Blog Post

Although I am not much of a ephemera collector or fancy myself a philatelist, there are certain aspects of these areas of collecting that interest me. More specifically, if there are ephemera or postal items that connect with or align to my focus areas, I try to grab them in an effort to augment my collection.

This press photo was from 1938-39 clearly shows the Vincennes name on the port side of her boat tail stern.

People might see the term ephemera and wonder what it means. What sort of item can be characterized or classified as such? In order to answer that question, at least for myself, I proceeded to search the internet. One of the first items within the search results was the organization that is dedicated to these collectors, the Ephemera Society of America, who characterizes it this way:

“Ephemera includes a broad range of minor (and sometimes major) everyday documents intended for one-time or short-term use. The 402-page Encyclopedia of Ephemera lists more than 500 categories from bookmarks to fruit wrappers to posters to theater tickets.”

For this article, the specific categories (presented among the group’s list of 26) that I am touching on are photographs, postcards, and brochures. In some cases, a few of my items  (such as real photo postcards) span multiple categories.

I picked up this folder/press kit a few years ago. The cover of the folder shows the first four Ticonderoga class cruisers built by Ingalls Shipbuilding.

In 2009, I published my first (of hopefully, many) book about the naval warships that bore the name, USS Vincennes. In the process of assembling my collection of artifacts that would be used to provide the readers with some visual references, I realized that I had amassed a significant group of items relating to the CG-49. I also realized that though I had a smattering of items, I was really lacking in anything associated with, at the very least, the two WWII cruisers. This realization catapulted me into active militaria collecting that was very focused.

These photos are part of the media kit handed out for the launching of the USS Bunker Hill (CG-52) by Ingalls Shipbuilding. The center photo is of the USS Vincennes (CG-49) and would be used as the cover image for her Welcome Aboard pamphlet for her entire career (1985-2005).

Since I started writing for CollectorsQuest, I have written articles (see below) that include a smattering of some of the items from my USS Vincennes collection.

• Subtle History – Finding a Unique Naval Militaria Piece
• Collecting U.S. Navy Uniform Ship Identifiers
• Remember Me When You Sleep… Sweetheart Pillow Covers
• Spark Your Collection: Military-Themed Zippos
• Owning a Symbolic Plank

The items documented in these posts represent a growing and well-rounded group of Vincennes-related militaria and would make for a nice arrangement or display. With my ephemera and philatelic additions, this collection (and any subsequent displays I might set up) takes on a more vibrant and colorful appearance.

The philatelic pieces (covers) from the CA-44 cruiser all date from the late 1930s and provide a documented timeline of the ship’s early years of service. The cover from the CL-64 documents the launching of the second Vincennes cruiser in 1943. Combining the ephemera (photographs) and philatelic pieces, my collection has depth and dimension.

Yesterday, my latest philatelic/ephemera piece arrived from Japan. The piece, a postcard with a vintage artistic depiction of three American cruisers, wrecked and burning. I had a friend of mine translate the Japanese text which revealed the title as, “Night (Attack) Warfare at Tulagi.” The caption states that the painting was displayed at the second Great East Asia War Art Exhibition, which was held in 1943.

The painting depicted on this postcard is titled “Night Attack at Tulagi” and was displayed at the second Great East Asia War Art Exhibition in 1943.

The ships that are depicted in the image are (unknown to the Imperial Japanese Navy officials at the time) the USS Quincy, USS Astoria and the USS Vincennes. All were left disabled and burning after a night engagement by Admiral Gunichi Mikawa’s task force at Savo Island. This painting was a propaganda piece that was more fact than inflated story-telling as the attack was the largest surface defeat suffered by the U.S. Navy during WWII.

I was quite surprised to find such a piece existed and was elated to obtain it for my collection.