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Available for purchase is a spectacular, one-of-a-kind archive of original, hand-drawn commercial design mockups and pre-production layouts for mid-century travel souvenirs and geology specimens. Dating approximately from the pre-war era through the 1950s, this collection offers a rare "behind-the-scenes" look at pre-digital graphic design and roadside Americana production.
These are authentic, hand-rendered concepts used by a commercial art studio (in the style of the famous Lindgren-Turner Co. or contemporary regional souvenir printers) to create retail packaging and screen-printed items for National Park gift shops and roadside attractions.
What is Included in This Archive Lot:
• Arizona Petrified Wood Layout: A beautifully detailed hand-drawn colored pencil and ink illustration of a classic Southwestern red rock landscape under a vivid pink header tag. Features original hand-drawn crop lines and registration crosshairs.
• Citrine Gem Specimen & "Mojhave" Desert Jasper Mockups: Two hand-inked designs drafted specifically for retail display boxes or mineral sample card backings. Features the charming, historically localized vintage spelling of "Mojhave."
• Turquoise Arizona Color Separations: Two rare graphic design concept sheets detailing Southwestern iconography. One layout demonstrates early screen-print color separation layers using deep blues and blacks, depicting Kachina and Thunderbird imagery.
• Desert & Southern California Packaging Toppers: Two hand-drawn landscape cards with original vintage masking tape overlays, designed as mockups for staple-on bag toppers or novelty set headers.
Historical Iconography Note:
The Turquoise Arizona layout prominently features traditional pre-war Southwestern Native American design motifs, explicitly labeled by the artist as the "Sign of the Desert" and "Bearer of Happiness." This includes the sacred Indigenous "Whirling Log" good luck symbol commonly used on tourist silverwork, textiles, and travel ephemera prior to the 1940s.
Condition Details for Collectors:
Because these are working production layouts and printer proofs, they possess a wonderful, authentic patina. The paper shows mild age-toning. The lot features original pencil construction lines, hand-painted lettering alignments, visible adhesive marks, and aged vintage masking tape. These production artifacts are highly desirable, proving their origin as unique pieces of commercial art history rather than mass-produced replicas.
