collection was sourced from.
Learn more and order the book at Standards Manual→.