We buy & consignEphemera & Vintage Advertising
Shoeboxes of postcards, old photographs, matchbooks, a rusty tin sign from a gas station. Ephemera is the paper trail of everyday life, and collectors love it.
Ephemera we buy.
- Postcards and old photographs
- Tin, porcelain and neon signs
- Vintage advertising and store displays
- Old maps, documents and letters
- Matchbooks, tickets and labels
- Magazines, catalogs and posters
Selling ephemera: what to know.
A lot of ephemera gets thrown away during clean-outs because it looks like old paper. Please don't. Advertising, local history and anything with great graphics can be very collectible.
Signs and advertising pieces are huge in live shows, and paper collections sell well grouped by theme. We'll sort them so each piece finds the right buyer.
Keep paper dry and flat, and don't tape, laminate or trim anything. Photos of local streets, old businesses and events are especially wanted by history collectors. Signs are best photographed in good light with a tape measure in the shot so buyers can see the size.
We pick up ephemera in Palo Alto, Berkeley & Folsom, and anywhere else in Northern California.
Ephemera FAQ.
Draft answers; terms are placeholders.
What is ephemera?
Paper and printed items meant to be temporary: postcards, tickets, ads, labels, photos and more.
Do you buy old signs?
Yes: tin, porcelain and more.
Do you buy postcard collections?
Yes, from small boxes to full albums.