2017 Mid-Year in Miami

Although Hurricane Irma, which wreaked havoc on the Caribbean islands and West Coast of Florida, caused the cancellation of a full ESA Mid-Year gathering, the storm caused comparatively minor inconveniences at The Wolfsonian. The threat of the storm also initially forced the postponement of a presentation by a group of History students from Florida International University. A couple of weeks later however, three intrepid Ephemera Society members disregarded the hurricane media hysteria and attended the rescheduled FIU presentation. The students reviewed, deconstructed, and critically analyzed some of the library’s Great Depression and New Deal-era ephemera.

Diane DeBlois, editor of ESA’s Ephemera Journal, arrived at the museum with her husband and business partner, Robert Dalton Harris. The couple are co-proprietors of aGatherin’ based in West Sand Lake, New York. Ephemera Society member Kara Accettola of Little Sages Books, also attended. Participants observed how The Wolfsonian uses art and ephemeral artifacts to augment university students’ understanding of the cultural history of America during the Great Depression.