So you'd like to try your hand at digital collage, but you need some basic materials to get started. You're looking for old photos, old manuscripts, and yes, some old junk that you can use to create your collage. Here are some of my favorite places to find ephemera.
My first stop is always Art E-Zine, a British zine for "everyone that's interested in playing and having fun with paper, paints, inks and stamps, and any other exciting mediums." On their resource page, you'll find vintage pictures of children, women, geisha and cowboys. You'll also find old clippings, newspapers and documents. Make a very reasonable donation of $10 and you'll receive a link to even more gorgeous photos and ephemera.
Image from Art E-Zine
Outside the Margins is an online art store that specializes in materials for the altered artist. Click on the Freebies Images button and you'll find dozens of pieces of great ephemera.
Sign from Outside the Margins
Another great resources is Liam's Pictures from Old Books, a collection of over 2,015 high-resolution images scanned from more than 100 different old books, with extracts from the books. The site has a wonderful search engine, which is a good thing. Otherwise, you'd be like me, spending hours jumping from book to book.
Pease Porridge Hot from Liam's Pictures from Old Books.
Do you have a favorite site for old pictures or ephemera that's not listed? Please leave us a link in the comment section, so that we can all learn from each other.
