ROUTE 66 ROADSIDE SIGNS & ADVERTISEMENTS
Big Blend Radio interview with authors/photographers Joe Sonderman and Jim Hinckley
Route 66 experts, authors, writers and photographers, Joe Sonderman and Jim Hinckley talk about their new book “Route 66 Roadside Signs & Advertisements” that showcases the colorful history of commercial signage along “America’s Most Famous Highway,” on Big Blend Radio.
You can get your kicks–and pretty much anything else–on Route 66, provided you see the sign that’s advertising it! Route 66 Roadside Signs and Advertisements showcases the colorful history of commercial signage along the Mother Road. From kitschy to classy, this book includes photos of early vintage signs as well as modern signs.
The vivid photos are organized according to type of establishment the signs are for, such as roadside attractions, motels, restaurants, businesses of ill repute (bars, strip clubs, etc.), and more. While Route 66 Roadside Signs and Advertisements places emphasis on high-quality visuals, it also includes anecdotes and history about the signs that sprang up along the sides of Route 66.
The most famous Route 66 signs get center-stage treatment in the book, with two-page spreads accompanied by detailed text. Such signs include icons like the Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, New Mexico, the Munger Moss in Lebanon, Missouri, the U-Drop Inn at Shamrock, Texas, and the El Vado in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Additional information is included, such as background about buzzing neon lights–how these signs are actually made and how they get restored. Each image from this famous American roadway could be a postcard, so allow yourself to be rubbernecked by Route 66 Signs and Advertisements.
Joe Sonderman has authored eleven books on Route 66. He is the editor of the Route 66 Association of Missouri’s Show Me Route 66 magazine and is the author of many articles for Route 66 magazine. He has also written books on the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and two others on the history of St. Louis. Additionally, Sonderman assisted the Autry Museum with its recent exhibition on Route 66 and is currently working with the Missouri History Museum on a Route 66 exhibit. He has a collection of more than ten thousand vintage Route 66 images, as well as hundreds of original photos. www.66postcards.com
Since his childhood, Jim Hinckley dreamed of being an author. After numerous detours into truck driving, mining, ranching, and a variety of other endeavors, he turned to writing a weekly column on automotive history for his local newspaper, the Kingman Daily Miner, in his adopted hometown of Kingman, Arizona. From that initial endeavor more than twenty years ago, Hinckley has written extensively on his two primary passions: automotive history and travel. He is a regular contributor to Route 66, American Road, Hemmings Classic Car, and Old Cars Weekly, and he was an associate editor at Cars & Parts. www.JimHinckleysAmerica.com.
