Merriam-Webster defines ephemera (plural) as "paper items (such as posters, broadsides, and tickets) that were originally meant to be discarded after use but have since become collectibles." The Northwest Railway Museum has an extensive collection of ephemera from many of the railroads in the Pacific Northwest as well as outside this region. The Museum extends the term to items such as swizzle sticks, ashtrays, buttons, etc. Railroads placed their brands on just about anything to advertise travel - from postcards to matchbooks and beyond. Some railroads even commissioned original art to use on those items. Join the Museum for a lesson in the history of rail travel viewed thru the lens of railroad marketing.
