The Z. Taylor Vinson Collection at the Hagley Library is one of the largest public collections of automotive trade catalogs and ephemera in the world. The collection covers the history of transportation with a primary focus on the automobile industry from 1891 to the present. The physical collection numbers approximately 67,000 items (700 cubic feet). The collection is currently being processed and will not open for research until 2014. In the meantime, Hagley has created this digital collection to serve as a preview. Interested researchers can also learn about updates to the collection at the Hagley's blog related to the Vinson Collection, which features short articles and full-text examples of items so far digitized.
The Princeton University Library has digitized a number of posters from the Interborough Rapid Transit Subway Company . The posters, designed by the public relations firm Ivy Lee, were displayed in subway cars to provide information to riders about changes in fares and routes, safety issues, and other matters of interest. The collection consists of 385 images dating from 1918 to 1932; many of them provide financial information about rates, company dividends, and a general look at an early rapid transit system. October 29, update: Jonathan Rees over at "More or Less Bunk" was moved by this post to go off in search of a better site, and found the massive collection of the London Transport Museum , which displays over 5,000 items in a searchable collection .
