Bahia Shehab is professor and founder of the graphic design program at the American University in Cairo. An artist, designer, and art historian, her work has received a number of international awards, including a TED Senior Fellowship, a Prince Claus Award, and the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture. She is co-author of A History of Arab Graphic Design (AUC Press, 2020) and author of A Thousand Times NO: The Visual History of Lam-Alif (2010).

"A Trade in Dreams is a vital contribution to the history of design in the Arab world, tracing a century of Egyptian print advertising through colonial and post-colonial shifts. Often dismissed as too commercial, advertising emerges here as a key site for visual experimentation and professional design practice. With rich imagery woven through historical insights, this book reveals how modernity, identity, and desire were sold, and shaped, through the language of advertising.”—Yara Khoury, American University of Beirut"This book is inadvertently a who's who of modern Egyptian industry, a resource on Egyptian neoliberalism, a visual feast, and a basic history of modern Egypt. The ethos of the author, the visual promise of the book, and its accessibility balanced with rich information make it a very valuable source for introductory courses on visual culture, rhetoric, design, and advertising."—Yasmine Motawy, The American University in Cairo"A fascinating, beautifully illustrated, and nuanced narrative on a topic rarely researched. A Trade in Dreams offers a unique point of view, situating print advertising as a powerful communication medium that has advanced political and social causes, held up a mirror to society, helped shape visual culture, and contributed to the creation of a lasting national identity. This book is a must-read primer and a critical contribution to both media studies and global design histories."—Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Design historian and founding director of the Khatt Foundation"Drawing on over 350 images of magazine and newspaper ads, in A Trade in Dreams: A Century of Egyptian Print Advertising, Bahia Shehab reveals how consumer culture determined political, social and economic change during the century between 1880 and 1980 in Egypt."—PRINTPRAISE FOR A HISTORY OF ARAB GRAPHIC DESIGN:“A significant contribution.”—Art Journal“Important and rich.”—AIGA Eye on Design"A groundbreaking publication."—Technical Communications"A major feat."—The National News“Easily the best introduction to the history of modern Arab visual culture on the market today.”—The Brooklyn Rail"A landmark . . . recommended." —M. Lynx Qualey, Al-Fanar Media“An invaluable resource.”—Futuress Magazine"Well documented and supported."—Ahram Hebdo

• Introduction1. Pre 1920: Western Products, Local Goods—Technology vs. IdentityFrom Scribe to Press: A Budding Publishing LandscapeAl-Ahram AdvertisesAdvertising Recreation: Alcohol and Tobacco2. 1920–39: Nationalist Voices, Celebrity Endorsements A Publishing RevolutionThe Rise of Feminist VoicesAd Makers and Their AdsRepresentation of WomenPushing Back against Colonization3. 1940–49: The Golden Era of Egyptian AdvertisingNews and Education for Women and MenLuxury Goes MainstreamEntertaining Difficult TimesEgyptianization on the RiseApothecary to PharmacistBuying Cleanliness4. 1950–69: Power and the Media—Politics and Image CreationPost-Revolution Communication ShiftThe Private Sector NationalizedAn Industrial RevolutionAn Altered Advertising Landscape5. 1970–80: From Socialism to Capitalism—A Society in FluxA Political RiftOpen Door, Open MarketBlond is BestConclusion

Bahia Shehab is professor and founder of the graphic design program at the American University in Cairo. An artist, designer, and art historian, her work has received a number of international awards, including a TED Senior Fellowship, a Prince Claus Award, and the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture. She is co-author of A History of Arab Graphic Design (AUC Press, 2020) and author of A Thousand Times NO: The Visual History of Lam-Alif (2010).

"A Trade in Dreams is a vital contribution to the history of design in the Arab world, tracing a century of Egyptian print advertising through colonial and post-colonial shifts. Often dismissed as too commercial, advertising emerges here as a key site for visual experimentation and professional design practice. With rich imagery woven through historical insights, this book reveals how modernity, identity, and desire were sold, and shaped, through the language of advertising.”—Yara Khoury, American University of Beirut"This book is inadvertently a who's who of modern Egyptian industry, a resource on Egyptian neoliberalism, a visual feast, and a basic history of modern Egypt. The ethos of the author, the visual promise of the book, and its accessibility balanced with rich information make it a very valuable source for introductory courses on visual culture, rhetoric, design, and advertising."—Yasmine Motawy, The American University in Cairo"A fascinating, beautifully illustrated, and nuanced narrative on a topic rarely researched. A Trade in Dreams offers a unique point of view, situating print advertising as a powerful communication medium that has advanced political and social causes, held up a mirror to society, helped shape visual culture, and contributed to the creation of a lasting national identity. This book is a must-read primer and a critical contribution to both media studies and global design histories."—Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Design historian and founding director of the Khatt Foundation"Drawing on over 350 images of magazine and newspaper ads, in A Trade in Dreams: A Century of Egyptian Print Advertising, Bahia Shehab reveals how consumer culture determined political, social and economic change during the century between 1880 and 1980 in Egypt."—PRINTPRAISE FOR A HISTORY OF ARAB GRAPHIC DESIGN:“A significant contribution.”—Art Journal“Important and rich.”—AIGA Eye on Design"A groundbreaking publication."—Technical Communications"A major feat."—The National News“Easily the best introduction to the history of modern Arab visual culture on the market today.”—The Brooklyn Rail"A landmark . . . recommended." —M. Lynx Qualey, Al-Fanar Media“An invaluable resource.”—Futuress Magazine"Well documented and supported."—Ahram Hebdo

• Introduction1. Pre 1920: Western Products, Local Goods—Technology vs. IdentityFrom Scribe to Press: A Budding Publishing LandscapeAl-Ahram AdvertisesAdvertising Recreation: Alcohol and Tobacco2. 1920–39: Nationalist Voices, Celebrity Endorsements A Publishing RevolutionThe Rise of Feminist VoicesAd Makers and Their AdsRepresentation of WomenPushing Back against Colonization3. 1940–49: The Golden Era of Egyptian AdvertisingNews and Education for Women and MenLuxury Goes MainstreamEntertaining Difficult TimesEgyptianization on the RiseApothecary to PharmacistBuying Cleanliness4. 1950–69: Power and the Media—Politics and Image CreationPost-Revolution Communication ShiftThe Private Sector NationalizedAn Industrial RevolutionAn Altered Advertising Landscape5. 1970–80: From Socialism to Capitalism—A Society in FluxA Political RiftOpen Door, Open MarketBlond is BestConclusion