Summer Research - Ephemera

http://www.ephemerasociety.org/def.html

'Maurice Rickards, the famous authority on ephemera and noted scholar, suggested that for collectors of printed material, the word refers to “minor transient documents of everyday life". The use of the word “transient” implies that once these printed items had served their intended function, they were “generally expected to be discarded.”'

'Ephemera may be primary evidence documenting an historical event'

'Ephemera may be a way in which a particular social attitude of the time is evinced'

'Ephemera, as artifacts of history, inevitably contains facts, prejudices, and other aspects(such as language, art and social organization) reflecting their particular time and place'

'Ephemera is revered not only for its content, but also for the beauty of its presentation'


- Collecting ephemera is documenting life, the nature of them both fleeting and impermanent 

- It serves as records of past and present that would otherwise get lost and discarded 

- Each item can preserve a number of different information i.e. economic climate, travel habits, cultural icons etc