Supervisors pick county insignia

Aug. 10,1939: After holding a contest, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors selected a design by local artist Orpha Klinker for the county’s insignia, The Times reported.

Klinker had produced an outstanding series of paintings titled “The Romance of Old Adobes, Landmarks and Pioneers of Early California,” the newspaper said. She won $100 for her design, which was one of 107 entries.

Klinker’s insignia, to be used on stationery and official vehicles, showed the county’s outline and highlighted the city of Los Angeles, the county seat. Los Angeles was shown surrounded by other cities, with “suggestions of industries and agricultural resources.”

“The county boundaries are outlined in gold, indicative of the first discovery of gold in Los Angeles County by Francisco Lopez in 1842, also indicative of the wealth of the county,” The Times said.

“The design is set against a ribbon of the American colors, red, white and blue. On one side of the ribbon is the setting sun with rays lighting the horizon. The lower half of the design is in azure blue, representing the clearness of the western cloudless sky.”

Klinker’s insignia was used until 1957, when it was replaced with a design by Millard Sheets, director of the County Art Institute. Sheets’ design was described as the first official county seal.