Collectors eventually expand their collections into the area known as ephemera. Looking for items that advertise, illustrate or explain the collectible is a great find for anything from pottery to automobiles.  The ephemera that was originally part of the promotion or production of the collectible is a unique plus for the collection.

Ephemera is the item that was produced to be read, the paper item of instructions, advertising, promotions, calendars. They are either created as advertsising inserts, trade cards, pamphlets, handouts and the variety and range is almost endless. Think about going to the state fair and as you visit all the exhibits, the pieces of paper you may pick up or be handed. Now put those items in a drawer and forget about them, or set you sack of paper you collectible in the back of the closet and it sits there unnoticed and unmoved.  Move along twenty or thirty years and there in the bottom of that drawer or in that sack is a Ford Motor Comapny advertising brochure from that state fair visit, you have ephemera.  Because most times people will just throw out these items with the daily trash, ephemera becomes scarce and with its scarcity, beomes collectible. 

Many toy collectors wish the original directions were still available for the toys they have found, if for no other reason but to be able to do slight repairs.

Ephemera works great as a collectible because it doesn't take musch space, can be put in some typeof container for browsing later or matted and framed and put up as a piece of art.

About 1839, some paper producer perfected the art of blotting paper.  The absorbent paper used to soak up and instantly dry liquid ink. Prior to this, a light dusting of sand, also known as punce was used to blot up the extra ink when nib pens, even feather pens were used.  Quickly advertisers began to print onto blotters with product information and hand them out to customers. If you find a blotter that isn't completely obliterated by ink, then you have a treasure.  We have a set of blotters in our personal collection from 1930, all hunting scenes from an insurance company. Not any of those had been used, we found them in a box of shoes at an estate sale. We laugh and say that the only things these ever blotted were foot odor. The best part of the blotter for the advertise is every time someone wrote a message, the blotter sent a message of its own.  While most blotters were eventually thrown away, the collector can find them in a desk drawer at an estate sale, sometimes inside a box of stationary.  Finding blotters now really is a true find, as its been over 40 years, since blotters were mass manufactured by advertisers. Ball point pens pretty much did away with this practice. Blotters were made in many sizes and shapes. We have one from a power company in the shape of a light bulb.  One thing about a vintage blotter, it will not be shiny, it will not be bright. Blotter material is a heavy, raw paper stock. Sometimes a high grade paper would be used to add details and more ink to the ad, but they were not as absorbent as the raw stock blotters.  Raw stock blotters are the paper coasters of the ink industry !

Another throw away that is a collectible is a calendar. Whether people collect based on the the year they were born or by the product advertised, a complete calendar is a gem among ephermer collectors.  In the Victorian era, many drugstores handed out calendars of all sizes with products advertisements as the source of the production.  The local drugstore could have as many varieties of give away calendars as there were products, cough syrup to beauty products.  And there wasn an endless line of people willing to have their likeness put on those calendars.  Sometimes the calendars were just one big sheet or even a small cardwith all twelve months and the top would be the product endorsement. SMall hand out calendars for aman's wallet or a lady's purse have always been quite popular. Some photographers began their careers doing calendar photo shoots, look for the name of the photographer in the calendar credits.  The insurance company calendar stuck in the top of the closet and fogotten ten years ago, is now an unused ephemera collectible. While anytime in the past twenty-five years will never sell for as much as something as old as 135 years, everything paper holds a value.  Many people are seeking the day page calendar from 9-11. 

Protecting paper becomes important and usually a collector will have an acid free scrapbook with protector pages for items collected. We like to mat and frame our pieces and using them in our home.  Our backdoor washroom has calendar pages framed and hung that illustrate the outdoors and what is so nice about living on a farm.  These pages came from a plumber's advertising calendar in the 20's.

Don't forget to look for advertising brochures, cards and give-a-ways when you are looking for ephemera collectibles.  I fyou can find the printed borcure of your dad's first car, imagine how much fun that will be to put in a Christmas stocking. How about a complete deck of playing cards from you brother's favorite casino.  One thing about ephemera, you can pay just pennies for an item or you can make a major investment.

Condition is the most important part of putting value on anything collectible. We always say condition and "want" is important. If I want a particular piece of ephemera and I finally find what I'm looking for and it's in good condition, then I'm willing to pay the asking price.

Looking for a fun way to start collectin, then start with ephemera. It's lightweight, will hold its value and it will bring you a sense of pride. 

Look for Ephemera on Ebay