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70 Examples of Ephemera

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Ephemera are physical things that are designed to be temporary. This is a special category of collectible whereby people develop an interest in acquiring, preserving, curating and displaying these items. Ephemera are mostly paper things including mass produced items such as a newspaper and one-of-a-kind items such as personal letters.
Definition of Ephemera
A collectible that was originally designed with a short lifespan.
Due to their non-durable design, collecting ephemera requires special preservation and storage techniques. Overtime, these items can quickly become relatively rare, particularly ephemera that are in perfect condition. The following are common examples of ephemera.
Album Covers
Annual Reports
Art Prints
Artist's Sketchbooks
Autographs
Badges
Banners
Blueprints
Brochures
Bumper Stickers
Business Cards
Calendars
Cardboard Coasters
Catalogs
Certificates
Clippings
Comics
Coupons
Diaries
Envelopes
Event Programs
Family Bibles
Family Trees
Flyers
Greeting Cards
Guestbooks
Handbills
Illustrations
Invitations
Journals
Labels
Leaflets
Lobby Cards
Lookbooks
Magazines
Manga
Manuscripts
Maps
Matchbooks
Meeting Materials
Membership Cards
Menus
Newsletters
Newspapers
Notebooks
Notes
Pamphlets
Personal Letters
Photographs
Postcards
Posters
Press Releases
Product Packaging
Programs
Propaganda
Raffle Tickets
Ration Books
Receipts
Schedules
Scrapbooks
Screenplay Copies
Sheet Music
Sports Programs
Stickers
Stock Certificates
Tickets
Trading Cards
Vinyl Record Sleeves
Yearbooks
Zines

Types of Ephemera

A passion for collecting ephemera often stems from an underlying interest. For example, fans of sports, movies, music and other pop culture who collect related memorabilia. Collecting ephemera can also relate to an interest in history and in discovering and preserving artifacts of the past. It is also common for people to collect everyday paper things such as matchbooks, perhaps out of a sense that these all have unique designs that go unnoticed and unappreciated. The following are common types of ephemera.

Provenance

Provenance is the history of each item of ephemera. This helps to establish authenticity and the story behind each item. Provenance is relevant to the value and general seriousness of a collection. The following are examples of how provenance is established.
  • Notes regarding the purchase or other acquisition.
  • Receipts, invoices and correspondence related to the purchase.
  • Information about previous owners.
  • Information about previous sales of the item.
  • Documents that detail the history of the item.
  • Letters, notes and certificates from prior owners.
  • Written appraisals or authenticity certificates from reputable sources.
  • External sources that note the item such as an autobiography that mentions a copy of a script.

Counterexamples

Some types of paper collectible aren't viewed as ephemera because they are viewed as their own domain. The following are notable examples of collecting pursuits that are viewed as separate from ephemera, even when dealing with paper artifacts.
Philately
The collection of postage stamps and related materials.
Numismatics
The collection of coins and paper money.
Antiquarianism
The collection of rare books and manuscripts.
Cinemabilia
The collection of movie memorabilia including paper items such as scripts and promotional materials.
Cartophily
The collection of trading cards, including sports cards.
Art Collecting
Collecting fine art such as paintings is not viewed as ephemera.

Summary

Ephemera is the collecting of paper things, particularly paper things that were never meant to be collectibles. This can include the collection of old paper things that qualify as antiques. There are some notable examples of paper things that technically aren't considered ephemera such as books, stamps and paper currency.
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More about collectibles:
Antiques
Art
Art Deco
Classic Things
Collectibles
Crafts
Ephemera
Nostalgia
Old Things
Tools
Toys
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