Object Timeline

1971

  • Work on this object began.

1972

  • We acquired this object.

2021

2023

2025

  • You found it!

Poster, Henry Dreyfuss Symbol Sourcebook 1972

This is a Poster. It is dated 1971 and we acquired it in 1972. Its medium is print on metallic-coated paper. It is a part of the department.


In 1972, an exhibition in New York City’s Hallmark Gallery celebrated the release of the Symbol Sourcebook. This poster featured 25 of the 3,500 symbols included in the show. The New York Times reported that one visitor guessed the meanings of only eight of the symbols pictured here. The need for more public education and standardization of the language of symbols was clear.

It is credited Gift of Henry Dreyfuss.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 45.7 × 61.3 cm (18 in. × 24 1/8 in.)

Cite this object as

Poster, Henry Dreyfuss Symbol Sourcebook 1972; print on metallic-coated paper; H x W: 45.7 × 61.3 cm (18 in. × 24 1/8 in.); Gift of Henry Dreyfuss; 1972-88-1-11

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318807683/ |title=Poster, Henry Dreyfuss Symbol Sourcebook 1972 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=10 March 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>