Ephemera Collection

The ephemera collection contains more than 50,000 items, the majority dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Ranging from small tickets and business cards to giant posters, ephemera is generally printed paper material meant to be thrown away. Ephemeral means, "Beginning and ending in a day; existing only for a day, or for a few days; short-lived, transitory." Some examples of material printed and not meant to be kept would be tickets, timetables, handbills, broadsides, posters, catalogues, maps, pamphlets, brochures, business cards-the possibilities are endless.

The major focus of the collection is Washington territory and state, but it also includes the Pacific Northwest and the West, placing Washington State in the larger setting of the westward movement and Western development. Also in the collection are trade catalogues that document products either made or used in Washington. The latter would include, among other subjects, clothing, building material, furniture, industrial goods, artificial limbs, paints, silver and glassware, toys, funeral furnishings-again, the possibilities are endless.

Researchers use the ephemera collections in many ways. Ephemera often documents events that are recorded nowhere else. Ephemera is increasingly used for its visual value to illustrate published works, exhibits, and in other media. Uses for ephemera are limited only by one's imagination.

Additional Information:

An American Time Capsule - The Printed Ephemera collection at the Library of Congress is a rich repository of Americana, capturing the everyday activities of ordinary people who participated in the events of nation-building and experienced the growth of the nation from the American Revolution through the Industrial Revolution up to present day.

Vietnam War Era Ephemera Collection - The University of Washington's collection of ephemera from the Vietnam War Era touches on all the influential, though chaotic, events of the 1960s and 1970s.

The Ephemera Society of America - The Ephemera Society of America, Inc. is a non-profit organization formed in 1980 to cultivate and encourage interest in ephemera and the history identified with it.