MetaFilter posts tagged with ephemera

myQSL

dersins — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:19:41 -0800

"QSL cards confirm either a two-way radiocommunication between two amateur radio stations or a one-way reception of a signal from an AM radio, FM radio, television or shortwave broadcasting station. They can also confirm the reception of a two-way radiocommunication by a third party listener. A typical QSL card is the same size and made from the same material as a typical postcard, and most are sent through the mail as such." Here's a substantial collection of them.

Do Not Disturb. Or Do. Either Way.

dersins — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:51:02 -0800

"When my grandfather passed away last year, my family gathered to go through his belongings. He had been in the foreign service and he had filled a whole wall of his study with hotel door hangers from all his travels throughout the world. They're really beautiful, in aggregate, and I wanted to share. Enjoy."

Ephemera Assemblyman - a weblog

Ufez Jones — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:06:05 -0800

Ephemera Assemblyman a weblog. Personal favorites: Film Poster Paintings from Ghana :: Magician Souvenir Programs :: Abraham Lincoln Political Cartoons :: (The Art of) Spanish Rolling Papers :: Tickets from Political Conventions. Much more to be explored.

When this you see, think of me.

Miko — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:25:46 -0800

Olive Lambert's Autograph Book

The Immaculate Consumption

jtron — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:59:04 -0800

The amazing products and lifestyles that would be at your fingertips if you lived 50 years ago and had a magazine subscription .

19th century artistic printing

mediareport — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:41:44 -0800

Beautifully designed, quirky, colorful late 19th-century "artistic" and "gaslight" printing at Dick Sheaff's ephemera pages. [via, via] Info here. There's a book, too.

Proletarians of All Lands, Unite!

madamjujujive — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:01:23 -0800

Peasant! Free your pregnant wife from work, don't allow her to pick up heavy items since this will harm her and the child. An excellent collection of vintage soviet propaganda, public health, and infographics posters from 20s to 30s, many with full translations.

Scan, Edit, Copy, Paste, Appropriate and Steal This Book

filthy light thief — Thu, 07 May 2009 07:45:03 -0800

In June of 2004, fifty-eight friends and acquaintances joined in a collaborative labor project that lasted for eight days. They were instrumental in organizing the Prelinger Library in San Francisco, CA. One month from today will be the little library's fifth anniversary celebration. The library project/ public art project/ art installation/ archive/ part information center is an appropriation-friendly collection of books, periodicals, zines, and print ephemera. The library isn't organized by the Dewy Decimal system, but sorted by Megan Prelinger into four constant threads: landscape and geography; media and representation; historical consciousness; and political narratives from beyond the mainstream. The library is the less-known work of Rick Prelinger, and his wife, Megan. Rick is most commonly known for his video collection, which is the primary source of ephemera films on archive.org. (All things Prelinger previously)

Vintage Postcards and Ephemera

Rumple — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 14:23:35 -0800

Moody's Collectibles sells vintage postcards, but they also make available a huge catalogue of their stock. You can browse geographically by US State, by country, and by topic. Or, you can search for anything from alligators to the California Zephyr. They also have a blog. Some I like: Valentine's Day - Dance with Pigs; Buy Something Useful for Christmas; Don't Be Afraid: It's Willamatic Thread; Plane over the Eiffel Tower (1910); Swen Johnson's Horseless Carriage (pulled by cows); Log Raft on the Columbia; Aeroplane View of the New York Reformatory; Monkey Wedding; Lady-driven Hay Rake. It goes on!

But are there any nude photos of Socko the Snake?

Artw — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:47:25 -0800

Some images of rare and obscure Alan Moore material from Slovobooks.

quirky vintage catalogs

madamjujujive — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:24:03 -0800

A Crooked Gambling Supplies catalog from 1960, a 1914 Cyclopedia of 5,000 Puzzles, dozens of magic posters from the '20s to the '40s, and more fun ephemera from Old Catalog's flickr sets.

Found lives

mudpuppie — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:43:13 -0800

Ten years ago, a guy started collecting undeveloped rolls of film. That's pretty much all you need to know. (Via.)

Lost London, in photographs

6am — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:59:39 -0800

User El_Greco of the SkyscaperCity Forum presents "Lost London", an absolutely stunning photographic thread of old London architecture.

On the Road, On a Postcard.

sarabeth — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:18:48 -0800

The Motel in America. In a different America, where the novelty of driving cross-country and the charm of the highway strip drew droves of tourists--and their automobiles--from coast to coast in the name of exploration and recreation, motels provided a home away from home for weary travelers. While many of the great motels of the mid-twentieth century have disappeared from the national landscape, the linen postcards left behind in the Motel Morgue can give us a glimpse into what this era of American tourism and leisure looked like.

History of War and Peace Collection

Rumple — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:03:01 -0800

Peace and War in the 20th Century is an ambitious, in progress, massive assemblage of posters, photographs, propaganda, ephemera, letters, diaries, paintings, sketches, stories, letters, music and related items, from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. The collection is international in scope. Some of the nodes lack content, and the navigation is a little confusing, so the jump I list some of my favourite case studies from their site. Note: Many of the images are reasonable resolution if you right click and open in a new tab rather than only view in the pop-forward window. Also scroll down for thumbnails of additional material. The advanced search option is very useful as it includes a detailed site map. Representing War: Posters, Art and Music. Many of the posters are unusual and new to me, such as 'Save Waste Bones - They Make Glue for Aircraft', 'Boys, Come Along, You're Wanted', and this beautiful poster of the Earth and Doves. Concentration Camp correspondence Sir Norman Angell: a lifelong proponent of peace (many images of his pamphlets and posters) The Spanish Civil War: Foreign Intervention, American Reaction. Includes evocative pamphlets, leaflets, and posters. Waging War London prepares for World War II: a great selection of instructional and civil defence materials such as posters and memos. Britain prepares for World War I: some diary pages of Adrian Duff. William Frank Kenwood, Canadian Pilot and Prisoner of War, including newspaper clippings, a letter from the Red Cross, telegrams, etc. Vera Brittain's diaries and pamphlets Canadian Women's Roles in World War I: anything new in war work? Mapping and Photographing World War I: interesting instructional materials, etc. The Nuclear Disarmament Movement, which includes a great collection of very striking posters and leaflets. Evolving Technology in World War I, which includes numerous artistic visions of machine guns, tanks, etc. War Resisters, including pamphlets. World War 1 in the Middle East I like this typed report of a raid. I also like this leaflet against War Toys. As I noted, there is a huge amount of great stuff at this site, interspersed with some dead ends as one would expect from a work in progress.

Cocktayle Napkinf

Rumple — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:10:18 -0800

A retro set of cocktail napkins showing Eisenhower-era damsels and drunkards, with captions by The Bard. via

Political Ephemera from the Vietnam War Era

Rumple — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:55:31 -0800

The University of Washington has put a collection of Vietnam War era printed ephemera (posters, flyers, pamphlets, magazines, mostly cheap mimeographs or photocopies) online. The browsable collection ranges from Defend the Black Panthers to How to Make a Revolution in the U.S. to the Planetary Citizen Human Manifesto to plain old Do Something. The collection offers a fascinating insight into the passion, energy and graphic sensibilities of grassroots, home-front politics in late 1960s and early 1970s Seattle. There are over 200 items, many with multiple pages (scroll bar in upper left frame). Some which caught my eye were: Gay Love is Here to Stay International Women's Day Teach-In Striking Covers of the Helix Magazine ("Seattle's Hip Rag"), e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4. Black American IQ Test for Honkies Our Fight is Here: Essays on Draft Resistance. NW Call - Democratic Socialis m: see the dove text-art on page 2. Job Ad for War Criminals Stop the War (Nixon as Bomb Payload) Housewives for Peace No More ROTC MANIFESTO - MAN (Making a Nation) January 1st, 1974: All Automobiles Will Be Destroyed Birthday Benefit for Huey SDS - Bring the War Home (see page 2, eery echoes of Iraq) The John Birch Society (a know thine enemy event) The Palestine Revolution and Its Problems People Can Stop IT&T Rehearse for the Apocalypse Seattle Gay Liberation Front Newsletter, Dec. 1970. Taste the Sweetness of Destiny, Racist Pig We Are All the Conspiracy Who's for the White Working Man? (American Nazi Party Recruitment) Plant Grass Everywhere Attention Campus Women: What did you learn in school today?

Totally outrageous!!!

1f2frfbf — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:55:36 -0800

Branded in the 80's: Peel Here From the obvious to the obscure to the downright frightening, Peel Here documents the collectible stickers of the 80's and related ephemera.

Are the seams in your hose often crooked?

Dave Faris — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:17:13 -0800

Ladies, before you go searching for love from one of those online matchmaking sites, be sure to tally up your merits and demerits on this Marital Rating Scale.

Blood Bitters 'n' Swamp Root

katillathehun — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:17:56 -0800

Time, Tide, and Tonics: The Patent Medicine Almanac in America. "Almanacs have been a part of American life since its very beginning. One of the first books printed in English America was an almanac [pdf]. By the mid-18th century the almanac had become, after the Bible, the book most likely to be found in ordinary homes. Produced annually, almanacs provided practical information and entertainment."

Everybody here go BANG!

klangklangston — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:55:32 -0800

Gun for the whole family. A Scanning Around With Gene article about historic gun ads. More fun with Gene Gable: Cigarettes, diving, winter fonts, red white and blue, and so much more.

Most people have never heard of Metafilter, will not see this link, and those who do will forget it soon

klangklangston — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 13:02:28 -0800

The Ephemera Society was glancingly mentioned prior, but deserves a better mention. It includes:
—An exhibit, an article, and links to Michael Ragsdale's 9/11 ephemera.
—A history of Coca-cola print ephemera.
—An article by Will Shortz on the ephemeral history of the crossword.
—Articles from the Louisiana Library Association's journal issue on ephemera, including Principles for Organizing an Ephemera Collection and an Overview of Political Ephemera.

Historic Celestial Atlas Illustrations

spock — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 10:32:06 -0800

In 1627, Schiller's Coelum Stellatum Christianum attempted to replace the mythical constellation figures with Christian figures. More from the Linda Hall Library Digital Services Unit. Art, illustration, and astronomy aficionados will appreciate the beauty of historic celestial atlas illustrations: Bayer's Uranometria 1603 (also the 1661 Edition), Flamsteed - Fortin Atlas Celeste - 1776 (text intro), Celestial Atlas by Alexander Jamieson. HubbleSource is cleaning up scans from one historic atlas and making them available in web and hi-res versions for use in non-commercial applications. (See also: David Rumsey Map Collection, and the exhibition Out of this World (index & T.O.C.), more Images, Artwork and Historical Objects at the US Naval Observatory. Note: Some of the links above have been posted previously.

popculture advertising ephemera

madamjujujive — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 12:25:46 -0800

From about 1875 to the 1940s, cigarette cards spurred tobacco sales. Sets offer a glimpse into the popculture of the times, spanning newsmakers, cinema celebrities, and sports stars; cute illustrated subjects, like "frisky" and children with rosy cheeks; handy info like air raid precautions, first aid, and amusing tricks; and neat stuff like famous escapes, exotic races, and figures of speech. Browse more fun sets of vintage images.

French language ephemera and visual miscellany blog

Rumple — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:53:37 -0800

Agence Eureka is a French language image-blog with hundreds or even thousands of scanned illustrations, mostly from mid-20th century French schoolbooks, educational material, magazines, and ephemera. The current front page is slightly NSFW. Some of the categories include anatomy 1 & 2 (mildly NSFW); chocolate wrappers/trading cards; bricolage; decoupage (cut-outs); math education; playing cards; books and magazines; cars; cinema; orientalisme; sport; mild pin-ups; and many others (scroll all the way down the right to see the tags). In most cases the above links are to only one set of images within many of that category - there are about 10 pages of decoupages, for example. A number of the same illustrations are available in alternate organization here and in their flickr sets. Also, their blog of French hats is fun.