Collections · Ephemera · RMIS
The Working Matrix — Ephemera
A museum-quality working matrix of disposable objects. Each entry is catalogued as a record of how history is quietly rehearsed at the checkout counter — novelty goods, printed paper, packaged humor, and wartime consumer surfaces.
RMIS-EPH-1991-0001
Wipe Out Hussein Novelty Toilet Paper
c. 1990–1991 · United States
A factory-sealed Gulf War–era novelty toilet paper printed with a caricature of Saddam Hussein. Mass-market wartime consumer humor, preserved unopened.
RMIS-EPH-2025-0002
Take a Dump with Donald Trump Novelty Toilet Paper
2025 · United States
Artwork proof for a novelty toilet paper roll printed with a caricature of Donald Trump and the slogan "Take a Dump with Donald Trump." A contemporary counterpart to wartime novelty paper goods, showing how political caricature migrates to disposable consumer surfaces.
ARE-EPH-SILK-002
Tokio Cigarettes Silk — John Yellow Flower (Worn Variant)
c. 1910–1915 · United States
A second "John Yellow Flower" silk from the same Tokio Cigarettes issue, held for comparative study of chromolithographic fade.
ARE-EPH-SILK-003
Tokio Cigarettes Silk — Striker (No. 37)
c. 1910–1915 · United States
"Striker," number 37 in the Tokio Cigarettes silk series — Factory 649 / 1st District, New York — one of the crisper survivors in the set.
ARE-EPH-SILK-004
Sovereign Cigarettes Silk — Red Cloud
c. 1910–1915 · United States
Portrait of Oglala Lakota leader Red Cloud, issued as a premium silk inside Sovereign Cigarettes packaging.
ARE-EPH-SILK-005
Tokio Cigarettes Silk — Black Eye (No. 17)
c. 1910–1915 · United States
"Black Eye," number 17 in the Tokio Cigarettes silk series (Factory 649, 1st District, New York).
ARE-EPH-SILK-006
Tokio Cigarettes Silk — Keokuk
c. 1910–1915 · United States
Portrait of Sauk leader Keokuk, issued as a Tokio Cigarettes premium silk (Factory 649, 1st District, New York).
ARE-EPH-NEWS-001
Boston Herald — "DEAD!" (May 2, 2011)
May 2, 2011 · United States
Boston Herald front page for Monday, May 2, 2011, printed the morning after the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad. Headline: DEAD!