Fleeting Things

Some things are meant to last. Some things are not. Someplace within that range is where items that members of the Ephemera Society collect are to be found.

From their website: “The Ephemera Society of America, Inc. (ESA) is a non-profit organization formed in 1980 to cultivate and encourage interest in ephemera and the history identified with it; to further the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of ephemera by people of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of interest; to promote the personal and institutional collection, preservation, exhibition, and research of ephemeral materials; to serve as a link among collectors, dealers, institutions, and scholars; and to contribute to the cultural life of those who have an interest in our heritage as a nation or a people, both nationally and internationally.

The Mission of the Society is:

To cultivate interest in ephemera and the history which it can reveal
To encourage new insights into the history of our nation, through the study of ephemera
To further the understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of ephemera by people of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of interest
To promote the personal and institutional collection, preservation, exhibition, and research of ephemeral materials
To serve as a link among collectors, dealers, institutions, and scholars”.

Old postcards are one kind of ephemera. It’s also a pretty cool kind. Some examples from the ESA site here follow.