35 Interesting Pieces Of Ephemera That People Have Collected Over The Years
Today I learned two things: what ephemera means, and that I apparently love looking at it. Ephemera are everyday items that were originally meant to be temporary, including things like tickets, receipts, menus, flyers, postcards, labels, and advertisements. The r/ephemera subreddit is filled with collectors sharing examples they’ve found, inherited, or somehow managed to hang onto for years.
It turns out these little disposable objects become incredibly interesting once enough time passes. Something as boring as a grocery receipt today could be fascinating 50 years from now. Which means my inability to throw anything away might finally have some historical justification.
Take that, everyone who said I didn’t need a drawer full of expired coupons.
1. “Sketchbook From 1900”
2. “High School Pics From 1928”
3. “My Grandparents’ Budget From 1958”
“Rent to income ratio of 17%.”
4. “Card My Grandmother Gave Her Dad As A Little Girl”
5. “Found A Lincoln Campaign Ribbon In An Old Book At An Antique Store!”
6. “The Contents Of My Great-Grandmother’s Purse”
“Helping my parents clean out some things, and came across this purse that was in the back of a closet. It belonged to my great-grandmother, who passed away at the age of 92 in the early 70s.
Best I can tell, it still had all the contents of what she had been carrying around prior to going into the nursing home in the late 60s. Contents include pantyhose, powder puffs, skeleton keys, an old toothbrush, farmers pocket ledger and workmen’s time book, as well as several post cards and info on family genealogy.
Just thought it was a neat time capsule of daily life that wasn’t intended to be kept for 60 years. (I blurred parts that contained names and addresses).”
7. “I Volunteer At A Used Book Store. I’ve Been Collecting The Bookmarks We Find In Donations For Months And Finally Got Around To Making This Display”
8. “Card My Grandma Gave My Grandpa In 1943”
9. “I Was 8 Years Old When I Wrote An Anti-Whaling Letter To President Jimmy Carter. This Was The Reply”
10. “Some Of My Favorite Pins From My Father’s Collection”
11. “Found In A Jar Of Receipts Of Bills & Receipts”
“Bought a large cookie jar for $5 at an estate sale crammed with every kind of receipt and bill. Lid was taped on but I could see one little part that said ‘ticketmaster’ and rolled the dice. Very happy.”
12. “Found In A Wall While Renovating My 1950s Home”
13. “Antique Scrap/Sticker Book Full Of Incredible Pieces”
14. “Subtly Sapphic Postcard Sent In 1905”
15. “How Do We Feel About Making Art From Ephemera? Cool Or Sin?”
“I made this button pin from an ad I found in an old almanac from 1910 that was falling apart in a thrift store.
I just thought this little bull was so cute and wanted to be able to appreciate him better and keep him from being damaged like the rest of the book already was.”
16. “150 Unsold 1969 Woodstock Tickets”
17. “College Student’s Photo Album From 1920s — Another Goodwill Outlet Find!”
18. “The Remnants Of My Great Great Great Grandmother‘S Valentine, 1854”
19. “My Grandpappy’s Last Driver’s License: Born In ‘89…that’s *1889*”
“This is my grandfather Luther W. Carter’s actual driver’s license, which expired in 1975, just one year before he passed away—This license was issued when he he was about 85 years old. His birthdate? 7-13-89 (no need for four digit year dates, yet!). No picture needed, and no restrictions despite his age!
He only completed the 4th grade and remained illiterate his entire life. The signature on the back isn’t his—it’s my granny’s. She had to sign his name for him because he couldn’t write it himself.
Despite his age, he still drove a truck and worked on the farm. I remember sitting with him on the porch as a kid in 1969, shortly after the Apollo moon landing. He looked up at the full moon and told me, “See how bright it is? It’s like the sun. No way a man could walk on that. They’d burn up.”
He truly believed the moon was a ball of fire—he never learned otherwise.
This little plastic card feels like a time machine. He was born just 24 years after the Civil War ended and lived to see color television…”
20. “Burned Book Page Found In My Yard After Los Angeles Fires”
“I had to evacuate my home on Wednesday due to the massive fires happening in Los Angeles. I returned today and found my home intact, but all kinds of soot, ash, burned leaves, tree branches, etc. littered around my house. I found this piece of a book page though, and I thought it was kind of beautiful and extraordinarily sad. I got incredibly lucky that myself, my boyfriend, and our dog got out unscathed, as well as our home. This burned page undoubtedly traveled to my yard, from the home of someone who lost everything in the fires.”
21. “Pin And Ribbon From My Father Who Lived In NYC In The 60’s And 70’s”
22. “I Found Some Old Medical Equipment In The Trash, And Inside The Box Was Apparently The Pen Used To Sign The Mental Health Act Of 1966. I Found A Photo Of The Event And It’s Definitely The One. What A Strange Thing To Come Across”
23. “I Bought A 1980s Yves Saint Laurent Exhibition Catalog At The Strand Bookstore, And While Leafing Through It I Discovered A Piece Of Diana Vreeland’s Personal Stationery. She Co-Authored The Catalog, So Maybe It Was Her Copy At One Point”
24. “Company Reply To Customer Letter (1956)”
25. “Letter From My Aunt Found In My Moms Things”
26. “Slightly Unhinged Early 1900s Postcard”
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28. “Going Through My Old Photos. Found This One In A Junk Shop In Brooklyn. A WWII Nurse, And It’s So Worn That The Paper Is Soft. I Can Only Imagine The Story Behind It”
29. “Old Gold Cigarette Ad I Found In The Walls Of A House I’m Renovating”
30. “My Mom’s Receipt From When She Was Born”
“It’s amazing how much hospital costs have changed since 1954.”
31. “This Is One Of My Favourite Pieces Of Ephemera”
“I’m tough guy,sock him in the eye,I run away with his porkpie” 1946. What a character.
32. “After My Mother Passed Away I Found A Box Of Old Coupons And Green Stamps She Had Saved”
33. “Portrait That Was Tucked Inside An Old Dictionary”
34. “Baby Care Instructions From 1934”
35. “Found This Stuck Behind A Picture Frame. My First Concert”
