Publications: A Lancaster Ephemera

A Lancaster Ephemera considers the often forgotten histories of the city through a collection of printed ephemera. These neglected pieces of ‘paper flotsam’ hold details about the social, political and commercial history of Lancaster, as well as the design and artistic preoccupations of their time.

Each item in the collection is accompanied by the history behind it as well as an ongoing discussion about the typographic changes occurring during the nearly four hundred years over which they were designed and produced.

From public notices to theatre posters, Arctic expeditions, executions, trials and advertisements, this new publication gives a unique insight into the history of the city of Lancaster.

Printed on Conqueror and Fedrigoni stocks, perfect bound and stitched with a dust cover, the work was part of a three year study of printed ephemera in the the city. The book includes photographs of almost fifty examples of printed ephemera taken from the city’s archives, local business and private collections, that span over four hundred years of Lancaster’s history