Ephemera

What is Ephemera? 

Many folks collect it, but what does that word mean?

According to Wikipedia, the definition is as follows:

Ephemera (singular: ephemeron) is any transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters, pamphlets, postcards, posters, prospectuses, defunct stock certificates or tickets, and zines.

 

The first part of the definition is shocking…..not meant to be retained.  Well, well…..I do believe that this definition certainly doesn’t pertain to how we view Ephemera.  It is loved, respected and appreciated and very much collected.

 

Below are just a few examples of collectible EPHEMERA, or paper items.  Many crafters seek these old graphics for crafting projects and others look for these beautiful graphics just to collect.  Some of my favorite Ephemera come from the Victorian time.  The artwork is detailed, colorful and just as sweet as Grandma’s home baked goodies.

 

 

Many of our vendors have Ephemera for sale in their spaces – some more than others.  Barbara has been bringing in a lot of antique Ephemera and has each item carefully packaged.  From antique photos, post cards, French seed packets, greeting cards, Victorian advertising and calling cards – just to name a few.  Below is a photo of one of her spaces where she has them offered for sale.  A person could spend a lot of time in her space and having fun looking through all of the Ephemera.  Barbara also makes hand made cards and tags, such as the adorable Happy Easter ones shown in the last photo.

 

Feel free to copy and paste the images from this post.  A good resource for other other Ephemera images are on a website titled The Graphics Fairy.