Ephemera ?

As many of ya know, ol' Dusty's been roamin' around this world for a good number of years now, looking for cool old stuff just about anywhere he can find it. So, imagine my surprise when this citified lady was tellin' me about sum stuff she had today.... said it was "ephemera".

Ephemera? Well, I had absolutely no idea what she was talkin' 'bout. I ain't never called anything I gathered up 'ephemera", that's fer dang sure. To me, it's always been just cool old stuff that other folks shoulda kept!

Well ol' Dusty ain't stupid... he went along with her, asking some clever questions all the while tryin' to get her to reveal exactly what it was she had. And by and by, it comes out that what she's really been jawin' on about, is...... paper!

Turns out, ephemera is basically paper items that were meant for one use or for a short period of time and then discarded. Stuff like handouts, newspapers, or even wrappers. Plain old printed stuff... magazines, showroom brochures, product catalogs, owners manuals, etc. etc. etc. Ephemera indeed!

Antique and vintage Advertisements fall into this "ephemera" stuff. Printed advertisements have been around for eons, ever since craftsman and merchants discovered that it was important to promote themselves, their business, and their products.

In Victorian times, it became popular to collect what is now known as Trade Cards. These were basically advertisements for products that a storekeeper would have in his shop. The fronts were usually so beautifully done that Victorians actually kept scrapbooks of these ads in their parlors as pretty things to look at.

Nowadays, advertisements taken from periodicals are collected for a whole host of reasons. Sometimes the ad shows sumthing that someone collects. An ad with vintage Corvettes or an ad with a particular railroad company can be added to a collection at pretty low cost, while at the same time adding interest and a new dimension to the collection. Classic Car buffs like to get an advertisement showing the car that they have promoted in the year it was first available, as well as any significant ads during its production.

At DustyBarnfinds.com, we just call them vintage advertisements, or showroom brochures, or owners manuals. I don't see no point in using a fifty dollar word that nobody knows what means anyways. And, we don't charge enough to be usin' high dollar words.

So, ephemera will have to live on sumplace else. But at least now I knows what it means.

Til next time, from sumplace on the road,

Dusty