Pamuk’s New Novel Sparks Ephemera Craze in Europe

The protagonist of Orhan Pamuk's latest novel Masumiyet Muzesi (Museum of Innocence), Kemal, collects all sorts of detritus from daily life, from old hat boxes to matches, from restaurant napkins to cinema tickets, each piece of ephemera reminding him of Füsun, the woman he loves. He displays each of these items in the "Museum of Innocence" he has created—with the aim of "transforming time into a place"—after Füsun exits from his life. In a sense, Kemal, who searches for days for particular objects, is a real ephemera collector.

And these days, this is a kind of collection whose popularity is growing, with more and more interest being shown in auctions of people's ephemeral effects in various spots all over İstanbul, according to Uğur Yeğin, the owner of İstanbul Auction House (as reported on Today's Zaman). According to the TZ article, "This interest, which is quite widespread throughout Europe, has collectors searching everywhere for the detritus of past daily life, looking through antique shops, Web sites, and flea markets for such seemingly innocuous items as diplomas, report cards, newspaper clippings, promotional brochures, business cards, bank drafts, candy and gum wrappers, posters, passports, postcards and wedding invitations."