The Magic of Ephemera

I have a new hobby these past few months.  It's an on-line shop on ETSY.com called MarkerMemories.  It all started when we were brainstorming ideas on how to raise funds for our outreach community food distribution project called God's Breadbox.  I wrote about that project a few blogs ago.  The CEO of God's Breadbox had a large number of Rockwell collectable plates and figurines, as well as few other collectable plates that were left after the passing of a family member.  She wanted to donate them for sale to raise funds for God's Breadbox but having no time or patience or knowledge about how to sell them, we decided to let me take on the project.  That is how MarkerMemories was born!  www.etsy.com/shop/MarkerMemories 

MarkerMemories is a vintage shop and whenever I sell an item that came from the donations earmarked for God's Breadbox, that  amount goes to God's Breadbox.  Other item's proceeds  will go towards the expense of running the shop, because there are small costs involved or sometime to replenish the shop.  We are not talking big bucks here, but it is a fun hobby and I am learning a lot.  I spend lots of time reserching values on-line in various places so I am becoming more and more computer literate.  I also get a little extra exercise walking around second hand shops and yard sales looking for prospective items to place in the shop.  I have had some good and some poor experiences but it is always fun and a learning experience.  Guess what, it also gives me opportunity to talk to fellow shoppers and staff in the places I visit and let the Lord's light shine around as we talk!  I love talking to people.

Today, I learned the meaning of a word I had seen, one I kind of knew the meaning of, but I had never really checked out the definition which means I would never use the word on my own.  Now I own it.  Ephemera.

The World English Dictionary says in it's second definition of the word Ephemera that it is "something transitory or short-lived." The third definition is directly related to my new use of the word, (functioning as plural) a class of collectable items not originally intended to last for more than a short time, such as tickets, posters, postcards, or labels.

I have drawers and boxes full of potential ephemera but I doubt much of it is worth selling! However, here is a photo of my first listing.

Yes indeed these are those wonderful tickets from the Magic Kingdom of the 1970's.  Two adult ticket books printed in 1975 and one child's book printed in 1978.  I actually think I remember finding these in my father's old desk and at the time I could not throw them away and stuck them in a box.  I started remembering old Disneyland visits, including my very first one when it  opened in Anaheim.  I was about 10 years old.  But I remember it because it was so exciting.  There is a very cool photo of the castle in Fantasey land from the very first year.  It looks exactly as I remember it and that photo could be of our visit, except I don't know the people in it.   You can find it at this link and this blog has lots of other information as well.

The back covers of the child's book, the bottom one in the photo, has Teresa's name written on it.  Teresa is my niece so obviously if it was in Grandpa Felix's desk, it originally had been purchased for her.  Funny thing, only 3 tickets were used from her book.  The two adult books are from an earlier time in the 70's so they were probably not from the same trip. 

So for all of you neat folks that throw everything away once it's usefulness seems past, just know, these ticket books now go for up to around $50.  The ones in from the 60's and 50's even more.  No, I priced them very reasonably. 

I wonder what else I will find in these boxes and drawers? 



 

http://vintagedisneylandtickets.blogspot.com/