A brief history of bumper stickers, decade by decade

This content is sponsored by Jiffy Lube.

The history of bumper stickers actually starts before cars. Horse-drawn carriages had painted fly nets. Early cars had paper window decals. But everything changed in 1946 when Forest P. Gill invented bumper stickers after finding a surplus of self-adhesive paper from the war. Over the decades bumper stickers have gone from solely being marketing tools to symbols of a drivers’ unique identities. Here are eight iconic bumper stickers throughout the decades.

**40s: Tourism Stickers** The first adopters of bumper stickers were tourist spots. Tourists got to take home souvenirs and the tour spots got their ads on thousands of cars across the nation. Photo Credit: Flickr, CityofStPete

**50s: Political Stickers** For better or for worse, the political history of bumper stickers begins in the 50s where they were first used during the Ike v Eisenhower elections. Britannica, Collection of David J. and Janice L. Frent

60s: Peace Sign Peace stickers reflected the popularity of the hippie movement of the 60s and 70s. Getty Images, Sigit Mulyo Utomo (Getty Images/iStockphoto/Sigit Mulyo Utomo)

Getty Images/iStockphoto/Sigit Mulyo Utomo