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1. Terminology and functionPrinted ephemera are short occasional publications in various small formats. The German term Flugschrift (alongside Flugblatt) was coined by C.F.D. Schubart in 1787/1788, based on French   feuille volante (flying [i.e. loose] leaf; hence also Italian foglio volante). In today’s technical literature, only an item consisting of just a single leaf or two (folded if necessary) is called a Flugblatt; English sometimes distinguishes between a broadside (a single leaf) and a broadsheet (more or less like a Flugblatt). Such ephemera were always intended …

“German single-leaf woodcut” (German Einblattdruck  or  Einblattholzschnitt) is a genre descriptor for a type of illustrated woodcut that was produced in the German-speaking world between 1400 and 1700, chiefly in the 15th and 16th centuries. They were printed on single sides of loose leaves. The key defining criterion is their utilitarian function as “leaflets” as opposed to the technically identical woodcuts that appeared, double-sided, as book illustrations.In smaller formats, printing blocks could thus be used for both forms of publication. There was no…

In German  Bilderbogen is a generic term used in studies of mass media (see [1]) that deal with popular graphics of all kinds since paper production began in Central Europe shortly before 1400 and its use in printing. The word (usually combined with the place of production, e.g.  Neuruppiner Bilderbogen,  Münchner Bilderbogen) did not come into general use as a term for the products of specialized graphic printshops until the early 19th century. Reflecting French practice ( Imagerie d'Epinal, Imagerie rue Saint-Jacques in Paris), the term  imagerie populaire has gained acceptan…

The term amulet (Lat. amuletum) was borrowed in German (as Amulett) only in the 16th century from theoretical literature on magic in the neo-Platonic sciences (Platonism) as a numinous means of protection and healing in the form of pendants made of paper, stone, metal, bone etc. The desired effects depend on the costliness of the material, the shape, the special signs or the personal, experience-based connection with the object. They point to set of supersensory powers from different worldviews (World vi…