Classified: Local Ads from America’s Small Towns

Classified features over 200 vintage classified ads from the 1970s American south.

Both a time-capsule of a bygone era, and a fascinating study of ephemeral graphic design. Classified: Local Ads from America’s Small Towns, features hundreds of classified advertisements from 1970s small-town America, collected and archived by Studio Carnley.

Printed at 1:1 scale and isolated on the page, the collection is elevated to both a time-capsule of a bygone era, and a fascinating study of ephemeral graphic design from unknown illustrators, typesetters, printers, and graphic artists who all faced the same challenge: how to fit a lot of information in a small rectangle, and stand out on a page of other ads all trying to do the same. Classified is a celebration of small-town advertising, and the overlooked genius, ingenuity, and humor in the work that was created purely to sell, but which we can now study and learn from.

In the end, designers today are still trying to fit a lot in a small rectangle — just one made from glass not paper.