Auckland Council Libraries: Ephemera

Ephemera

He kohinga taputapu noa

Ephemera refers to everyday printed items like posters, programmes, invitations, tickets, postcards, leaflets and flyers. 

An illustrated ticket for the Big Day Out Bix. It has date, time and venue information. This is part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections.
Big Day Out event ticket, Auckland, 2001. 
Ephemera: Music – Big Day Out – 2001.

Though intended for a short lifespan, these pieces capture the details of local issues, activities, events, products and services that have shaped Aucklanders' day-to-day experiences throughout the years.


View ephemera collections

Some subject folders and ephemera samples can be found online while others can be accessed in person by appointment with a specialist librarian.  
Contact us about viewing specific items via our research enquiry form or via the comments section at the bottom of each item record on Kura Heritage Collections Online.


The ephemera index

The ephemera collection at the Central City Library contains over 370,000 items of printed material from the 1860s to the present day, with a particular strength from the 1970s onwards. 

The collection index is organised into subject folders such as:
  • comedy
  • music
  • clubs and societies
  • festivals
  • carnivals, pageants, and regattas
  • tourism


Featured collections

Heritage posters 

Two colourful event posters. One shows the word Hair. The other shows the word Aunties. These are part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections.
 Auckland theatre posters from 1972 and 1995. 
Hair Poster: Ephemera: Posters - Theatre - 1972.
Aunties Poster: Ephemera: Posters - Theatre - 1995.

Explore the evolution of Auckland's performing arts scene. Vibrant poster designs not only advertised captivating shows, but now offer glimpses into the social and cultural landscape of their eras. 

‘HAIR: The American Tribal Love Rock Musical’ (1972) embodies the counterculture movement of the 1960s, while ‘Maui’ (1995), presented at the Pumphouse by the popular local group Aunties, dives into Māori legend.
 
Two event posters, one shows the words Stop the Tour March, the other shows the words The Return of the Rainbow. These are part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections.
Social movement posters from 1981 and 1989.
Stop The Tour Poster: Ephemera: Posters - Race - Apartheid - 1981. 
Rainbow Warrior Poster: Ephemera: Posters - Nuclear Issues - 1989.

Historical moments were once current events. Public print materials often reflect a society's concerns and emotions, making these posters a unique window into the causes close to Aucklanders’ hearts.

A 1981 poster (left) promotes a public march protesting the Springbok rugby tour amidst the apartheid happening in South Africa at the time. Later, in 1989, a Rainbow Warrior poster (right) captures public anticipation of a new Greenpeace ship, four years after the original ship was bombed and sunk ahead of its planned protest against French nuclear testing at sea.


Telegram communications

A telegram that is stamped in 1962 with a message that says Understand rock supplied completion date as for main contract stop likely to be required in first five or six months. This is part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections. 
Telegram between Whangarei and Wellington, 1962.
Telegram: Ephemera: Telegrams 1962.

Before email and fax machines, the fastest way to send a written message was by telegram. Telegrams were charged by the word, so short phrases were preferred. 

In 1880, when New Zealand’s population was only 600,000, more than one million telegrams were sent. The Post Office provided the telegram service for 125 years until it ended in 1987.


Event materials

Ball programme, 1896

Front and back cover of a programme for the Godfellow's Ball. This is part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections.
Ephemera: OCM Ball Programmes, 1896. Eph-OCM9091.

A ball programme is better known as a dance card. The pages inside the programme list the dances, like the polka, waltz, mazurka, and quadrille, for the evening. Men would write their name next to the dance they would like to have with the woman holding the dance card. The example above is from a ball held in Warkworth on 28 May 1896. 
The inside pages of a ball programme which serves as a dance card. It lists names or signatures next to types of dances. This is part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections.
Ephemera: OCM Ball Programmes, 1896. Eph-OCM9091.

The pages inside the programme list dances for the evening, such as the polka, waltz, mazurka, and quadrille. Men would write their names next to the dance they would like to have with the woman holding the dance card.


Arbour Day

Arbour Day is an annual nationwide event that brings people together to plant New Zealand native trees.  
A ticket for Arbour Day at Parnell Public School in 1892. This is part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections.
Ephemera: Tickets – Functions and exhibitions – 1892. Eph-OCM 2384.

This illustrated ticket was handed to those attending Arbour Day hosted at Parnell Public School, Auckland, 1892. 

 
Two colourful posters for Arbor Day, one shows the words Trees Please and the other shows the words Only one future for our children: development without destruction. This is part of the Auckland Council Libraries heritage collections.
Ephemera: Posters – Environment – Conservation Week/Arbour Day – 1978, 1979.

Many years later in 1978 (left) and 1979 (right), an Arbour Day event poster shows the evolution of print, especially in using nature illustrations to promote the event.  


Intrigued?

These ephemera pieces, and many more, are available to view in person - just book an appointment at the Central City Library.

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Auckland Council Libraries:Ephemera Read about the Auckland Council Libraries ephemera collection which includes everyday printed items like posters, programmes, invitations, tickets, postcards, leaflets and flyers.