The driving forces behind worldwide change include invention and innovation. The Ephemera Society of America’s 2017 conference explored American Ingenuity, but we only scratched the surface of a vast topic. Our March 2025 conference will take an expanded look at this ephemera.
Ephemera 45, the Ephemera Society of America (ESA) annual conference, will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich, Connecticut, on March 13 & 14, 2025. Each speaker will address a topic related to invention and innovation, relying heavily on tangible ephemera.
We will feature nine presenters over two days. Presentations will: Explore the groundbreaking inventions that defined early photography and its transformative impact on art and society; Look at how inventions often build on previous ideas, solving everyday problems or evolving as technology changes over time; Exam how advocates and opponents of birth control tailored their messages to diverse audiences in the early 20th century; Trace the engineering and design advances that shaped the evolution of amusement park rides and their cultural impact; Take a deep dive into how psychedelic art of the 1960s revolutionized graphic design and reflected the counterculture of the time; Examine how illustrators redefined visual storytelling to address social and cultural issues during a period of rapid change; and Discus how ephemera collections provide insight into the innovation and evolution of American household design.
EPHEMERA FAIR
Saturday March 15 & Sunday March 16
60+ Exhibitors specializing in Ephemera
vintage posters, postcards, letters, photographs, tickets, brochures, advertisements, and so much more.
NEW EVENT: Ephemera Fair PREVIEW
Friday, March 14 from 5pm – 7pm
Open to Ephemera Society of America Members only.
Fair Hours
Saturday, March 15, 2025
ESA Member Early Admission: 9-10 am
Regular Admission: 10am – 5pm
Sunday March 16, 2025
11am – 4pm
THURSDAY, MARCH 13th
4:30 p.m. Roundhill Room
Young Scholars Presentation:
Curating the Chaos: Organizing the Ephemera Collection at the William L. Clements Library, Annika Dekker
Medical Misadventures: Circulating Ideas of Self-Reliance in Nineteenth-Century Ephemera, Philippa Pitts
6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. — Condes Room
Board reception for early arrivals. Join old and new friends, and be fresh for the conference that begins Friday morning.
FRIDAY, MARCH 14th
Four morning conference sessions: Roundhill Room
8:45 a.m.
Welcome and Introductions
Barbara Loe, Conference Committee Chairman
Michael Peich, President
9:00 a.m.
From Today Painting is Dead – Early Photographic Invention and Innovation
Jeremy Rowe
9:45 a.m.
Think it’s New? Think Again!
Mary Seelhorst
10:30 a.m. Break
10:45 a.m.
Appealing to Audiences During the Birth Control Movement in the U.S.
Kate Long
11:30 a.m.
Thrills, Chills, and Titillations: Innovations in Amusement Park Rides
Jennifer Sopko
12:15 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Lunch Break
Three afternoon conference sessions: Roundhill Room
1:45 p.m.
Better Design Through Chemistry: Graphic Art from the Psychedelic Era
David Mihaly
2:30 p.m.
Visual Revolution: The Transformation of Visual Culture and Commentary in the 1960s & 70
Skye Lacerte and Bella Savignano, Swann Galleries
3:15 p.m. Break
3:30 p.m.
Documenting American Design: Ephemera at the Winterthur Library
Rebecca Parmer
EPHEMERA FAIR PREVIEW
5pm – 7pm ESA Members Only
SATURDAY, MARCH 15th:
Ephemera Fair Opens today!
8:15 a.m. — Memberships will be sold at the Ephemera Society desk at the entrance to the fair in the Grand Ballroom.
9 a.m. — Members-only fair preview ($12) for the Society’s 44th Annual Ephemera Fair in Grand Ballroom. Membership cards will be available at registration desk.
10 a.m. — General public entry. Admission is $15 at the door.
Fair tickets will be available online at: www.esafair.com
12:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. — Silent Bid Auction in Roundhill. Many Lots. Bid early and often!
5 p.m. — Fair closes; reopens 11 a.m. Sunday.
5:30 p.m. — Silent Auction final bids close in Roundhill Room.
5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. — Cash Bar outside Mead ABC.
6:00 p.m. — Live Auction Roundhill Room
7:00 p.m. — Ephemera 45 Banquet and Presentation — Mead ABC. Reservations required and additional feel.
After Dinner Presentations:
Inventing Magic and Illusions
Mark Setteducati
Ephemera Jeopardy
Evie Eysenburg
SUNDAY, MARCH 16th
9:00 a.m. Mead AB
Members annual meeting
All members are urged to attend.
11 a.m. – 4 p.m. — Ephemera Fair in the Grand Ballroom.
