Chevrolet / Campbell-Ewald Co. / General Outdoor Advertising Co.
A step-by-step process of the new Chevrolet Electric Spectacular in Times Square, New York, 1937
Photo album; silver prints (27)
Prints mostly 5 x 7 inches; Overall 14 x 11 inches
Graphically printed pages with typed captions (32)
Graphically printed pages with typed captions (32)
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An extraordinary album, chronicling the painstaking design, fabrication, and construction of the Chevrolet Electric Spectacular, a 60 x 46 foot advertisement of dazzling beauty in the heart of Times Square,...
An extraordinary album, chronicling the painstaking design, fabrication, and construction of the Chevrolet Electric Spectacular, a 60 x 46 foot advertisement of dazzling beauty in the heart of Times Square, comprised of 7,069 bulbs and 11.5 miles of wire!
This particular iteration of Chevy's lighted billboard was erected in 1937, the 12th consecutive year Chevrolet had advertised this way in Times Square. This new Electric Spectacular stayed put for 10 years in its prominent location.
Opening the album an introduction is given mentioning the immeasurable task at hand; placing a 2,700 square foot "Electric Spectacular" at "one of the busiest traffic intersections in the world" for "Times Square's million people a day" to see. The following pages take the viewer on a step-by-step journey of the behemoths assembly, from layout to finished product, in all its "blazing, colorful glory." As truthfully stated by the album's compiler, "the moments you spend looking through this book will be enjoyable ones."
The narrative album, compiled by Chevy's long-time advertising agency, Campbell-Ewald Co., goes to soaring levels of presentation with each page exhibiting a printed Chevrolet Sunburst, referencing the sign's six semi-circular rows of green, red, and yellow lamps constructed to represent "the sun itself." The pages each bear comprehensive, sometimes charming, typed captions and feature well-composed photographs illustrating the processes, all of which were largely done by hand by a team of skilled electricians and engineers. Images reminiscent of Lewis Hine's series of "Men at Work," or Walker Evans' copious studies of signage are abundant throughout.
Eventually, the process is complete and we are presented with "Times Square's newest box office attraction!" "What grandeur in color and scintillation -- a new galaxy of light!" One final page precedes the reveal, drumming up immense anticipation:
"As old Sol settles in the west and withdraws his last long fingers of daylight from the firmament... in Times Square he has a rival... ANOTHER SUN in colorful electric lights which come up in a burst of shining glory, making people stop, look and become CHEVROLET CONSCIOUS!"
The next pages depict the sign in full, lighted glory, one colored by hand in vivid red, yellow, green and white, and the next a familiar composition of Times Square at night.
This particular iteration of Chevy's lighted billboard was erected in 1937, the 12th consecutive year Chevrolet had advertised this way in Times Square. This new Electric Spectacular stayed put for 10 years in its prominent location.
Opening the album an introduction is given mentioning the immeasurable task at hand; placing a 2,700 square foot "Electric Spectacular" at "one of the busiest traffic intersections in the world" for "Times Square's million people a day" to see. The following pages take the viewer on a step-by-step journey of the behemoths assembly, from layout to finished product, in all its "blazing, colorful glory." As truthfully stated by the album's compiler, "the moments you spend looking through this book will be enjoyable ones."
The narrative album, compiled by Chevy's long-time advertising agency, Campbell-Ewald Co., goes to soaring levels of presentation with each page exhibiting a printed Chevrolet Sunburst, referencing the sign's six semi-circular rows of green, red, and yellow lamps constructed to represent "the sun itself." The pages each bear comprehensive, sometimes charming, typed captions and feature well-composed photographs illustrating the processes, all of which were largely done by hand by a team of skilled electricians and engineers. Images reminiscent of Lewis Hine's series of "Men at Work," or Walker Evans' copious studies of signage are abundant throughout.
Eventually, the process is complete and we are presented with "Times Square's newest box office attraction!" "What grandeur in color and scintillation -- a new galaxy of light!" One final page precedes the reveal, drumming up immense anticipation:
"As old Sol settles in the west and withdraws his last long fingers of daylight from the firmament... in Times Square he has a rival... ANOTHER SUN in colorful electric lights which come up in a burst of shining glory, making people stop, look and become CHEVROLET CONSCIOUS!"
The next pages depict the sign in full, lighted glory, one colored by hand in vivid red, yellow, green and white, and the next a familiar composition of Times Square at night.