What exactly does “ephemera” mean? Merriam Webster tells us the following:
- ephemera (singular noun) : something of no lasting significance.
- ephemera (plural noun) : paper items (such as posters, tickets, etc.) originally meant to be discarded after use or a specific date, but have since become collectibles.
- ephemeral (adjective) : lasting for a short time, or existing for one day only.
The adjective form “ephemeral” is much more common and familiar than the noun, especially if you’re into reading books or watching movies and series that use real or faux “old world English” like Game of Thrones, the Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings. Ephemeral is used to describe what exists briefly, passes quickly, or moves on after a few moments. It’s for passing fancies, fading flowers, and other things that will soon be forgotten.
In auction/estate sale, and collectors’ parlance, the noun “ephemera” is often used to describe the miscellaneous papers, documents, letters, notes, drawings, and photographs, which are left behind after more valuable items have been inventoried, priced, and/or sold. For certain collectors, the ephemera is where the real interest and value is — views and vignettes of one or more lives, moments in time, bits of history — worthy of close inspection and/or collecting.
Example:
A chef collects culinary ephemera, having a particular fondness for annotated cookbooks, with bits of paper and clippings tucked between the pages.
Regardless of definition vs. usage, noun vs. adjective, modern vs. old-school, in my humble opinion (“IMHO”), photographic ephemera is effin’ fantastic and fun! Or should I say “photographic ephemera is ephin’ phantastic and phun?” 🙂
Confession: I am an ephemera hunter and collector. My favorite prey is vintage, one-of-a-kind (“OOAK”) Polaroids and photos for which the negatives are most likely lost. I post often about my ephemeral finds — I call them “Other People’s Photos” or “OPP” — they are fascinating glimpses into the lives of others!
Polaroid OPP I found upside down on the floor of an estate sale:
I also love to find another type of OPP: exposed, undeveloped film inside vintage cameras and film canisters, which I excitedly document and send off to my favorite lab for processing.
A shot from a roll of 126 Instamatic film I found in an old camera:
And of course, there are the handwritten notes, receipts, and typed letters to/from camera shops, tucked into the camera bags used by unknown photographers, notations on camera manuals or guidebooks, and other odd bits of miscellany and ephemera, all of which is fascinating to me.
So, when you’re at shops, auctions, yard, garage, and estate sales, keep an eye out for photographic ephemera, and let me know if you find anything interesting. If you can, please email me a pic or two, where you found it, and any back-story you’ve got about the item(s)!
Hope you enjoyed this “ephemeral” post!
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