OnlyScans

A round up of graphic design scanned from magazines and trade publications ranging from 1954 to 1986

Jul 21, 2025

If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a scanned image from a 70 year old magazine worth? Their value can probably be more accurately measure in the creativity they can potentially spark to the right person. So, perhaps, they are worth a thousand ideas? I don’t know.

When you’re out digging and sourcing vintage, it’s always worth thumbing through old magazines and print materials to see if there are any interesting compositions, fonts, logos, illustrations, etc. A lot of the graphics in these decades-old materials are done by hand and have a different feel to them than modern graphics. Whether you are a designer or an appreciator, it’s refreshing to see different approaches and perspectives.

For the graphics that catch my eye, I would usually scan and file them away onto a hard drive. But this feels like a good place to share them, so I’ll start compiling and posting on here. If you’re a designer or art director, hopefully they can spark an idea or two. Or maybe you’ll just get a kick out of them. Either way, here are some recent favorites ———

Logo for Green Thumb Plant Store by Steve Sessions (year unknown) -