The Wonderful Art Of Missing Pet Posters

The illustrations in these missing pet posters, made by people with little artistic skills, are hilarious. Yet, there is a touch of sadness in them, a heartbreaking desperation.

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One of the first impulses of an owner who’s lost a pet is to canvas the neighborhood with quickly made posters. And even if we haven’t seen the wanderer in question, many of us stop to read these notices, which are often charming combinations of heartfelt pleas, humor, and handmade art. For the last decade, Ian Phillips has collected lost pet posters from around world. In Lost, Phillips selects from his vast collection those posters notable for their cleverness, humor, sorrow, entreaties, rewards, and-in several instances-sheer outlandishness (“Lost Lost Lost: one brown and white ‘mottled’ street duck. Does not answer to the name of Neither Norman”).

For designers, artists, or anyone who wants to tap into the human and creative side of our everyday lives under stress, Lost is a book that tells a story on every page. As a collection, the posters represent an authentic folk art that expresses a commonality between the readers and the makers from the United States to China. For pet owners everywhere, and for anyone who has very stopped to read a lost pet poster, Lost is a heart-warming tribute.