Antique / Vintage Ephemera

Ephemera might be an unfamiliar word to many of you. If you love old things, especially paper goods, maybe not. It is a term that encompasses all the old paper pieces that one accumulates over a lifetime. This collection is from one family through the generations.

There are new and used greeting cards from Christmas, Birthdays, Mother’s Day and Birth Announcements. Interestingly enough, most of them are dated in the card signature. Some are in envelopes with postmark and stamp. There are orphan envelopes with the 2 or 3 cent stamp on them. One unique item is a V–Mail Christmas card from 1944. V–Mail was sent without a stamp by servicemen. It is interesting to see how cards, Christmas cards in particular, have changed in the last 80 to 90 years. They were definitely not as colorful. The paper is completely different. It is almost like a thick tissue paper for some of them. A look into the past that is very intriguing and thought provoking.

Teaching Certificates for one person dated 1895, 1896, and 1898 are beautifully preserved. They were all issued in Vermillion County, Illinois. Her test scores from examinations to qualify are with them. She was definitely not a math whiz as that is always her lowest score. This woman married in 1898, as we also have her marriage certificate. The 1898 Teaching Certificate is in her married name. It was issued about two weeks after her wedding. Another Teaching Certificate dated 1920 from the same county was issued for what I believe is the first woman’s daughter. Admittedly, teaching was a profession open to women at the time.

A booklet of pictures of Niagara Falls is in the grouping. On the back cover is the woman’s married name and the date Aug. 4, 1898. That is the date on the marriage certificate. One can guess that she purchased the booklet on her honeymoon to Niagara Falls. Perhaps that is why it survived so many years. It may have been a cherished memento of her honeymoon trip from Illinois to New York.

Another interesting item is a small notebook that is a Souvenir from Hamilton Carhartt & Co. The firm that is making union made clothing popular. Detroit Mich. There is some writing inside from the husband, I believe, of the teacher / Niagara Falls going woman. He was selling books door to door it seems. He has dated it 7 Nov. 1900. And it was a souvenir because the address he lists is Tilton, Ill. A calendar in the back of the booklet is for 1899-1900.

Such interesting things. Look for this slice of history on the General Auction at the Northern Michigan Relief Sale August 5, 2023. It’s been over 100 years for some of these pieces of ephemera.