The Ephemera Society News

The Ephemera Society Journal

No 192 Spring 2021 issue of The Ephemerist, the society’s high quality journal, is scheduled to be posted to members on 22 March 2021.

The cover shows ephemera relating to angling, croquet, tennis, archery and football, descriptions of all are to be found in articles inside this issue.

I am happy to report that our sport themed issue of The Ephemerist inspired contributions from a record number of members, hence the bumper issue.

We have been able to explore delightfully complex angling ephemera, nostalgia for the beautiful game in football programmes from simpler times, female emancipation in archery and croquet, the fascinating records held at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, and small records of a colonial past at the Turf Club of Calcutta.

Our regular features Mrs Pepys, Notes & Queries and The Ephemera Detective complete the issue. The Editor Submission deadlines are:
Summer Nº 193, 15 May 2021
Autumn Nº 194, 15 August 2021
Winter Nº 195, November 15 2021

Why not become a member today? A year’s membership of The Ephemera Society entitles you to four issues. Join us! The Ephemera Society is always pleased to welcome new members. Payment can be made online via PayPal.

Secrets of the Great Ocean Liners

By John G Sayers

Before the advent of commercial transatlantic flights in the early 1950s, the only way to travel between continents was by sea. During the golden age of ocean liners, between the late nineteenth century and the Second World War, shipping companies ensured their vessels were a home away from home, providing entertainment, dining, sleeping quarters and smoking lounges to accommodate their passengers for voyages that could last as long as three months.

Secrets of the Great Ocean Liners leads the reader through each of the stages – and secrets – of ocean liner travel, from booking a ticket and choosing a cabin to shore excursions, dining, on-board games, social events, romances, and disembarking on arrival. Additional chapters disclose wartime voyages and disasters at sea.

The shipping companies produced glamorous brochures, sailing schedules, voyage logs, passenger lists, postcards and menus, all of which help us to understand the challenges, etiquette and luxury of ocean liner travel. Diaries, letters and journals written on board also reveal a host of behind-the-scenes secrets and fascinating insights into the experience of travelling by sea. This book by Ephemera Society member John G Sayers dives into a vast, unique collection to reveal the scandals, glamour, challenges and tragedies of ocean liner travel.

ISBN: 9781851245307 · 256 pages, 228 x 176 mm · c.150 colour illustrations
Publication November 2020 · More details: Bodleian Bookshop

tat* – Inspirational Graphic Ephemera

Author and designer Andy Altmann

Tat* is a bit of a graphic designer’s curse. Walk into any design studio and you’ll see bits and pieces of graphic ephemera pinned to the walls or taped to a computer screen. Even the purist will have a secret cache hidden away some where.

Designer and Ephemera Society member Andy Altmann has been collecting tat for more than 30 years. He finds inspiration in the ordinary, and magic in the mundane. Finally he has decided to share his collection with the world.

Conceived and edited by Andy, this is the apotheosis of tat. A visual treasure trove, full of surprises, it should find a place on every graphic designer’s desk.

The publisher has just started a Kickstarter campaign: Details

Publication date: 1 March 2021 · Hardcover · 25 × 21cm (10 × 8 ¼ in) · 400pp · 400 colour illustrations · £45 | $60 · ISBN 978-1-911422-27-3 · Publisher: Circa Press

Logomotive: Railroad Graphics and the American Dream

By Ian Logan & Jonathan Glancey

Logomotive is a visual tribute to the heyday of railroad graphics and design. Arriving in America in 1968, the London designer Ian Logan and Ephemera Society member was blown away by the logos and slogans he saw painted on the sides of freight trains rumbling down Main Street.

In between designing fabrics for Mary Quant and Jeff Banks, he went back time after time with his camera, travelling across America, wandering into freight yards to record the Route of the Eagles, the Rebel Route, the Speedway to America’s Playground and so many other mesmerizing advertising ideas of the day.

RRP: £35.00 · ISBN: 978-1-873329-50-4 · Format: 187 x 264 mm landscape · Extent: 272 pages · Pictures: 400 in colour · Binding: Hardcover no jacket · Publisher: Sheldrake Press

Magic Papers: Conjuring Ephemera From 1890 to 1960

Magic is largely a solitary endeavour, but the channels of its tips and tricks had a little-known heyday around a hundred years ago. That golden era circulated secrets in printed matter packed with flamboyant custom lettering, sensational language and mystifying illustrations — largely made by and for its own community, compiled and consumed by dedicated practitioners and hobbyists.

Often unregulated and infrequently archived beyond private collections, these magic papers collided with cults of personality, unshakable passion, and a thirst for notoriety.

The book features a huge assembly of printed material from the collection of Philip David Treece, a magic expert dedicated to preserving a golden era of magic publishing. This collection celebrates journals, periodicals, books and other ephemera created for the magic community between 1890 and 1960. Each book includes a 16 page gloss insert featuring a collection of magical apparatus.

144 pages + 16 page insert · Soft cover with flaps · 245x340mm
Limited to 800 copies · ISBN: 9781916412149
Publisher: CentreCentre Books