Welcome to the Motel California is a celebration of the art of the matchbooks, handed out at the 'Mom and Pop' motels of the 1950s and 60s. These iconic motels thrived in the postwar heyday of the automobile as 'tin can tourists' headed out on highways such as Route 66 to discover the vastness of America. Signage was everything and these wonderful designs were replicated on matchbooks, freely available at the bar, rooms and reception desks. As new Interstate Highways bypassed the older routes, and the ubiquitous Holiday Inns replaced the quirkier motels, their decline was inevitable. Today, most of these iconic motels have vanished, but we are still able to glimpse this bygone era through their matchbooks which have survived, and now avidly collected. The book is 200mm x 255mm. quarter cloth bound, and printed on 170gsm Munken Lynx Rough paper in an edition of 1250 copies, of which there are 100 Specials and 8 Deluxe editions.