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"PEACE takes readers on a journey through five decades as Kolsbun presents 50 years of history in pictures and words to tell the fascinating story of mankind's elusive pursuit of peace and the symbol that represents that quest. The book contains iconic images from Kolsbun's own collection as well as a variety of historical archives, illustrating both the symbol itself and the larger history it helped shape. Many of the photographs have seldom been seen before."

Happy 50th to the peace sign!

The first week of April, 2007, marked the 50th anniversary of the Peace Symbol, an omnipresent visual image of those who seek a world that would turn its weapons into ploughshares.

From the Publisher, National Geographic Press:

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Sign

The peace symbol. It is recognized around the globe. It has become an enduring cultural icon. For five decades, millions of people worldwide, regardless of race or religious beliefs, have looked to the peace sign to unite them. And the symbol's appeal continues with each succeeding generation.

In April 2008 the peace sign turns 50. To commemorate this anniversary, National Geographic Books is publishing a tribute that traces the world-famous pictogram as it evolved from a 1950s anti-nuke emblem to a defining icon still widely seen and used today. PEACE: The Biography of a Symbol (National Geographic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0294-0; April 1, 2008; $25 hardcover), by Ken Kolsbun, with Michael Sweeney, is a one-of-a-kind story about the origin of the peace sign, the man who created it and its enduring relevance through the past 50 years.

The story of the peace sign began in the spring of 1958 when peace activists, clergy and Quakers in Great Britain organized a rally to draw attention to the testing and stockpiling of nuclear weapons by some of the world's most powerful countries. Gerald Holtom, a textile designer and commercial artist from Twickenham, suggested the demonstrators carry posters and banners with a simple visual symbol he had designed. He created the symbol by combining the semaphore letters N and D, for nuclear disarmament.

On April 4, 1958, 5,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square to show support for the Ban the Bomb movement, then walked the few miles to the town of Aldermaston, site of an atomic weapons research plant. The first peace signs appeared during that march and a second Aldermaston march the following year. From there it took flight, appearing on flags, clothes, even scratched on walls and signposts, all over Europe.

Easy to remember and reproduce, the symbol soon crossed borders and cultures in a phenomenal way. It became a classic symbol, an icon of peace for the people. Like a chameleon, the symbol took on additional meanings during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, the environmental movement, women's and gay rights movements and the two Iraqi wars.


History of the Peace Symbol from designboom.com:

"the anti-nuclear emblem or the peace sign is one of the most widely known symbols in the world. it was invented on the request of lord bertrand russel, head of the british ‘campaign for nuclear disarmament’ or CDN and sponsor of mass marches and sit-downs in london. the graphic symbol was designed by gerald holtom, a member of the CND movement, as the badge of the ’direct action committee against nuclear war’, for the first demonstration against aldermaston (a british research center for the development of nuclear weapons) in 1958. holtom, a professional designer and a graduate of the london royal college of arts, had originally considered using the christian cross symbol within a circle as the motif for the march, but various priests he had approached with the suggestion were not happy at the idea of using the cross on a protest march.

from a design point of view, it is interesting to note that the original sketches are preserved at the school of peace studies, at the bradford university. they show a symbol that stood for ‘the death of man and the unborn child’ and that symbol was designed from the naval code of semaphore - the code letters for N and D (nuclear disarmament). N is two flags, arms downstretched at a forty-five degree angle, and D is two flags, one arm straight up and one straight down. the ends of the ‘arms’ and ‘legs’ thicken and splay out noticeably as they approach the circumference. the circle itself was thick - the thickening itself has two versions: in one, all the straight strokes are thickened; in the other, only those in the lower half of the circle. it is said, that the reason for the symbol being upside down (D over N) is that semaphore is a military code and upside down symbolizes ‘anti-military’.

the symbol was quickly adopted in the US when a friend of martin luther king jr., bayard rustin began using it during civil rights marches. the power of this symbol is emphasized by the fact that various far-right and fundamentalist american groups, during the 1970s, seriously considered forbidding it (they have spread the idea of satanic associations and condemned it as a communist sign). in south africa, under the apartheid regime, there was an official attempt to ban it. also anti-vietnam war protesters picked it up, and it was called ’the footprint of the great american chicken’ by many american soldiers during the vietnam war era.

deliberately never copyrighted, the symbol is still recognized in great britain as the logo for nuclear disarmament, but is known worldwide for peace and non-violence. no one has to pay or to seek permission before they use it. as a symbol of freedom, it is free for all. this of course sometimes leads to its use, or misuse, in circumstances that CND and the peace movement find distasteful. it is also often exploited for commercial, advertising or generally fashion purposes. ‘we can’t stop this happening and have no intention of copyrighting it. all we can do is to ask commercial users if they would like to make a donation. any money received is used for CND’s peace education and information work.’ says the campaign for nuclear disarmament website."


You can read a CBS News article on the Peace Symbol by clicking here.


From the Publisher, National Geographic Press:

Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Peace Sign

The peace symbol. It is recognized around the globe. It has become an enduring cultural icon. For five decades, millions of people worldwide, regardless of race or religious beliefs, have looked to the peace sign to unite them. And the symbol's appeal continues with each succeeding generation.

In April 2008 the peace sign turns 50. To commemorate this anniversary, National Geographic Books is publishing a tribute that traces the world-famous pictogram as it evolved from a 1950s anti-nuke emblem to a defining icon still widely seen and used today. PEACE: The Biography of a Symbol (National Geographic Books; ISBN: 978-1-4262-0294-0; April 1, 2008; $25 hardcover), by Ken Kolsbun, with Michael Sweeney, is a one-of-a-kind story about the origin of the peace sign, the man who created it and its enduring relevance through the past 50 years.

The story of the peace sign began in the spring of 1958 when peace activists, clergy and Quakers in Great Britain organized a rally to draw attention to the testing and stockpiling of nuclear weapons by some of the world's most powerful countries. Gerald Holtom, a textile designer and commercial artist from Twickenham, suggested the demonstrators carry posters and banners with a simple visual symbol he had designed. He created the symbol by combining the semaphore letters N and D, for nuclear disarmament.

On April 4, 1958, 5,000 people gathered in Trafalgar Square to show support for the Ban the Bomb movement, then walked the few miles to the town of Aldermaston, site of an atomic weapons research plant. The first peace signs appeared during that march and a second Aldermaston march the following year. From there it took flight, appearing on flags, clothes, even scratched on walls and signposts, all over Europe.

Easy to remember and reproduce, the symbol soon crossed borders and cultures in a phenomenal way. It became a classic symbol, an icon of peace for the people. Like a chameleon, the symbol took on additional meanings during the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights movement, the environmental movement, women's and gay rights movements and the two Iraqi wars.

The symbol "continues to exert almost hypnotic appeal. It's become a rallying cry for almost any group working for social change. I'm fascinated by the simplicity of the peace symbol and how people have used it, worn it, adapted it. Each iteration of the symbol seems unique, because it bears the artistic touch of the person replicating it," writes Kolsbun.

PEACE takes readers on a journey through five decades as Kolsbun presents 50 years of history in pictures and words to tell the fascinating story of mankind's elusive pursuit of peace and the symbol that represents that quest. The book contains iconic images from Kolsbun's own collection as well as a variety of historical archives, illustrating both the symbol itself and the larger history it helped shape. Many of the photographs have seldom been seen before.

About the Authors:

Ken Kolsbun is a photographer, writer, historian, peace activist, game inventor, landscape architect, baseball fan, bicyclist, mail-order catalog designer, husband, and father. Kolsbun continues to be active in the peace movement and is an authority on the peace symbol itself.

Michael S. Sweeney is a professor of journalism at Utah State University. He is the award-winning author of the acclaimed book Secrets of Victory, which was named 2001 Book of

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