The term "ephemera" refers to documents such as broadsides, leaflets, pamphlets and posters which are intended for use for a short period of time. Ephemera can be used as a primary source in a variety of types of research.
Related guides: Archival material English History Theatre Newspapers and News Sources Political Science and International Relations
UBC Departments: Vancouver Department of History Department of English Art History and Visual Art Department Department of Theatre and Film Department of Political Science
Librarians UBC Vancouver Katherine Kalsbeek (Rare Books & Special Collections) UBC Vancouver Sarah Romkey (Rare Books & Special Collections)
To search for reference material about ephemera, try searching for types of ephemera as subjects in the UBC Library Catalogue:
Librarians UBC Vancouver Katherine Kalsbeek (Rare Books & Special Collections) UBC Vancouver Sarah Romkey (Rare Books & Special Collections)
Rare Books and Special Collections collects ephemera in the form of pamphlets, posters, broadsides, tokens, postcards and other related material. Most of this material can be found in the UBC Library Catalogue by adding the word "SPAM" (abbreviation for Special Collections pamphlet collection) to your keywords and specifying Rare Books and Special Collections as the location: The collections listed below also contain ephemeral material:
Barbarian Press Ephemera Collection British Columbia historical postcard and photograph albums collection Chung Collection Includes ca. 4,000 pieces of ephemera related mostly the Chinese-Canadians and -Americans and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Heavenly Monkey Ephemera Collection Political Literature Collection Mailings and advertisements of Vancouver candidates from federal, provincial and municipal elections, dating from ca. 1920 to 2006. Paris 1968 Poster Collection Pooka Press Collection Jack Shadbolt Ephemera Collection Thomas J. Wise Ephemera Collection Louis Zukofsky Ephemera Collection
Comic Book collectionsRare Books and Special Collections also collects comic books written by Vancouver-based artists whose work is primarily Vancouver or British Columbia focused. Many of the comics are self published.
Julian Lawrence comic collection James Lloyd comic collection Josué Menjivar comic collection New Reliable Press comic collection Jason Turner comic collection Colin Upton comic collection
Librarians UBC Vancouver Katherine Kalsbeek (Rare Books & Special Collections) UBC Vancouver Sarah Romkey (Rare Books & Special Collections)
Digitized collections at UBCFollowing is a list of collections containing ephemera from UBC Library Rare Books and Special Collections or University Archives which have been digitized and are freely available online. For all of UBC's digitized collections, please consult Digital Collections and Services.
Berkeley Poster Collection 250 posters concerned with the advocacy for peace, equality and harmony during the Vietnam War era from the University of California's Berkeley campus and other regions in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bookplate Collection Images of bookplates from books and collections donated to UBC Library. Collection developed and maintained by Rare Books and Special Collections. R. Mathison Printing Collection Contains materials, printed between 1886-1890, for businesses in Vancouver by R. Mathison Jr., The Job Printer. UBC Library Framed Works Collection A collection of framed visual works, including prints, photographs, charters, and documentary artworks, that originate from diverse sources. Chung Collection Contains archival documents, photographs, books, and artifacts related to three broad themes: British Columbia History, Immigration and Settlement, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. UBC Annual/Totem Yearbook UBC Archives Newspapers and Serials Newspapers and other periodicals published at the University of British Columbia UBC Calendars UBC Community giving UBC has regularly produced a small publication listing all the donations to the University. The University Archives has now digitized these publications between 1944 and 1982. UBC General histories
Licensed collectionsThe following collections of primary source material containing ephemeral material are licensed by UBC Library. For information on connecting from home, please see EZproxy and myVPN.
American West China: Trade, Politics and Culture 1793-1980 Confidential Print: Middle East, c1839-1969 Confidential Print: North America, 1824-1961 Defining gender, 1450-1910 Eighteenth Century Journals: Portal to Newspapers and Periodicals c1685-1815 Empire Online Everyday Life & Women in America, c.1800-1920 Grand Tour Jewish Life in America, c1654-1954 London Low Life Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007 Travel Writing, Spectacle and World History Victorian Popular Culture
West Beyond the West A centralized database to search the digitized holdings of libraries, archives, museums and historical societies across British Columbia Canadiana Discovery Portal (beta) Provides access to digitized text, images and artifacts from heritage institutions from across Canada. Library of Congress Digital Collections & Programs World Digital Library
Librarians UBC Vancouver Katherine Kalsbeek (Rare Books & Special Collections) UBC Vancouver Sarah Romkey (Rare Books & Special Collections)
