Given a shared love among Selectism of ephemera, and my own love of small furniture, “Laura Tarrish’s Collection of Miniature Chairs” is perfect Friday fodder. Tarrish, an ephemera collector and collage artist, provides a quirky essay to accompany a slideshow over on Design Observer. She collects chairs for both aesthetics and as a symbol of home.

What prompts posting here is primarily aesthetic. These are simple objects and reminders of when design works, it just works. And, the collection serves as healthy reminder that there is more than Vitra reproductions in this niche.

Read on for more miniature chairs from the collection of Laura Tarrish.

Gotham through picture postcards. Little further description is needed for New York in Postcards 1880-1980: The Andreas Adam Collection. The book, edited by Thomas Kramer, releases officially on October 29, 2010, and presents no less than 900 postcards. This number, you might imagine, covers quite a lot of ground. From the obvious to slightly esoteric spots, the Adam’s collection provides comprehensive history through ephemera over a full century.

Captivating. And, available from Amazon.

Formed in 1976, as Warsaw, the Joy Division defined the look and sound of the post-punk era despite a shortened four year run. During that period, photographer Kevin Cummins was offered full access to the young group. He says, they “were learning to pose as a band while I was learning to shoot bands.” Cummins archive of Joy Division photographs, coupled with rare ephemera (including Ian Curtis’ own notebooks), forms the definitive monograph Joy Division. From composed shots in T.J. Davidson’s rehearsal room to raw live performance photos, and even portraits on the streets of Manchester, Cummins view of the band is broad and unfettered.

In the forward, Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City, articulates Joy Division’s sound. He writes, “What Joy Division seemed to have, still seems to have, was a kind of gloomy authenticity, a direct line of transmission to the pain and uncertainty and raw emotion of that vantage point at the precipice of post-adolescence.” The words quite accurately describe Cummins photographs as well, for they are documents full of intimacy between both band members and the City of Manchester. As McInerney suggests, the collected ephemera and photographs successfully capture the imagination of people and place. The era is frozen in time, and with it the mood of a pioneering band.

A conversation between Cummins and Joy Division founding member Bernard Sumner rounds out the publication – undoubtedly the most complete celebration of the band on paper.

© Joy Division, Rizzoli New York, 2010.

Available from Amazon.

A selection of ephemera and photographs by Kevin Cummins after the jump.

The above is a clip for “Reach for the Sky” from Carbon/Silicon’s The Carbon Bubble album. Shown here because it features some 300 pieces of rock n’ roll ephemera from Mick Jones’ (of The Clash) collection. Currently the material is being shown in London at the Chelsea Space. You can check it there until April 18, 2009. (via CR).

Mentioned this before and will mention again, online exhibitions are a great way to waste away an afternoon and come out of it having learned something. Independence Seaport Museum’s What We Saved: Old-Time Ephemera From the Seaport Museum’s Archives does just what the title suggests. Including are letters, photographs, broadsides, cruise ship menus, and more. Well worth a look.

A few more bits and bobs from the exhibition after the jump.

The recent brew-ha-ha (sorry) about best “blue collar” beers prompts a little investigation beyond subjective voting and toward a history of each. As noted, the beers up for “best” now often come from the same place, but of course that wasn’t always true. Milwaukee, being home to reader favorite Miller, is our focus. However, if you’d like to learn a bit about Philadelphia beer history Art in the Age is showing an exhibition curated by beer historian Rich Wagner.

Among the most interesting pieces of brewery ephemera (in my opinion) are lithographs and related post cards that feature the factory. After the jump, check out examples from Schlitz and Blatz. Just as there is a comforting similarity in the brews, there is also a comforting similarity in the historic branding efforts of some of Milwaukee’s finest. Guided tours of my own beer ephemera collection available on request.

All images in this post come from the Museum of Beer and Brewing.

This two volume set presents Martin Parr’s collection of objects and postcards. The book stems from an exhibition, Parrworld, curated from Thomas Weski and first show in Munich at Has Der Kunst last May. (Via Daily Icon).

Available from Amazon.

Page views of both books after the jump.