Ephemera

A substantial collection of printed ephemera - posters, advertisements, tickets and other miscellaneous items - collected mostly by John Smith of Crutherland (1784-1849), Glasgow bookseller and grandson of the firm's founder. It was bequeathed to the University with the rest of his library in about 1847.

Other ephemera, scattered through various collections, have been listed with the Smith ephemera in a combined sheaf catalogue. They relate mainly to 19th-century Glasgow.

A separate collection of theatre programmes and related ephemera forms the core of the .

How to find material in the Ephemera collection

• Please note that records for items in the Smith collection of ephemera are not yet available on the rare books search.
• There are sheaf subject binders that index the collection available for consultation in the Special Collections reading room
• There is also an access database of the items, which Special Collections staff can search on your behalf. Please contact the Special Collections reading room for further advice
• Printed ephemera: a pot-pourri extracted from the Special Collections Department ... from May 28 - August 31, 1979. (Glasgow: 1979). Exhibition catalogue available in the Special Collections reading room 
• The ephemera of John Smith web exhibition