Davenport Iowa Quad City Ephemera Collector Doug Smith Interview

Doug Smith is a native of Davenport, Iowa. He collects local historical memorabilia, including ephemera and writes a weekly column for the Quad City Times. Doug just finished a book which uses images from his personal collection of postcards, stereoviews, and ephemera of his hometown of Davenport. Several of those images are appear in this fascinating interview:

ephemera: Tell me about your love of the Quad Cities . When did you begin collection ephemera from Davenport?

Smith: I grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and have collected things my whole life. I started collecting Matchbox cars before I even knew what it meant to collect things. At the age of 10, I started selling beer cans at the local flea markets. My interest in local history of Davenport and of the Quad Cities area just became a natural evolution from collecting old things and learning about their history. Those historical items from my hometown were easier to relate to and of more interest because I could see the actual sites where their history took place on a daily basis.

ephemera: What challenges or obstacles do you encounter in compiling this collection? How do you overcome these challenges?

Smith: My biggest challenge is the lack of time and space. I am too busy to spend much time on research, and the items come in so fast that I have little time to dwell on one before having to move on to the next piece. I am collecting all of this for my retirement, but I'm not sure I'll ever retire. Also, although I have a fairly large home (5,000 sq ft), it's hard to spread out 200,000 items. I not only collect ephemera, which takes up little space, but I also collect jukeboxes, pinball machines, bicycles, radios, phonographs, and too many other things to mention. I have yet to overcome these challenges. I think positively that someday I'll hit the lottery and can retire into a mansion where I can spread things out a little.

ephemera: What are your favorite ephemera items in the collection?

Smith: I like the earliest paper from my hometown. Davenport was platted in 1836, and I have been fortunate enough to have found some things from the 1830s when there wasn't much around here in the way of people except Indians. I also like finding original documents signed by the important founders of our community.

ephemera: What do these items tell us about the Quad Cities?

Smith: The early letters often tell of the hardships, and daily goings on in the area and bring to life just what it was like without electricity, running water, automobiles, and so many other things we take for granted.

ephemera: What resources do you recommend for people who want to collect ephemera from their hometown?

Smith: My most important resources are the original city directories, early books written about the area, maps, photographs, stereoviews, and postcards. I try to buy these things whenever they are available so that I can do research in my home and not have to depend on the local libraries and historical societies etc. As far as archiving and storage, I have not invested a lot of time and resources into it other than what people who collect paper already know from common sense. At this point in time I am trying to collect the items, keep them in a safe environment, and leave the archiving and permanent display as retirement projects.

ephemera: Thanks, Doug. I've blogged about my visit to Davenport, and anyone who read that post, knows I have a soft spot in my heart for the Quad Cities. It's a great place. Thanks for sharing your Quad City ephemera collection with my readers.