Neon Nevada: Updated & Expanded Edition

Nevada’s iconic art form comes to life.

Sheila Swan and Peter Laufer take readers on a journey, not only along the Las Vegas Strip, but down quiet, two-lane rural roads punctuated by neon signs--those glistening beacons that represent commerce in the vast Great Basin. The photographers’ stunning work captures the argon violets, krypton purples, helium golds, and xenon blues that glow amid the nighttime desert sky.

Readers will discover that neon is not just a medium for casino advertising. The colorful images of cowboys and cowgirls, animals, desert landscapes, and a myriad of other creative designs all illuminate Americana. The neon sign helps define Nevada and its businesses, from bars and casinos to the stores, restaurants, motels, and theaters that line the streets of the Silver State’s cities and towns, and those rural areas that are barely a blip on the map. With a compelling blend of striking full-color photographs and fascinating historical commentary, this book celebrates an art form that wholly embraces the state’s unique personality.

First published in 1994, this newly updated and expanded edition of Neon Nevada explores the resurgence of this art form during the last decade, which has resulted in an appreciation of Nevada neon that will never fade. This survey of neon casts the new edition as a defining source for neon scholars and attracts neon aficionados to what can only be defined as a medium as distinctive and interesting as Nevada itself.

Sheila Swan learned photography as an assistant in her father’s portrait studio. She joined the Nevada Craft Guild shortly after it was founded and began her study of Nevada’s relationship with neon.

Peter Laufer has authored or edited more than two dozen books, including two with Sheila Swan. He is a journalism professor at the University of Oregon. Laufer was founding editor of Nevada’s Gold Hill Daily News.