Tag Archives: zeitgeist

Carnival Poster “Rescue”

Some people hoard animals in need of a good home; I hoard posters. While my friends (link 1 and link 2) were in town, we headed over to Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles, where a street fair augmented the already-festive atmosphere of the oldest part of LA. I spotted this hard-to-miss, day-glo poster and […]

Akio Matsumoto, commercial artist

Manzanar Sign Follow-Up

After I posted my article about the Manzanar War Relocation Center’s entrance sign, I received this email: Josh: I ran across your Dec 24 entry regarding the Manzanar relocation sign. My father, who was interned there, painted the sign.  He passed away four years ago but was a graphic artist who did a lot calligraphic […]

Manzanar sign, photo by Ansel Adams

What’s in a Font—The Manzanar War Relocation Center Sign

Update (January 5, 2010): After posting this article, I received an email from Mark Matsumoto, whose father, Akio Matsumoto, was a commercial artist interned at Manzanar during the War. According to Mark, Akio Matsumoto was the person who painted the sign. Needless to say, this information drastically affects my original theories about the sign’s lettering! […]