Using ephemera to explore the rich detail of everyday life / author, Rebecca Crites (University of Warwick, UK).

Format:

Website/Database

Author/Creator:

Crites, Rebecca, author.

Contributor:

Adam Matthew Digital (Firm), contributor, commissioning body, digitiser.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Research.

Methodology.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Marlborough, Wiltshire : Adam Matthew Digital, 2021.

Summary:

Ephemera makes up the minutiae of everyday life and is highly prized by social, cultural, and economic historians for its ability to reveal the histories of frequently overlooked people and processes. It constitutes the printed or written material that we encounter, use, and discard everyday - receipts, wrappers, labels, tickets, adverts, stamps, leaflets, forms, timetables, programs, menus, etc. Although ephemera is often associated with trade and consumerism, it also makes up the oriented material that makes our encounters with politics, governance, culture, and community. Offering an exploration of ephemera as a source type, this case study examines a die-cut, coloured trade card for Dr Warner's Flexible Hip Corset (c. 1880-1890) to reveal the intricate histories hidden in the simplest of sources. It walks through the source from creation to collection to preservation, focussing on the interplay between youth, femininity, and commerce. It explores the importance of a material, tactile approach to ephemeral sources, the value of applying a long historical reading, and illustrates the challenges posed by this source type for the historian.

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on August 15, 2022).

Publisher Number:

10.47594/RMPS_0083

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.