A Nation Of Shopkeepers

A Nation of Shopkeepers: Trade Ephemera from 1654 to 1860 in the John Johnson Collection: The Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford.

Most likely I don't have to explain why I love this particular site. I will anyhow. John Johnson (1882-1956) was for many years the Printer of the University of Oxford (that's the other side of the Atlantic, or the same side depending upon which continent you are standing on, unless you are in Australia in which case just read and enjoy). Mr. Johnson saw the importance of Ephemera, the "transient documents of everyday life" and made it his responsibility to collect, and arrange the throwaways of society.

What began as a simple shoebox sized hobby, grew into an internationally recognized collection of importance. The University of Oxford provided Mr. Johnson room for the collection, support in the process of acquisition and ultimately named the collection after him. He had originally named the collection after one of his early benefactors.

This is one site that you can return to time after time (apologies to Cindy Lauper) and still learn something new. Or just enjoy riffling through the online selection.

For a good introduction to ephemera, nothing beats the works of Maurice Rickards, such as his book Collecting Printed Ephemera. If you are interested in a hard copy of the exhibit catalog, pick up a copy of A Nation of Shopkeepers: Trade Ephemera from 1654 to 1860s in the John Johnson Collection.

Till next,
Gary

Comments

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