Non-Fiction: 1950's Book about how Greek Mythology/Classical Myth Influenced Many Company Logos and Business Names

[[deleted user]]

Posting here for the first time! :) I read the group guidelines, so I think I'm doing this right. There are no spoilers since this is non-fiction.

In the late 80's I discovered an old dusty book on my grandma's bookshelf. The book was one of the most fascinating ones I'd ever read (I was nine-years-old). I could tell that it was written many years ago, but it was very easy to read. It told all about how Greek/Roman/Classical mythology could be found in the symbols of many logos and the names of many businesses. Some of the common symbols in logos the book stated were mythological were a flaming torch (Prometheus brought fire to humanity), thunderbolt and eagle (in US seal, Zeus, king of gods), the owl for wisdom (Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy's favorite bird), A man with the world on his shoulders (Atlas, the giant who held up the world), etc.

Through many tries at Google searches I've not been able to locate the name of the book. The reason is because there are many online blog posts that discuss this topic, but they all seem to steal from each other and nobody is giving credit to the "original" paper sources.

Here are the rest of the details I remember:

* Publish date: Between 1920's and 1950's (almost certain it was the 50's because I thought it was much older -- like from the 20's -- but later discovered it was not).
* Book was a library book at a high school in the 70's, so it may have been some kind of schoolbook (like a "reader", or a textbook).
* Small, red, hardcover. Understanding now a little about how books are made, it may have originally had a dust-jacket, but not when I discovered it.
* I'm estimating based on 1/2 to 1" thickness that it was probably 150 - 250 pages.

I'm just taking a long shot here, but I'm hoping you guys can help me find the name of this book. I would really like to locate it again.

Any help is appreciated.

[Tab]

Muse on Madison Avenue: Classical Mythology in Contemporary Advertising by Karelisa V. Hartigan fits a little, but the time doesn't fit?

Were there in pictures or illustrations in the book? If so, were they in color, black and white, full page, realistic, etc?

[Brenda]

Publication date seems too new, but maybe this a newer edition?

https://www.amazon.com/Muse-Madison-A...

[[deleted user]]

Tab wrote: "Muse on Madison Avenue: Classical Mythology in Contemporary Advertising by Karelisa V. Hartigan fits a little, but the time doesn't fit?

Were there in pictures or il..."

Thanks Tab! Yes, there were pictures. They were all in black and white. There were some full-page illustrations, mostly less-than-full-page, and some black and white photos. It seems this was done to keep costs down as multiple inks would undoubtedly raise the price.

I'll reply to the book you suggested in Brenda's post!

[[deleted user]]

Brenda wrote: "Publication date seems too new, but maybe this a newer edition?

https://www.amazon.com/Muse-Madison-A..."

Thanks Brenda! I'm glad you guys found that book, though you are right -- it's not the exact one I'm seeking. I found out from the publisher's site (https://www.peterlang.com/view/produc...) that this book covers "An Overview of Myths in Ads from the 1950s to the 1990s". Maybe that's just a general topic category from like the Library of Congress.

It is a shame though, that there is no preview, nor any ratings on Amazon. Also, this book appears to be originally in German.

I don't feel like this is the book. Mine was written in proper American English grammar. Sort of like they way Ward Cleaver talked on Leave it to Beaver.

Thanks for some good suggestions so far!

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Eric, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

[Eric]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Eric, are you still looking for this or did you find it?"

Sorry for the late response! I've been out of the loop for a little while. The answer is no; I have not yet found the book. I had actually forgotten about this post until today.

Now that I think of it, I believe the book in question may have been under the category of marketing and advertisement. I don't how much that helps, but how wonderful if someone in the future sees this comment and says "I know exactly what book he's talking about now!"

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Oh dear, you deleted your original account? You are the original poster?

[Kris]

OP (original poster) account is deleted. Moving to the "Now we'll never know" folder.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Kris, I think Eric may be the original poster, whose original account was deleted.

Eric, can you confirm this?