Vintage Ephemera

Ephemera pronounced Efemmera. The Ephemera of everyday life includes, bills, receipts, advertising material, labels, menus, newspapers, the list is vast. Above and beyond its immediate purpose, it expresses a fragment of social history. The collecting of paper items related to advertising and selling is something of an education. The later years of the nineteenth century saw enormous changes on life. To collect advertising literature from this peroid would provide the collector with a valuable commentary on the sociological history of America. And, not the least important of all, you would be immersed in an era of collectibles that are growing in value.

For the purpose of this exhibition, ephemera is defined as any item which was printed to represent a specific enterprise or to announce a specific event, satisfying a short-lived purpose. By this definition ephemera includes greeting cards, advertising or trade cards, calendars, playbills, catalogs, posters, bookplates, post cards, stationery letterheads and menus, to name but a few examples.