#ephemera friday

Feeling lucky? This Ephemera Friday, we come to you with a lottery ad that doubles as a visual puzzle.

This chaotic little broadside is told through pictograms. Instead of long blocks of text, it uses small engraved images (cats, coins, eyes, shoes, trees, jugs, dice) to visually “spell out” its message: take a small risk, buy a ticket, and maybe fortune will smile on you. Or at least that’s the promise.

This Ephemera Friday, we're highlighting a pennant and a few buttons from the pivotal 1963 March on Washington–a widely attended, landmark demonstration in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

Organized by a coalition of civil rights, labor, and religious groups, the march called for an end to racial discrimination and for economic justice, including fair wages and access to employment. Ephemera like pennants and pinback buttons offer a tangible record of participation and solidarity, demonstrating how everyday objects can carry the memory of movements that shaped the nation.

During the event, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech. A version of the speech annotated with peer-reviewed scholarship is available via JSTOR Daily.

Images:

(Top) Pennant from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963. National Museum of African American History and Culture.

(Bottom left) Pinback button for the March on Washington, 1963. National Museum of African American History and Culture.

(Bottom center) Pinback button for the 1963 Freedom March, 1963. National Museum of African American History and Culture.