Ephemera Online

As a rubber stamper, I'd come across the term ephemera numerous times. I had a vague idea that it had something to do with paper, but I had no idea what. However, at a recent trade show I came across some wonderful tile letters produced by Limited Editions Rubber stamps and in the process of searching for the letters, I came across the term ephemera when I was also searching for an article topic. Serendipitous you might say? And I would have to agree.

http://www.limitededitionrs.com was my first stop, and after locating the tiles, (that resemble Scrabble letter blocks), I also found brads, eyelets, wooden tags, mini clothespins and other articles that called out to be placed on cards and in collages. They were listed with ephemera, but as I conducted more research, I found out that the true definition of ephemera would probably not include anything metal or wood.

My brief research led me to a definition by Maurice Rickards, who in l975, founded the Ephemera Society in London, (does it every occur to anyone else that older cultures have a greater sense of past, then our upstart American culture). He defined ephemera for those in the "world of paper collectors who need some organization to clarify these fabulous documents of history." The word comes from the Greek 'epi' ( (about) and hermeris (day) and speaks to the short lived or transitory nature of the printed matter that makes up true ephemera. A great example would be trading cards, posters, greeting cards, stamps, tickets, maps and letters. There are many categories of ephemera, and often those who collect it find themselves drawn to a particular type or era.

When searching for ephemera on the web, you are most likely to be drawn to sites where you can purchase folios, or collections of ephemera. Several sites listed below have just such collections available. http://www.keyholearts.com also has stamps that lend themselves to ephemera art, by adding a similar look. On page l6 they have a stamp set that would be wonderful with postage stamps and old maps for a travel collage. http://www.eragraphics.com/silverpennies... features collage packs from Web Mistress Xina, and although they are not all available for view, the descriptions are enough to make you salivate! http://www.geocities.com/inyourdreamsonl... shows the folios available from the two website owners. The folios "contain antique papers from the late l800's to the l950's. Their papers include maps, postcards, botanical and animal prints, Victorian advertisements and greetings, travel ephemera, photos, diaries and letters, and currently include 10 x 14 handwritten sheet of Italian music. They also include found objects such as game pieces, shells, beads, old laces, feathers, cords, and ribbons." The In Your Dreams company has been featured in Rubber Stamp publications so if the name sounds familiar, thats probably why.

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