Ephemera: The Collecting of Paper Advertising

By: Jonathan Kleyer

Ephemera refers to a broad range of everyday documents meant for one-time or short-term use.

According to Carol Theodoru, of Portage, it is also an area that paper collectors are obsessed over.

“It’s fascinating to see the advertising,” she commented.

Theodoru started out in antiques with a booth in Otsego, after which she started a store in Allegan.

“That’s when you find out being in antiques is a continual learning experience,” Theodoru added.

Theodoru herself has a wide variety of ephemera to show off, including a picture of the Beetles that she happened to find in a box, and a collection of six postcards from the Stone-Chidester Agency, Inc., that she bought.

On one side, the cards depict Thomas Jefferson in one corner, marked for 1-cent postage. The company was an insurance agency that covered anything from parcel-mailing insurance for 5 to 25 cents, to insuring, coincidentally, hobby collections.

Theodoru said that common collecting themes with ephemera are sewing items, calling cards and postcards.

“In the past, people would be in the house’s parlor, where you would formally leave a card with your name and the date when you came to call on someone,” she explained.

Calling cards were popular, but the collector said that they have largely fallen to the side.

The popularity of postcards, however, has remained strong. Part of the interest in postcards may stem from the post office’s placement of cancellation and dates on the stamps used on the postcards, or even whether or not there is something written on the back.

In fact, to Theodoru, postcards with messages written on them are more interesting because there is more of a story behind them.

According to Theodoru, trade cards are the most highly collected ephemera.

These cards are not something they meant to be used for trading, but rather, cards meant to promote a professional trade.

“Anything with advertising on the back could be considered a trade card,” she said.

Trading cards have a certain value because, as advertisements, people would tend to simply throw them away, easily driving up the piece’s rarity.

Trade card designs were anything the company might think would be attractive to the customer.

Though ephemera is mostly made up of paper products, Theodoru also brought out celluloid bookmarks, decorated with a flower pattern and touting company names. She pointed out that celluloid holds up longer than paper.

As with most antiques, the condition is one of the primary concerns in deciding the item’s worth.

“Rarity and condition are the top two deciding factors,” Theodoru said. More specifically, she explained that when collecting ephemera, one should also consider the item’s age and graphics. That includes how bright the graphics are and whether or not they have faded over the years.

Naturally, paper can only last for so long—but Theodoru has items that had been printed over a century ago.

“It’s amazing how long things last when they’re packed away in a box,” she said humorously.

To preserve ephemera, Theodoru suggested using acid-free protectors that keep pieces separate. To keep the graphics from fading, one should keep them away from light, extreme temperatures or moist areas. Many collectors keep them in albums; Theodoru uses individual protective sleeves.

Avid paper collectors even wear gloves to prevent getting skin oils on the items.

Conversely, those less interested in ephemera can be fairly careless.

Theodoru commented, “You may see someone eating something then going through paper items, and it’s like ‘ugh.’”

As for Theodoru’s own interests, she prefers ephemera from the 20’s and 30’s.

“The graphics are usually what attracts me. I like anything from before the 50s. The character of this stuff is just fascinating,” she said.

She feels that the advances made in the printing process have caused ephemera to start losing its character over the years.

“The language is different, too. It’s just the way they wrote things,” she commented, picking up an old advertisement and reading it aloud. “’It is artistic, durable and sanitary.’”

Picking up another, she happily read, “The finest coffee obtainable.”

There is a generational aspect in how she feels about the character, though. Theodoru predicted that younger generations will have a greater interest in the ephemera that came out after the period she has no interest in.

Theodoru said that dating ephemera can be done simply by looking at things like the hairstyle and clothing of people depicted in graphics.

Taking out several postcards, Theodoru pointed out parts of the fashions worn by the people in the illustration, finally concluding, “These postcards are from the 30’s.”

For those looking to learn more about ephemera or to start collecting it themselves, Theodoru said that there are shows dedicated to ephemera, but that most shows will not be entirely dedicated to the topic. She suggested looking in antique trade papers instead.