ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses primarily on one type of visual symbol which appeared with great frequency and/or in locations or situations of high visibility. An analysis of visual sources makes particular sense for those studying America's cities during the high tide of urbanization and immigration ranging roughly from the 1880s until the First World War. The book also focuses on the universal vernacular of pictorial form and its function as visual representations of collective cultures in urban America. Upon identifying the fundamental cultural patterns embedded in the images, it then traces the infiltration of dissonant elements, the gradual transformation of the symbol in accordance with shifting world views, the clashing ideologies, and mixture of thought patterns which characterized urban America during its heyday.
