Vintage School Supply Ephemera
I recently happened upon two school supply catalogs from the late 1800s and thought they were the perfect subject matter for some free ephemera sheets. And the timing is perfect since the school year is starting for most students. I’m breaking the ephemera sheets up into two posts. In addition to the catalog images in this post, I’m creating a second post with vintage award certificate ephemera sheets. There are also a few other school supplies on those sheets that I couldn’t quite fit on these sheets, so you’ll definitely want to check them out.
Also, make sure you visit the ephemera section of my library of free printables. You may like these Victorian magic props catalog ephemera sheets or these vintage shop fixtures ephemera sheets and others.
Scroll down, and you’ll find two different ephemera sheets of images in a mixture of sizes.
If you enjoy these free journal papers, be sure to follow me on Instagram and Pinterest, so you’ll see when I post new ones.
In the late 19th century, a distinctive array of school supplies defined the educational landscape, characterized by simplicity and practicality. Students and teachers relied on tools that now seem antiquated but were essential for learning and instruction.
One of the quintessential items of the time was the slate, a small piece of slate rock encased in a wooden frame. Paired with slate pencils, these portable boards allowed students to practice writing, arithmetic, and other lessons. In a similar vein, inkwells and dip pens were pivotal for developing penmanship and composition skills. The ritualistic act of dipping the pen into the inkwell before writing became a hallmark of classroom activities.
Textbooks, while basic by modern standards, were indispensable resources covering subjects like reading, writing, history, and geography. To correct mistakes, students used erasers made from rubber or even unconventional materials like bread. Wooden or metal rulers enabled precise measurements and drawing straight lines while reading charts and flashcards aided in honing reading abilities.
The late 19th-century classroom was a canvas adorned with these simple yet impactful tools, each contributing to the foundational building blocks of education. As the century progressed, these supplies would witness evolution and adaptation, setting the stage for the educational innovations that would follow in the 20th century.
Add this free vintage ephemera to your supplies for art journaling, junk journaling, bullet journaling, collage, artist trading cards (ATCs), scrapbooking and other mixed media artwork and crafts.
You may also enjoy these free collage sheets.
Terms of use:
Free to use for personal or commercial projects. You may print the collage sheets as many times as you wish for your personal crafts or in your projects to sell, including: art journals, scrapbooks, junk journals, collage art, etc. You may not redistribute or sell the collage sheets “as is" in either print or digital form.
If you wish to share the files on your own website, please do not make the files available for download directly from your site. Instead, include an image with a link back to this site.
To the best of my knowledge, these are all royalty free images that are in the Public Domain in the US. However, you should always do your own research if you plan to use them commercially.
