Florida Ephemera Collection
Scope and Contents
The Florida Ephemera Collection consists of materials about or produced in Florida collected by Thomas and Georgine Mickler through their mail-order business, Mickler's Antiquarian Books, as well as additional purchases made by the University of Central Florida Libraries Special Collections. These materials are all related in some way to Florida, either geographically or through the subject matter.
Series I: Geographic Files, circa 1813-2007 contain tourism brochures, information on local historical societies, local business advertisements and newspaper clippings related to the different geographic areas of Florida, loosely divided into Central, North and South Florida. Some information may also be found in a Subject file; however, generally the Subject Files consist of information about Florida as a whole.
Series II: Subject Files, 1831-2005 consist of booklets and brochures, newspaper and journal articles, business cards and advertisements, and periodicals related to Florida, arranged by subject alphabetically. Topics include Agricultural Literature, Arts and Humanities, Gardening Literature, History, Politics and Government, Real Estate and Development, State Parks and Historical Markers, Tourism, and Wildlife.
Series III: Artifacts, Undated, 1971, contains larger items that pertain to geographical and subject files
concerning Florida. Included thus far are a cork mat depicting Bok Tower and a bottle commemorating
the Apollo 14 mission.
Dates
- created: Circa 1813-2007
Creator
- Mickler, Thomas, 1912-1997 (Person)
- Mickler, Georgine, 1914-1998 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The entire collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical or Historical Information
Thomas and Georgine Mickler ran a small publishing company, Mickler House, and a thriving mail-order business, Mickler's Antiquarian Books, out of their Chuluota home for almost 40 years. The Mickler's focused on tracing out-of-print publications about Florida and ultimately collected more than 40,000 books and other historical pieces of paper memorabilia that filled their home. Thomas Mickler was a native Floridian but Georgine was born in Chicago. She moved to Orlando in 1961, and they married the following year. Both of them lived until they were 84 years old; Thomas died in 1997 and Georgine died a year later.
Extent
13 Linear Feet (26 Boxes, 1 Flat File)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Florida Ephemera Collection is a collection of brochures, advertisements and news clippings documenting the history of Florida. Although the collection includes information about Florida as a whole, it focuses on the Central Florida area, and Orlando in particular. The collection contains information about most aspects of life in Florida including business and industry, real estate and development, tourism and wildlife.
Arrangement Note
The collection is divided into three series, Geographic Files, Artifacts and Subject Files. Geographic Files are arranged in three subseries, Central, North and South Florida, with Central Florida organized alphabetically by county. General information about a region begins each subseries, followed by cities and counties that have a high volume of information. Subject Files are arranged alphabetically.
Method of Acquisition
The ephemera was mostly collected by Thomas and Georgine Mickler of Micklers Antiquarian Books. These materials were purchased by the University of Central Florida Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives in 1999 (CFM1999_06). Ephemera from a variety of sources will continue to be purchased to create a collection relevant to Florida's history.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Jessica Achberger; finding aid prepared by Jessica Achberger and Jeffrey Baumiller. This collection was processed by both geographic area and subject matter. Materials related to a specific location within Florida were divided out, while materials related to Florida as a whole were separated into specific subject matter. All materials are foldered, with special attention being paid to newspaper clippings and delicate manuscript materials. Sheets of acid free paper were put between clippings, and some materials have been sleeved for preservation.
- Title
- Florida Ephemera Collection
- Author
- Jessica Achberger
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the UCF Special Collections Repository
Special Collections & University Archives
University of Central Florida Libraries
P.O. Box 162666
Orlando Florida 32816-2666 US
(407) 823-2576
speccoll@ucf.edu