Signs of the Times: Correction(s)

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.

After meeting McGraw-Hill’s rigorous print deadline, the first edition of the Symbol Sourcebook was published on January 11, 1972. The book’s success warranted a second print run in May 1972 (with a third planned for November 1972). Dreyfuss, Clifton, and the Sourcebook team had been meticulous in their research, but nevertheless, in a letter addressed to McGraw-Hill on March 16, 1972, the eagle-eyed Dr. Robert M. Latimer of the Safety Services Department of University of California spotted an “inconsistency” (Fig. 1). He refers to the Ionizing Rays/Radiation Warning symbol on page 140 of the “Safety” discipline section, which, in the first printing of the Symbol Sourcebook, is drawn with the single blade pointing up (Fig. 2). Latimer argues that the single blade should point down and supplies a photocopied page of an occupational safety textbook showing the Standard Radiation Symbol in this position (Fig. 3). Dreyfuss very thoroughly justified why the symbol was depicted like this but is embarrassed by the “error” and changed it in the second printing. He stated, “Although the error in the book embarrasses me personally, we did realize that in illustrating approximately 3,000 symbols there might well be some error which we did not catch. Perhaps I should be pleased that this is the first such error which has come to our attention—and I only hope it may prove to be the last.” Such was Dreyfuss’s attention to detail that he brought this orientation problem to the attention of ISO (International Standards Organisation), ANSI (American National Standards Institute), and DNA (affiliate of ISO in Germany) demonstrating how seriously he took the accuracy of his symbol research. This new inquiry also highlights the lack of international standardization in how some symbols are depicted, which was “a gross error” as far as Dreyfuss was concerned. In the second edition (and subsequent paperback version published in 1984), the blade is correctly shown pointing down.

As an aside, in the “Medical” discipline section, within the “Radiation” subsection on page 115, the radiation symbol is shown with the blade pointing down correctly in both editions (Fig. 4).

The only other evidence of Dreyfuss actually seeking advice about any possible amendments needed for the second edition can be seen in a letter written to Dreyfuss by Pam Holaday, who had drawn the majority of symbols in the book. She finished working with the Symbol Sourcebook team when the book went to print in December 1971, but Dreyfuss kept in friendly contact with her and asked if she had spotted any corrections and spelling errors in the first edition of the book. In reply, Pam would have been the perfect person to spot any errors due her attention to detail and knowledge of the overall project. She carefully reviewed the book and found no misspelled words. Dreyfuss joked in an earlier letter to her that he hoped the “Mistakes” folder didn’t get too fat.

 

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.

 

Acknowledgments

Some funding contributed by the Design History Society Research Publication Grant.