Publishing/Book Design

Randall publishes books under
the imprint Giant Orange Press

NEON: A LIGHT HISTORY

Release Date: March 2021, Giant Orange Press
Authors: Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein
Soft cover, 90 pages, full color, 8.5 x 11 trim size

About this book:
Is it possible that (once again) everything we know is wrong? Well, in regards to the history of neon, this may well be the case. Dydia DeLyser and Paul Greenstein have penned a brief, but concise history of the neon sign beginning at the beginning, and covering scandals, murder, fascists, and forgotten inventors. A full-color, lavishly illustrated electrical bodice ripper, aficionados of neon will find this an indispensable “bible” to the history of their favorite collision of art and commerce.

Neon, a Light History
$25 donation + US Priority shipping
Limit 2 copies per online order.
Contact us for wholesale or international shipping.

Funding for this book was supported by pre-orders as well as grants from the Anders Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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SAVING NEON:
A BEST PRACTICES GUIDE

4th edition released in 2022: Giant Orange Press
Authors: Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan
Soft cover, 40 pages, full color

Is there a neon sign in your neighborhood edging toward oblivion? This guidebook gives you the information you need to kick into conservation mode to “save the sign” using neon best practices. Includes resource links and organizations to contact for support. There is a growing national movement to protect neon neighborhood icons threatened by neglect, refacing, or removal.

$20 donation to SF Neon + Media Mail shipping.
Saving Neon: A Best Practices Guide (softcover)
Limit 2 copies per online order.
Contact us for wholesale or international orders.

Funding for this book was supported by grants from SF Heritage and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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SAN FRANCISCO NEON:
SURVIVORS AND LOST ICONS

A lush portrait of San Francisco’s historic neon landscape.
Authors: Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan

Check back for pre-order options.
The revised and updated edition is scheduled for release in September 2023
San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons (hardcover)
Contact us for wholesale or international orders.

ABOUT THIS BOOK
Hardcover book with 200+ photographs. Features include:

San Francisco/photography essay by local award-winning travel writer Tom Downs.
Neon preservation essay by Eric Lynxwiler, neon sign art expert and board president of the Museum of Neon Art (MONA).
Endnotes section with local stories, oral history, and rich details on 45 iconic neon signs by photographers and essayists.
Index by neighborhood to give readers a sense of which neighborhoods still have clusters of neon, and which neighborhoods have lost all but one or two surviving signs.
Neon condition to give readers indication which signs are illuminated nightly, which signs do not light up and need restoration, and which signs are lost icons.

“Just when you thought you knew everything about San Francisco, along comes a new book, San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons. With beautiful photography, paging through is like strolling down the streets of a familiar city with a new vantage point. You’ll never look at San Francisco streets in quite the same way again. If just one of these neon survivors gets saved from demolition, this book is a huge success.”
—Andrew Danish, author of Palm Springs Weekend (Chronicle Books)

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NEON ICONS

Exhibition Catalog for San Francisco Neon Survivors and Icons from the Archives
Release Date: November 2015, Giant Orange Press
Authors: Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan
Soft cover, 40 pages, black and white plus full color images

A local favorite, this is a catalog of an exhibition at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch in 2015. The current photographs and historic images in this catalog exemplify the rich history of commercial neon signage that once graced the commercial corridors of San Francisco. The majority of the iconic images were culled from the photo archive in San Francisco Public Library’s San Francisco History Center. We are fortunate that these photo archives exist, they preserve a historic perspective on the evolution of the city we call home.

$20 donation to SF Neon + Media Mail shipping.

Neon Icons Catalog (softcover)
Limit 2 copies per online order.
Contact us for wholesale or international orders.

About this book…

San Francisco Neon Survivors and Icons from the Archives is the catalog of an exhibit at the San Francisco Public Library Main Branch in 2015. The current day photographs and historic images in this exhibit exemplify the rich history of commercial neon signage that once graced the commercial corridors of San Francisco. The majority of the iconic images were culled from the photo archive in San Francisco Public Library’s San Francisco History Center, plus a few gems from personal collections and a neon-laden scene of Kearny Street that was provided courtesy of the SFMTA Photo Archive. We are fortunate that these photo archives exist. They are a curated and cataloged visual record of particular times and places. They preserve a historic perspective on the evolution of the City we call home.

Advance praise for San Francisco Neon

“I have to confess that I have long envied San Francisco for its especially rich concentration of colorful and inventive neon-bedecked storefronts. San Francisco Neon captures the magic of these signs into a single glowing portfolio that will provide a lasting record of these important but endangered cultural landmarks”.
—Thomas E. Rinaldi, author of New York Neon (W.W. Norton)

“For some, a neon sign is a quick burst of color in their peripheral vision. For others, it is art. For me, a neon sign has a larger significance. It is an important place marker in our collective history. The beautiful photographs in San Francisco Neon are pleasing to the eye but they also awaken my San Francisco pride. What would a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge be without the neon clock at the toll plaza? How attractive would the 500 Club be with a backlit plastic sign? When a neon sign disappears, not only is the visual landscape a whole lot duller, there’s one less bookmark in our unique story.”

— Heather M. David, author of Mid-Century by the Bay (CalMod Books)

“Just when you thought you knew everything about San Francisco, along comes Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan’s book, San Francisco Neon. With beautiful photography, paging through is like strolling down the streets of a familiar city with a new vantage point. You’ll never look at San Francisco streets in quite the same way again. If just one of these neon survivors gets saved from demolition, this book is a huge success.”

— Andrew Danish, author of Palm Springs Weekend (Chronicle Books)

“This wonderful book offers a uniquely atmospheric tour of a world that is rapidly disappearing. It’s at once a gift to designers and a souvenir of the colorful night world of the City by the Bay. Some of the photographs have a cinematic quality, or inspire film noir reveries, with vibrant signs that beckon, warm and welcoming, to denizens of the night. One half expects to see Hopper’s Nighthawks illuminated in the glow. Tighter shots focus on whimsical details and the inventive compositions of the signs themselves. The photographers know San Francisco well, and deserve praise for capturing these charming and often remarkable signs with such affection and care.”

— Richard Sala, author of Mad Night (Fantagraphics Books)