Written by Dr. Sue Perks
In conjunction with the exhibition Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols, designer and researcher Sue Perks offers an expansive look into the Henry Dreyfuss Archive held at Cooper Hewitt. The archive contains detailed documentation on Dreyfuss’s Symbol Sourcebook: An Authoritative Guide to International Graphic Symbols, which serves as the basis for the exhibition.
For the Symbols exhibition (Fig. 1) held from January through March 1972 in the Hallmark Gallery, New York, Walter Swartz from the Hallmark Gallery suggested including a panel on how the Symbol Sourcebook had evolved. On December 1, 1971, Paul Clifton compiled a definitive chronology of the project (Figs. 2, 3), a sketch of how the panel should be designed (Fig. 4), and a package of information that included significant “historical” documents that chart the life of the project. They included Teaser Book #10 (July 25, 1968), the National Endowment for the Humanities report, Symbol Book dummy #14 (November 27, 1968; revised December 23, 1969), and two versions of the Symbol Questionnaire (dated March 12, 1969, and June 10, 1970), along with Dreyfuss’s curriculum vitae detailing his background, affiliations, publications, honors, and awards. This was authenticated by a series of client endorsements from internationally regarded organizations.
Fig. 1: Installation View, Symbols exhibition, Hallmark Gallery, New York City, 1972; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution
In his package to Swartz on December 2, Clifton also included a set of candid photographs of the Symbol Sourcebook team at work in Dreyfuss’s Pasadena office, taken by local Pasadena photographer Hal Smith (Fig. 5). They appear quite natural but were staged, with the team all wearing their best clothes for the photo shoot!
Clifton wrote, “We came up with a solution which might prove very satisfactory and that is showing the various ‘publications’ in chronological order, from the inception of the project to the publication of the book.” The handwritten chronology follows below.
(Full transcription of the handwritten chronology at the bottom of this page.)
Figs. 2: Drawing, HD Sourcebook Chronology (Milestones), December 1, 1971; Made by Paul Clifton; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution
Figs. 3: Drawing, HD Sourcebook Chronology (Milestones), December 1, 1971; Made by Paul Clifton; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution
Fig. 4: Drawing, An “evolutionary” panel – SS development, December 2, 1971; Made by Paul Clifton; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution
Fig. 5: Working on the “Color” Section of the Symbol Sourcebook, 1971; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution
Fig. 6: Dangerous Conditions featured in Teaser Book, 1971; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution
Fig. 7: Laying out the Symbol Sourcebook, 1971; Henry Dreyfuss Archive, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; Image © Smithsonian Institution
Dr. Sue Perks is a designer, archival researcher, and writer on Isotype, museum design, and Henry Dreyfuss’s work with symbols. She was awarded a PhD from University of Reading in 2013. She regularly presents at international design conferences and co-founded The Symbol Group in 2022.
The exhibition Give Me a Sign: The Language of Symbols is on display at Cooper Hewitt through September 2, 2024.
TRANSCRIPTION of Chronology
12.1.71 PC [Paul Clifton]
HD SOURCEBOOK CHRONOLOGY (Milestones)
10/67 | HD [Henry Dreyfuss] expressed interest in doing symbol book; established internal project to do basic symbol research for book and client symbol design projects.
7/25/68 | 1st “Teaser” book, “Existing Symbols and their Applications” (black 3-ring binder); intended to explain project to interested people and/or organizations; up-dated periodically; 12 copies made; latest version dated May 22, 1971. [fig. 6]
11/6/68 | National Endowment for the Humanities report, “The Design of a Research Project to Determine the Nature and Feasibility of an International Dictionary of Symbols”, (clear front cover folder); administered by CIT; period from May 15, 1968 to September 30, 1968.
11/20/68 | 1st Dummy book “International Dictionary of Symbols” (hand-made book with mostly blank pages; sand color cover) 4 copies made: up-dated November 27, 1968 and December 23, 1969; used as a working “guide” for actual book artwork design and production.
3/12/69 | Symbol Research Questionnaire (7 pages); used to collect symbol material from various organizations and foreign countries.
5/1/69 | Full-time symbol research project began with limited staff.
8/23/69 | Concentrated international research began: 750 organizations contacted . . . personally or by correspondence (see sample letter and USASI reprint attached).
3/1/70 | Official decision to go ahead with Symbol Sourcebook preparation to be published by McGraw-Hill. [The contract with McGraw-Hill was officially signed on July 29, 1970.]
6/10/70 | Developed and printed Symbol Questionnaire “Our Search for Symbols” (4 page, red and black, brochure) attached; used to expand symbol research and accumulation, several thousand copies printed and distributed.
6/22/70 | Expanded production staff to include artwork, research, literary and typography personnel to produce “camera-ready” layouts [fig. 7].
8/10/71 | Sent bulk (200) of “camera-ready” artwork pages (Discipline and Graphic Form) to publisher.
11/22/71 | Saw and approved “Bluelines” of 1st 269 pages of book.
1/11/72 | Books available in selected NY bookstores.
Acknowledgments
Some funding contributed by the Design History Society Research Publication Grant.
