I love ephemera!! I have boxes and files and piles of many different kinds. All the years I lived in the Bay Area, I made a great attempt to make it to the annual San Francisco Antiquarian Books & Paper show. (Which coincidentally would happen, without fail, during my birthday week prompting me to make unnecessary purchases in my honor.) I have been wanting to write about ephemera since I began The Collect Collective. Ephemera is so vast I couldn't possibly talk about it all in one essay, so I've decided to start with something simple; writing papers: notebook, ledger and composition pages.
For those of you out there who are unfamiliar with the term "Ephemera," it refers to paper items usually ment to be discarded but since become of interest and in some cases value. Popular ephemera collectables included; labels, greeting cards, sheet music, valentines, menues, postcards etc.
The majority of people collecting notebook, ledger and composition pages, I assume, are using them in altered art and book making. Though there are a few, I imagine, collecting these papers for their nostalgic value. I remember that feeling, as a kid, of opening up my school supplies days before school actually started. I would line them up on the floor, touching each piece. Then pack and re-pack my backpack and trapper keeper, becoming more and more excited for the new adventures ahead of me.
If you are interested in learning more about collecting ephemera a great place to begin is The Ephemera Society Of America. Their informaion is vast. They have meetings, an ephemera news and journal, membership and mentoring programs. They even have a facebook! And of course, the library would be another good resource to check out. This would certainly be a topic any librarian would love to dive into! Since "Ephemara" is so vast I hesitate to point you in the direction of any specific books at this time. I would suggest that you whittle down your speicific ephemera genre and then start your book title search, which a friendly librarin would be ever so helpful.
Ephemera will come up again, you can mark my words! Let us know if you have a specific ephemera topic that you would like to discuss! Or if you have a collection of ephemera that you want to share.
Thank you etsy sellers for your gorgeous photographs.
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