What is an edition, a multiple, an artist-book and an ephemera anyhow?

Edition

An edition is an original, but not a unique artwork. Editions often, but not always, use reproductive techniques like printing or photography. Artists do not reproduce an existing singular work, but rather create a new work in the form of an edition.
There are many types of editions. They can take the form of digital prints, lithographs, etchings or silk-screens, but also any other media like painting or casting. In some editions minimal changes are added to each piece, however they are still part of the same edition, with each work in the edition varying from each other. 
An edition is an artwork with more than one part, and this is reflected in an edition’s pricing. Compared to unique pieces, editions are, depending on their number, lower priced. But this doesn’t mean that they do not have the same artistic value as a singular unique piece. You can find many editions in institutional and museum collections, even if they are more accessible for private art lovers. Editions are affordable original artworks you can collect and live with in your office and home. 

Multiple

In the literature it is often stated that the term „multiple“ was first used by Daniel Spoerri who founded in 1959 the company Edition MAT, which published editions by artists like Marcel Duchamp, Josef Albers or Dieter Roth. The company focused solely on editions in the form of objects, which he called „multiples“. Later the term was adapted by Marian Goodman, who was running the company „Multiples Inc.“ between 1969 and 1992 with the same focus in New York.One could say that a multiple is a three-dimensional form of an edition, being a sculpture, object or even installation, where the work is made more than once. 

Artist book

Artist books are not documentation or explanation of an artist and their work, but  artworks that use the book as a medium. Like an edition, the artist book is a work of art that has the potential to reach many people in an accessible way. Artist books are collected for their artistic value and are held in major art museum and private collections.

Ephemera

„Ephēmeros“ means in Greek “‘lasting only a day”. Artistic ephemera is mostly printed matter related to artistic practice and the exhibition of artworks, which was not made with the intention of being an artwork, but which is collected and preserved for its artistic and historic importance. Ephemera includes posters from exhibitions and performances, invitation cards, exhibition catalogues and any other printed matter including magazines and newspapers, made by or with, artists. Ephemera is held in major museums and private collections, either because of its relationship to an artistic movement or its relationship to a particular artist.