| Why collect old paper? I hear this question a | | | | or loved one; it may be collectible for its |
| lot when I tell people that I'm interested in | | | | own sake (e.g., baseball cards, postcards, |
| ephemera. For those unfamiliar, ephemera is | | | | and stamps); or, it may add value or interest |
| commonly defined as transitory written and | | | | to an existing collection of other |
| printed matter that was produced for | | | | collectible objects. |
| short-term uses-not intended to be retained | | | | |
| or preserved. Aside from ephemera being an | | | | One of the more difficult aspects of ephemera |
| interesting and often valuable collectible in | | | | collecting is judging the age of a piece of |
| its own right, it has several practical | | | | undated paper. It's easy to determine the age |
| applications for everyday life, including: | | | | of an antique document that has a date |
| | | | clearly printed on it. However, when a date |
| 1. Historical Research. Authors and | | | | isn't present, it pays to know a few tricks |
| historians use ephemera for deep research | | | | to help judge its age. Here are three tricks |
| into companies, people, and products. And | | | | to roughly gauging the age of undated paper: |
| many genealogists find it to be indispensable | | | | |
| in their work. Ephemera collections are | | | | 1. Check the Address. If there's an address |
| housed at many universities, libraries, and | | | | but no zip code, then it's likely the item |
| museums specifically for its value in | | | | was printed prior to 1963 when zip codes were |
| academic and scholarly research. | | | | introduced by the U.S. Postal Service. They |
| | | | became mandatory in 1967. |
| 2. Decorative. People hang framed ephemera, | | | | |
| such as vintage posters, advertisements, | | | | 2. Check the Phone Number. If there's a phone |
| vernacular photography, lobby cards, etc., on | | | | number with no area code, then it's likely |
| the walls of their homes and offices. | | | | the item was printed prior to the late 1940s, |
| Collectible paper can be a conversation piece | | | | when area codes began to be used in major |
| or the focal point of a room. | | | | metro areas. |
| | | | |
| 3. Artist's Raw Material. Many commercial and | | | | 3. Paper produced before 1953 won't fluoresce |
| fine artists use ephemera as the principle | | | | under black light like paper produced after |
| source of raw material in their work. Several | | | | that date. (This is due to lack of certain |
| well-known collage artists, for instance, use | | | | chemical "brighteners" that were added to |
| old paper as a principle ingredient. | | | | paper during the manufacturing process after |
| Commercial artists sometimes use ephemera in | | | | 1953.). Most paper, even antique paper, will |
| print, broadcast, and outdoor advertising. | | | | fluoresce somewhat, but the difference |
| Amateur artists use it to produce a variety | | | | between older and newer paper should be |
| of crafts, and scrapbook enthusiasts use | | | | noticeable. |
| ephemera to decorate the pages of their | | | | |
| albums. | | | | I use these tricks while doing research as |
| | | | the Webmaster for ephemera. However, none of |
| Of course, there are just as many or more | | | | the dating methods I've outlined are |
| whimsical reasons to collect ephemera: it may | | | | scientific, and they certainly do not provide |
| remind you of a past experience, occupation, | | | | conclusive proof of a document's age. |