Brian Coleman - Vintage Ephemera: From the Collection of Cavallini & Co.

V INTAGE E PHEMERA

From the collection of Cavallini & Co.

Brian D. Coleman

Photographs by William Wright

VINTAGE EPHEMERA

From the collection of Cavallini & Co.

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2014 Brian D. Coleman

Photographs 2014 William Wright

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

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T he dictionary defines ephemera as things that are important or useful for only a short time; items that were not meant to have lasting value. Maurice Rickards, who along with others formed the Ephemera Society in London in 1975, thought ephemera to be the minor transient documents of everyday life. Ephemera was not meant to be preserved; it was created to meet the needs of the day and to be discarded once it had served its original purpose. Contrary to expectations, much of it was saved.

Ephemera is everywhere. Much of it comes from advertising and packaging. An example from my own life may begin to explain why people are drawn to these transient documents. Not too long ago, I made a cup of tea. While the tea was steeping, I looked at the tea bag tag. It possessed, to my mind, such good design that I didnt want to throw it away. So I saved it. At the time, I wasnt sure what I would do with it, but it caught my eye in a way that made me want to keep it. What to one person is a scrap of paper destined for the trash is to another a treasure. But these incidental scraps of paper can take on new meaning to a collector.

People are drawn to ephemera and choose to collect it for many reasons. Some collections simply reflect peoples likes. They like dogs, so they collect dog-themed ephemera. My childhood baseball card collection reflects my early love of sports. Some ephemera is collected to evoke memories of a specific event or time. A saved ticket stub or playbill can transport you back to a special concert or show. Greeting cards, postcards, and correspondence are saved for the same reason. The appeal of certain pieces of ephemera lies in their design quality, like my tea bag tag. Yet another reason for assembling a collection is the desire to travel back in time and connect to another era. Historically minded collectors may choose to focus on World War II memorabilia or a particular Worlds Fair or Exposition. The desire to collect often encompasses more than one of these reasons.

Ephemera takes on added significance precisely because of the unique, idiosyncratic meanings that we attach to it. What objectively is just a piece of paper is transformed by us into something much more powerful and personal. Because of that, what different people collect is as varied as their reasons for collecting. Collections can be organized by subject matter or by type of ephemera. Popular subject matters are entertainment, travel, education, cats, dogs, sports, and medicine. Trade cards, baggage labels, food wrappers and packaging, poster stamps, letterheads, and handbills are examples of frequently collected formats. A collection can be formed based on typography, a specific printing process such as letterpress or chromolithography, or a style such as Art Nouveau or Art Deco.

Collecting ephemera can be an inexpensive hobby, so its appeal is not just for the seasoned collector. Many ephemeral objects are available free: pamphlets, matchbooks, timetables, menus, business cards, and maps. The value lies in what the item means to the collector.

Beyond the world of collecting, ephemera has more uses. In the academic world, social and cultural historians sometimes refer to ephemera as part of material culture. Ephemera can give a picture of the past beyond what is found in the official record. Studying these documents of everyday life can explain the past and help us understand it in a more personal way than secondary sources such as history books have the ability to do. Business history becomes much more interesting when trade cards, letterheads, bills and receipts, and even paper bags are examined. With ephemera one can follow the changes and evolution in advertising or package design, for example. The study of ephemera shines a light on popular culture, local history, social life, and the history of printing. It can show how people of the past lived their lives.

The art world also embraces ephemera. Any history of graphic arts notes the importance of ephemera such as posters in the chronology of design. All these bits of paper have been given a new life and been put to use in the art of collage. Kurt Schwitters was an early-twentieth-century master of the genre. He used candy wrappers, magazine clippings, tickets, envelopes, playing cards, and price tags in his work. American artist Joseph Cornell used printed ephemera to great effect in his collages as both components and inspiration.

Peoples need to collect and connect has given ephemera a new life beyond its original purpose. For instance, my small collection of travel-themed ephemeraairline playing cardsillustrates the point. The cards date from the 1960s, when the airlines gave the decks free to passengers. The cards show the cities the airlines served and are splendid examples of mid-century design. To the student of history, they are evidence of a more generous time in air travel. For me, there is a sentimental attachment to the cards, as they came from a favorite aunt. One collectionmany reasons for keeping it.

There is much to be learned and enjoyed from an appreciation of ephemera. Think back to the tea bag tag I saved. I could keep it with other items Ive collected for their good design. Then again, maybe Ill put it to good use in a tea-themed collage. A small piece of ephemera with countless possibilities.

Jan Grenci

Reference Specialist

Prints and Photographs Division

Library of Congress

T he Cavallini archives began with a set of luggage labels I received when I was nine years old. In February of 1968, an envelope bearing a six-cent stamp arrived in the mail at my childhood home in Bellingham, Washington, containing eight paper luggage labels from around the world. The labels came from such disparate places as Mexico, Indonesia, Israel, and Nigeria. One came from a country that no longer exists. These labels were treasures, beautifully designed but ephemeraldestined to be attached to a suitcase that one day, worn, would be discarded. Preserving them and other paper artifacts became a passion of mine. Without realizing, I became a collector, stopping at the Salvation Army on my way home from school to sift through trade cards, outdated maps, movie magazines, and used postcardsall of them works of art in their own right. These pieces of paper illuminated the daily life of distant places and simpler times, and were my introduction to the world and history beyond my hometown.