Object Lessons is a series of short, beautifully designed books about the hidden lives of ordinary things.

In an election year, political signs can be impossible to avoid. They’re in front yards, on bumper stickers, and in some places you might never have expected. Tobias Carroll chronicles the permutations and secret histories of political signs, venturing into the story of how they came to be and illuminating how the signs around us shape us in ways we often fail to appreciate.

In an era of political polarization and heated debate, what can be learned from studying how our personal space becomes the setting for both? Understanding political signs can help us understand our current political moment, and how we might transcend it.

Object Lessons is published in partnership with an essay series in The Atlantic.