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To quote the Ephemera Society of America's website. "Ephemera is a term used to embrace a wide range of minor, everyday documents, most intended for one-time or short-term use, including postcards, broadsides, and posters, ..., photographs - and the list goes on. Collecting ephemera has been an ardent pursuit for centuries. In the Victorian era, especially, collecting trade cards, greeting cards, and chromolithographs for pasting into scrap albums was a popular pastime for both young and old. Today as in years past, items from earlier times that have somehow survived to delight, our eyes, feed our minds, and offer unique windows into our ancestors' lives interest us as collectors." The popularity of kerosene lighting in the 1860's to the 1890's made it possible for the average person to enjoy recreational pursuits in the evening such as collecting trade cards. Kerosene lighting ephemera is relatively scarce, though some examples of trade cards do show up regularly. One of the categories of ephemera that has the most interest for lamp collectors is trade catalogs, particularly from lamp manufacturers. These catalogs identify the makers of certain lamps, help to date the lamps, and provide other information such as original names. The original catalogs are hard to come by and often very fragile. Reprints are the most practical way to make this valuable information available to collectors. Trade Cards - small (usually postcard size or smaller), often brightly chromolithographed, originally given away in stores to promote products. The most common kerosene lighting related trade cards are for kerosene oil. Safety is the biggest selling feature, as early kerosene was sometimes adulterated with less expensive and more explosive fuels.
Additional ephemera galleries - Billheads & Broadsides Photographs & Catalogs Please note that I do not provide copies of ephemera from my collection prior to publication. If you have any questions or lighting ephemera for sale click HERE to send me an email. - Thanks! |
