The Encyclopedia of Ephemera: A Guide to the Fragmentary Documents of Everyday Life for the Collector, Curator, and Historian
by Maurice Rickards, edited by Michael Twyman

Containing over 500 hundred entries, The Encyclopedia of Ephemera is the only book to define, document and describe such a variety of ephemera. Ranging from records of the past and present (both humble and prestigious), items designed to be thrown away (bus tickets, tangerine wrappers) and to be kept (cigarette cards), and documents of considerable importance (at least to the individual concerned), nothing is considered too trivial to deserve an entry. Such variety-the lifeblood of the modern, commercial society-is the subject of this book. Read more >>

Cameo Cards & Bella C. Landauer: A Monograph of the Ephemera Society of America, 1992

In this monograph, the Ephemera Society offers an illustrated compilation of cameo cards and images, both embossed and not embossed. Resembling cameo broaches, cameo cards were used by businesses chiefly during the 19th century to promote their goods to customers. They are highly collectible today for their artistry and what they tell us about advertising a century and more ago. Read more >>

The Before and After Trade Card
by Ben Crane

"Buy this product and it will change your life!" How many times a day do we see or hear this message? It seems that all we have to do is buy the product and the good life will be ours. This is not new. Over a century ago, during the Victorian era, this same message was being delivered to the public. Then, however, one of the most common forms of advertising was a small, illustrated card that we now call an advertising trade card--or trade card, for short. Read more >>

An Atlantic Telegraph
by Robert Dalton Harris & Diane DeBlois

"In broad generalization the wonderful development of modern times can be traced to three eras--the Crusades, the discovery of America, and the laying of the Atlantic cable." So said Chauncey M. Depew in 1895 at the unveiling of a huge painting by Daniel Huntington of Cyrus Field and his fellow "Telegraph Projectors," commissioned by the New York Chamber of Commerce. Read more >>

Rewards Of Merit
by Patricia Fenn & Alfred P. Malpa

This magnificently produced book is the first ever published about "Rewards of Merit," printed cards, certificates and engraved medals that school teachers gave their students for success in scholarship and good behavior. Though a majority of these ephemera were machine-printed, many were also painstakingly illustrated and colored by hand. These pieces demonstrate the art of American printing, typefaces, graphic arts and illustration in every aspect of their production. Read more >>