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James Flowers Collection of Ephemera Found in Returned Library Books

 Collection
Identifier: U0753

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

This collection contains a variety of ephemera and objects. Materials include handwritten notes and drawings; library and reference materials; cards; clippings and loose pages; bookmarks; fliers, brochures and pamphlets; correspondence and stationery; order forms; invoices, receipts, and tickets; labels and stickers; and other materials. Materials in this collection, regardless of form, cover a wide range of subject areas including education, religion, politics, entertainment, publications, organizations, and local business. Some materials are also representative of UNT's history with items from North Texas State Normal College (1901-1923), North Texas State Teachers College (1923-1945), North Texas State College (1949-1961), and North Texas State University (1961-1988). A number of printed materials were intentionally placed in books such as bookmarks, check out cards, return notices, and subscription forms. However, some of these items do not indicate information about creator(s), date of creation, or publication they were originally housed in. Similarly, several handmade or handwritten items in this collection appear to have been placed in books on purpose by their creators (for instance, the note reading, “this won’t be found for 50 maybe 100 years”). All other items in this collection were presumably left in returned books by accident. Therefore, the bulk of the collection's dates and creators are unidentifiable. The collection primarily consists of handwritten notes and drawings, as well as library and reference materials. Handwritten notes and drawings include edited pages of drafts, academic and personal notes, recipes, sheet music, and drawings. Library and reference materials consist of check out cards, Interlibrary loan records, and information cards. Cards include business cards, prayer cards, playing cards, information cards, courtesy cards, greeting cards, notecards with printed text, postcards without messages, and product advertisement cards. Clippings and loose pages contain newspaper and magazine clippings, copies or pages from books, and incomplete quizzes. Fliers, brochures, and pamphlets include booklets, coupons, promotional and informative materials, organization fliers, and fliers with political themes. Correspondence and stationery consist of letters, invitations, postcards with messages, envelopes, and blank notepad pages. Order forms mainly contain subscription forms for books, magazines, music, and other products, but also include book review response and survey forms. Other materials include items that do not fit in the other folder’s categories. These items include reprinted photographs, pressed flowers, Victorian era scrapbook "scrap," and three-dimensional objects, among others. Flowers shared that most of the pressed flowers and leaves were found in two mid-19th century journals, The Nineteenth Century (published 1877 to 1968) and possibly The Cornhill Magazine (published 1860 to 1975). The green origami necktie was found in a book included in the UNT Special Collection’s Gustine Courson Weaver Collection.

Dates

  • Creation: circa 1870-2021

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is not restricted.

Conditions Governing Use

Reproduction and publication of materials in this collection are subject to the policies of the Special Collections department. Copyright restrictions may apply.

Extent

1.00 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection of ephemera found in returned University of North Texas (UNT) Library books. The items were collected by library employee James Flowers circa 2010 to his retirement in 2021.

Arrangement Note

Items are arranged in eleven (11) folders according to form of material.

Physical Access Requirements

This collection is stored off-site and requires a minimum of 24 hours notice prior to use.

Source of Acquisition

James Flowers

Method of Acquisition

Gift

Accruals and Additions

Accession number: 2021-067 No further materials are expected.

Title
James Flowers Collection of Ephemera Found in Returned Library Books
Author
Caroline Moore
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the University of North Texas Special Collections Repository

Contact:
University of North Texas, Willis Library
1155 Union Circle # 305190
Denton TX 76203 US