r/ephemera

Received some used books in the mail today, this was in one of them. I live in New Zealand, it's always fun seeing foreign receipts 😅

Hi all,
As I’ve fallen in love with vintage stickers, it’s made me incredibly sad to realize that there are seemingly no established sticker ephemera digital archives. I am predominantly focused on 70/80/90s. For context, I am an art student and currently do archival work for my main income.

Does anybody here know of any online archives? I will be reaching out to Amy Lynne from the Sniff Stickers archive, as her website has been down for a while it seems.

Secondly, I am brand new to all of this and will be searching facebook as well, but do you think there’s a chance that sticker collectors would be willing to collaborate with me and let me scan/digitize/upload high quality images of their collections? The idea of art like stickers eventually disappearing makes me so unbelievably sad, especially in a world full of AI.

I know there may be copyright things and such, but if anything I could start an unestablished archive blog that be more official in the future.

Any thoughts would be helpful, thank you 💖

Apparently there had been some unfortunate dealings between Albert W. Bowers of Lowell, Massachusetts and one S. D. Marcy regarding payment for services to be rendered. Specifically the addition of a lock to a tool chest which contained a set of bench planes, hand saws and a variety of small tools.

Mr. Marcy had engaged Mr. Bowers to add a lock to the tool chest. That Mr. Marcy was not capable of installing said lock suggests that he was of a gentlemanly persuasion and not a tradesman. Mr. Bowers was not about to install said lock without payment in full for services to be rendered.

https://www.toolemerapress.com/2026/07/correspondence-regarding-tool-chest.html

Was going through my dad’s stuff and found these cool old group bicycle ride flyers. I love the colors and design! How would one get involved in this sort of group ride now?

The last batch of stubs from a box I've held onto for decades for no real apparent reason. Some of these gigs I can't remember anything about. I don't remember seeing Bob Mould once, let alone twice.

Highlights out of this lot: Hugh Masekela 1984. What a night. Packed crowd all dancing for hours. Top show.

Sun Ra & his Arkestra in Manchester 1982. Genius.

Brand X 1978. Phil Collins on drums. Support was one of my heroes: Peter Hamill.

John Martyn 1982. John did a commercial electric set and I didn't enjoy it. Support was The Durutti Column. That made it worthwhile.

Tom Waits, London Palladium 1979. Incredible.

Plus, some cinema tickets. Don't know why I still have these. I'm a hoarder.

Just realized I saved all of these and…I don’t know why. 😂

Found in a collection of items belonging to my late grandmother who went to Auburn University

My wife inherited a storage trunk from her grandmother, who had got it from her aunt, who had got it from her mom. It was packed to the brim with photos, postcards, letters, clothes, receipts, documents, and miscellaneous nick-nacks accumulated over 100+ years from the late 1880's to the 1980's!

44 years later it still works. $197.76 is about $686.78 today according to the inflation calculator. The game cartridge was $29.97, so about $104 today.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. vouchers (dates unknown) - one for 6-cents and one for 9-cents!

My wife inherited a storage trunk from her grandmother, who had got it from her aunt, who had got it from her mom. It was packed to the brim with photos, postcards, letters, clothes, receipts, documents, and miscellaneous nick-nacks accumulated over 100+ years from the late 1880's to the 1980's!

Does anyone remember the original Letter People program (1968–1996)?

I'm an archivist preserving its history, and I'm looking for memories, old materials, or anyone who was involved as a student, teacher, or creator. Any leads would be greatly appreciated!

Picked up this lovely 1949 Royal Mail Canada Miniature Mail Bag from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
It still has its original red souvenir tag attached, which reads:
“To you I send this souvenir… Good health and luck to you.”
The tag credits Novelty Mfg. Co. Ltd., Montreal as the manufacturer.
I’m curious if anyone here has more information:
Were these sold only in Halifax or across Canada?
How common are they today?
Has anyone seen similar examples or old catalog listings?
Always fascinated by how these small souvenir items preserve a piece of postal history. Would love to learn more from fellow collectors!

I don't know why my father kept these but he was keen on his cars (not that he ever ran anything special). He kept mountains of paperwork - when he died my mum and my sister burned a lot of it in the garden.

I remember the Vauxhall Victor. £500 all-in. Not bad. Quite a good runner as I recall.

I remember the Hillman Hunters too. Driving to Cornwall from the Midlands for summer holidays. He had two of those.

The Hillman Imp was my mother's car. My dad crashed it with his dad inside, coming back from the pub one Sunday. My grandad turned up at the door with his head bleeding and the first thing he said was 'your dad's ok". They were very light little cars and easy to flip. Ppl used to put a concrete slab in the front boot (the engine was in the rear in this particular car). Heap of shit really.

Have no recollection of the Morris Mini. That was the replacement for my mum after the Imp incident presumably. After that she got a Ford Escort Estate, metallic green. That was the car I learned to drive in. Great car, fond memories. Used to get all my music gear in the back, plus a couple of roadies and my girlfriend.

1976 - the Fiat. Bright orange it was. I think it used to go wrong quite often. Horrible looking beast.

Bonus pix - two unused books of petrol rationing books from the late 40s. Fuel rationing ended in 1950 in the UK. So these must be collector's items lol. Motor cars and tricycles hmmmmm.