EPHEMERISTS | Collectors of paper ‘rubbish’ from the 17th century to the present day with Gillian Russell

Often described as the ‘transient minor documents of everyday life’, printed ephemeron has been the object of fascination for men and women across the centuries. The digitisation of the world’s knowledge means that ephemeral literature is now more visible than it ever was before. In this illustrated talk Gillian Russell outlines the history of some notable figures in the history of the collecting of printed ephemera in Britain and the USA, such as Anthony Wood, Sarah Sophia Banks – the sister of Sir Joseph Banks – John Johnson, and Bella Landauer.

GILLIAN RUSSELL is an academic at the Australian National University, Canberra, who researches and teaches British 18th century and Romantic culture with a focus on theatre, sociability and gender.

This lecture is kindly supported by The Friends of The Johnston Collection