Collected Ephemera: for the love of print
For years, I’ve collected folders full of old ticket stubs, receipts, catalogs, booklets, invoices, postcards, labels and other printed pieces dating from 1900 – 1975. These items are best defined as “ephemera” — things that were created to serve a practical, short-term purpose — not really meant to be saved (or written about in a blog post some 50+ years later). But being a designer who loves history and design history, it comes as no surprise that these items interest me. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever met a designer that doesn’t like rummaging through shelves of thrift stores or antique malls looking for cool printed “stuff”. I believe that collecting and studying these artifacts is really important — we can learn from the past and can find inspiration for current work.
I realize that some may classify all of this “stuff” as trash, but I see it as treasure. I appreciate the printing process, the craftsmanship, the hand lettering, the attention to detail and the history behind each piece. So I’ll keep on colllecting — I’ll just have to add some more folders to the filing cabinet.
Here are just a few samples I’ve collected over the years:
What a great script — and the perfectly tracked Futura typestyle.
1900 self-promotional brochure for a Chicago architecture firm
Back of an old photo card showing amazing lettering and detail.
Sheet music with hand-drawn lettering
Camera brochure cover. I love the Pilot logo.
A great example of good design for everyday purpose.
Kodak box cover
Great numbering style on a receipt from my grandfather's hardware store (1968)
Citizens Radio cards.
Invoice from my grandfather's hardware store - I forgive the spacing (kerning) between the W and the A in "Hardware" but love the typographic choice.
Beautiful lettering style and attention to detail on the back of this photo card.
What a nice lettering style and a capital "F". c.1925
