Collections Department staff share their personal favorites from the permanent collections of the Washington State Historical Society. Featured items include a contemporary basket made of dried orange peels, a Japanese Katana sword, a turtle costume worn during the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle, and the first American edition of the Koran. More than 30 artifacts, maps, ephemera, photographs and works of art are featured.

The ephemera collection contains more than 50,000 items, the majority dating from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Ranging from small tickets and business cards to giant posters, ephemera is generally printed paper material meant to be thrown away. Ephemeral means, “Beginning and ending in a day; existing only for a day, or for a few days; short-lived, transitory.” Some examples of material printed and not meant to be kept would be tickets, timetables, handbills, broadsides, posters, catalogues, maps, pamphlets, brochures, business cards—the possibilities are endless.

In 2009, the Washington State Historical Society formally adopted "Digital Collections" as a new part of its permanent collections scope and Collections Management Policy.  In 2010, the WSHS Digital Collections include 5,553 media items, many of which are available online via the WSHS Collections Catalog. These collections primarily include media that is considered ‘born digital’ -- created using a digital capture device or computer software application, such as a camera, webpage, video camcorder, or audio recorder. Other materials that have been ‘reformatted’ or transferred into digital media may also be included, depending upon their use over time.

Asahel Curtis was a renowned Washington State photographer who captured images from across the state in the early 1900s.  The entire Asahel Curtis collection is comprised of 50,000 glass plate and nitrate negatives and prints, 25 of which are shown here.  For more information on Asahel Curtis check out this article from Columbia Magazine or search the collection for additional images.

A Sampler From Washington’s Greatest Circus Poster Collection!

Here one day only!  See the tallest animal on earth, the largest blood-sweating hippopotamus, and the most astonishing acts ever viewed by human eyes!  Animals and acrobats, side shows and center rings!  These posters from our collection will transport you to a time when circuses traveled throughout Washington State.  Just as in their heyday, circus posters remain both calling card and memory-the first and last view of the day the circus came to town.