20 Vintage 35mm Neon slides Dunkin Donuts McDonalds Grand Way Americana For Sale

20 Vintage 35mm Neon slides Dunkin Donuts McDonalds Grand Way Americana Jon Henry

• Dunkin\' Donuts: A fantastic vintage neon slide featuring the classic, stylized typography of the famous coffee and donut chain.
• McDonald\'s: A classic night shot capturing the glowing Golden Arches illuminating a retro storefront.
• Grand Way: Multiple slides showcasing signs for Grand Way, a prominent mid-century discount department store chain (a division of Grand Union supermarkets) that operated dynamically in the Northeast during the 1960s and 1970s.
• Mike\'s Giant Subs: A beautiful example of vernacular corporate signage with bold, glowing text angled sharply across the frame.
• Heels & Soles / Car Wash / Motel: A great collection of localized service neon, including a striking shoe repair sign (\"Heels in 5 Min, Soles in 15 Min\"), an isolated \"Car Wash\" emblem, and minimalist \"Hotel / Motel\" neon scripts.
• Times Square Nightscapes: The bottom rows feature incredible, vibrant nighttime wide shots tracking the massive, glowing theater billboards and commercial displays of historic Times Square, New York City.

Jon Henry(1916–1990) approached nightlife and neon photography through the unique lens of a multi-disciplinary mid-century modernist. His background seamlessly bridged the worlds of fine art abstraction, commercial advertising, and the jazz community, allowing him to capture the electric glow of the city with a distinct graphic sensibility.His night-world aesthetic was shaped by three major pillars in his background:1. Fine Art Roots under Robert MotherwellHenry studied directly at the studio of legendary Abstract Expressionist painter Robert Motherwell. This training heavily influenced how Henry framed neon signage. Rather than treating them merely as literal street signs, he saw them as glowing geometric shapes, high-contrast text loops, and pops of vivid color cutting through pitch-black darkness. This mastery of graphic composition and visual weight transformed ordinary commercial signs into works of modern art.2. Commercial Artistry & Music Industry TiesOperating out of his studio at 100 W. 23rd St. in Manhattan, Henry worked professionally as a commercial illustrator, art director, and album designer. He worked closely with the mid-century music industry, even serving as an Art Director at Grey Advertising where he oversaw promotions and designed album jackets for high-profile jazz musicians like Benny Goodman, Bud Powell, and Stan Getz. Because jazz culture was intrinsically tied to night clubs, bars, and late-night city streets, Henry was naturally immersed in the nocturnal visual landscape of cities like New York.3. Documentary Surveying at SUNY AlbanyIn 1969, Henry joined the Educational Communication Center at SUNY Albany,as a Project Director and designer. During his time with the university, his photography shifted toward comprehensive documentary recording. He utilized color slide film like Kodak Ektachrome to build educational visual archives of disappearing Americana, preserving the vernacular typographies, local fast-food architecture, and glowing neon relics of the Northeast before they were lost to corporate modernization.

• Condition: Very good vintage condition. There is some dust on the slides. They could use some cleaning. They have been stored many years, I did not want to attempt to clean.
• Authenticity: Guaranteed 100% original period photography from the artist/university archive—not modern digital reproductions.

Thank you for looking!