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Ephemera 46

Ephemera Fair

Join the Ephemera Society of America for our 46th Annual Conference and Ephemera Fair

March 19-22, 2026
Hyatt Regency Hotel
1800 E Putnam Ave, Old Greenwich, CT 06870

Be sure to book your hotel room at the newly renovated Hyatt Regency by February 26, 2026 
to receive our group rate of $175.

Click Here to make your reservation.

The EPHEMERA FAIR
Donations – Your Support Is Always Welcome
On July 4, 2026, our nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia. John Dunlap, a twenty-nine-year-old Irish immigrant, spent much of the night of July 4, 1776, hastily setting type and printing final copies of the single-sheet broadside of the Declaration. One was attached with a seal and folded into the Continental Congress manuscript journal after the words: “The Declaration being again read was agreed to as follows.” The others were distributed throughout the new United States to be read aloud in each of the 13 colonies and to the continental troops. Newspapers quickly published the contents. It is self-evident that ephemera played a pivotal role in the founding of our country. This broadside not only described the reasons for the country’s founding, it was also the means by which the public learned of our separation from Britain. Finding an original “Dunlap Broadside” continues to be the holy grail for collectors of American historical documents.

This historic anniversary is an apt moment for examining how ephemera played a key role not only in our founding, but also during the significant political events and social movements that make up our nation’s history.  

Ephemera 46, the Ephemera Society of America (ESA) annual conference, will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut, on March 19 & 20, 2026. Each speaker will address a topic related to this historic anniversary.  

We will feature 11 presentations on Thursday and Friday. 

EPHEMERA FAIR
Saturday March 21 & Sunday March 22

Exhibiting Dealers​

60+ Exhibitors specializing in Ephemera
vintage posters, postcards, letters, photographs, tickets, brochures, advertisements, and so much more.

NEW EVENT: Ephemera Fair PREVIEW
Friday, March 20 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Open to Ephemera Society of America Members only. 

Fair Hours

Saturday, March 15, 2025 
ESA Member Early Admission: 9-10 am
Regular Admission: 10am – 5pm

Sunday March 16, 2025  
11am – 4pm

Conference Schedule 

THURSDAY, MARCH 19th
4:00 p.m. Riverside Ballroom NEW LOCATION
Emerging Scholars Presentation:

“Diaries of the African American Mother”  — Faith Page

All in for the Semiquin: Postcards and Public Memory at Delaware 250 — Eleanor Shippen

A History in Unexpected Places: Scrapbooks, Ephemera, and Women’s Music Clubs — Rachel Shapiro

6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. — Condes Room

Board reception for early arrivals. Join old and new friends, and be fresh for the conference that begins Friday morning.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20th
Four morning conference sessions: Riverside Ballroom  NEW LOCATION

8:30 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Barbara Loe, Conference Committee Chairman
Michael Peich, President

8:45 a.m.
Stars, Stripes, and Sales: Shaping American Identity Through Advertising
Allie Avis

9:30 a.m.
Making Natives Ephemeral: Ephemera and the Roots of the United States
Matthew Sparacio

10:15 a.m. Break

10:30 a.m.
“Evacuation Day to Y2K”: Researching Cultural Origins in New York City 
Andy McCarthy

11:15 a.m.
Murder & Memory: the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Thomas Horrocks  

12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  Lunch Break

Four afternoon conference sessions:  Riverside Ballroom  NEW LOCATION

1:00 p.m.
“Cupid Under Fire: Valentines of the Civil War “  
Michael Russo

1:45 p.m.
Death By Lightning: Memorializing James A. Garfield
Anne Peale

2:30 p.m. Break

2:45 p.m.
“A Stupendous Folly:” Philadelphia’s Sesquicentennial Exposition  
Sarah Weatherwax

3:30 p.m.
Gugler Lithographic Company World War II Mobilization  
Sarah Finn

EPHEMERA FAIR PREVIEW
5:30pm – 7:30pm ESA Members Only

SATURDAY, MARCH 21st: 
Ephemera Fair Opens today!

8:15 a.m. — Memberships will be sold at the Ephemera Society desk at the entrance to the fair in the Grand Ballroom.

9 a.m. — Members-only fair preview ($12) for the Society’s 46th Annual Ephemera Fair in Grand Ballroom. Membership cards will be available at registration desk.

10 a.m. — General public entry. Admission is $15 at the door.

Fair tickets will be available online at: www.esafair.com

12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. — Silent Bid Auction in Riverside Ballroom. Many Lots. Bid early and often!

5 p.m. — Fair closes; reopens 11 a.m. Sunday.

5:30 p.m. — Silent Auction final bids close in Riverside Ballroom.

5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. — Cash Bar outside Riverside Ballroom.

6:00 p.m. — Live Auction Riverside Balloom

7:00 p.m. — Ephemera 46 Banquet and Presentation — Mead ABC. Reservations required and additional fee.

After Dinner Presentations:

Everyday Genius: America Shaped in Photo Postcards
David Freund

SUNDAY, MARCH 22nd

9:00 a.m. Mead AB
Members annual meeting
All members are urged to attend.

11 a.m. – 4 p.m. — Ephemera Fair in the Grand Ballroom.

2026 Conference Registration

Conference Registration