Skip to the readings
A field guide for readers at the curbWhat this guide isThe mail slot
The Yard Sign Readings from the curb
The fine print
  1. Sources
  2. Method
  3. Terms

read from the curb

The fine print

The fine print of The Yard Sign: sources, editorial method, and the terms on which every reading is kept.

Every reading in this guide is written from public sources and the observable record, then checked against the placard at its foot: what the object says, what it leaves off the sign. This page is the same discipline applied to the guide itself.

Sources

Readings draw on the public record of the practice: professional standards, market rules, trade publications, public archives of how these artifacts were made and used. Each article lists its sources in the margin so a reader can walk the same route.

Method

A reading describes the artifact and its culture, not a particular office, agent or transaction. Where a historical example serves, it serves as an example. Dates refer to the documented record, not to marketing claims.

Terms

The guide is published for readers. Nothing in it is advice to buy, sell, list or sign anything; for decisions like those the right window is a licensed professional in the reader's own market. The site keeps no accounts, takes no listings and runs no contact forms.