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Victorian era scrapbooks
MadeSummary
Object No.
A7520Object Statement
Scrapbooks (2), paper, maker unknown, place of production unknown, 1880-1890Physical Description
The two scrap albums or scrapbooks feature covers with elaborately-embossed bindings. Inside are pages of colourful pictures, which have been commercially produced, embossed and die-cut, then glued onto the heavy pages. The pictures or 'scraps' are in most cases carefully arranged by themes including flowers, butterflies, baby farmyard animals, and well-dressed ladies and children. Some of the pictures are more exotic and include children in various national costumes, mounted cavalry, as well as humorous caricatures and the more sentimental elements such as white doves, angels and Christmas themes. A few of the pages have pressed and dried flowers and ferns and birthday cards with verses.Short URL
https://ma.as/191815Production
Made
Notes
Scrap is the term used to describe pieces of paper, usually printed in colour and often embossed or die-cut, which were collected and arranged in albums.The earliest scraps appeared at the beginning of the nineteenth century and were simple black and white engravings which were often hand coloured. By the 1820s scraps had become more elaborate and were produced on picture sheets on a matt surface which children were intended to colour or draw from. Embossing soon followed which involved a die being stamped into the reverse side of the paper giving it a raised quality. Printing and embossing became automated and large quantities could be made inexpensively, especially in Germany, where bakers and confectioners used small scrap reliefs to decorate cakes and biscuits for special occasions such as Christmas, Easter and for weddings and christenings. They were also used by various trades as a type of collector card.
The invention of colour printing process known as chromolithography enabled brightly-coloured scraps to be made and sold in sheets. After printing, the sheet of scraps were coated with a gelatine and gum layer which gave them a glossy surface. The scarps were them embossed to give them a three-dimensional look. The final process was the punching and stamping press which cut away the unrequired paper from the design and left the individual pictures attached to each other by small lengths of paper. These often featured the name or initials of the makers. This meant that a minimum amount of cutting was required by the scrapbook compiler as the scraps had been finely cut during the manufacturing process.
As well as the commercially-made scraps, scrapbooks and albums were also decorated with Valentine, birthday and Christmas cards.
History of Scraps, Mamelok Press, http://www.mamelok.co.uk
Source
Credit Line
Gift of Neville Williams, 1981Acquisition Date
15 March 1981Cite this Object
Harvard
Victorian era scrapbooks 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 5 June 2023, <https://ma.as/191815>Wikipedia
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