The Great Ephemera Hunt-July Edition

[Ray Kirchmeyer]

Hi everybody. I just completed my July edition of the great ephemera hunt and it went very well. There is a local flea market I visit once a month. I have been going there for years and have become friends with some of the vendors. They know what I am looking for and usually set it aside for me as well as selling it to me in bulk rather than by the piece. Sometimes I have a good haul and sometimes it's a little lean . I ended up with 5 full boxes this month. Some of the more interesting finds:

A collection of letters written by a soldier to his girl during WWII

A large collection of circa 1950's booklets on fishing including brochures for fishing gear and boats

A collection of photographs taken by a soldier in the field during WWII. One thing really unusual about these photos is they are all labeled on the back with names and locations.

A collection of church Sunday worship programs from the 1920's

Some advertising postcards for a Nash dealership

A 1959 photo album with abot 300 black and white snapshots taken by a coed at Kansas University. These are just photos of day to day life at the school. Dorm room, going out with friends, etc. An interesting look at everyday life for a college student in this era.

There is a lot more. I'm still going through all the stuff trying to classify and separate it. I usually keep certain things that are of interest to me and either sell the rest, trade with other collectors, or donate to museums, university librairys, or historic collections. I want to wish everyone a happy Independence Day and wish all of you happy hunting and best of luck in preserving these fragile pieces of history that we all love.