History Of Scrapbooking
Here is a little insite into the history of the ever somee popular hobby of scrapbooking.
In 1980, modern scrapbooking became popular when Marielen Christensen shared 50 volumes of her family memory books at the World Conference on Records in Utah. Everyone was excited and it peaked so much interest that the Christensen family opened the first dedicated retail stamping store called Keeping Memories Alive. As a scrapbooker, we love to keep our memories alive. Can you believe that scrapbooking got started started more then 150 years ago? Let’s talk about that.
Scrapbooking became popular after the publication of a book called Manuscript Gleanings and Literary Scrapbook by John Poole in 1826. This book was a bound collection of poems and engravings. This book also explained how to collect and rearrange scraps.
Scraps were printed pieces of paper with ornate designs. The first scrapbooks were created to display mementos such as pressed flowers, paper cuts, feathers and other bits of memories that a person wanted to save.
Scrapbooking became popular in middle class nineteenth century life. All sorts of albums were available and items such as newspaper clippings, engraved pictures and verses were considered scrapbook worthy.
Scrapbookers love to create albums that capture memories and arrange pretty pages that tell a story. Attending scrapbook classes and work shops are popular events.
The “drawing room” scrapbook was the center of social exchange and discussion in the mid-eighteenth century. These were full of memories and family stories. These were cherished by future generations and are pricless. They are like a part of a family’s heritage.
Scrapbooking started to decline during World War 1. The recession caused scrapbooking businesses to close down.
During the Mid 1800’s, companies such as London based W&H Rock began producing leather albums that contained preprinted pages devoted to various themes. These albums were embellished with flowers and birds.
Some early albums were printed with pockets to put photos in and other albums had sketching pages to draw or do water color art on.
Mark Twain (the famous author who wrote Huckleberry Finn) had his own invention, Mark Twain’s Adhesive Scrapbook that included prepasted pages. This was one of Twain’s most popular books. Yes, Mark Twain had scrapbooks, too.
Printed pages of stationery and embellished writing were used as decorative elements in scrapbooks.
In 1825, a serial called “The Scrapbook” was issued. It included ideas on how to fill a blank book with pictures and clippings. In 1832, Fisher’s Drawing Room Scrapbook was a published volume that encouraged the art of scrapbooking. There were a series of these and they were decorated with pretty gift decorations on the covers, front and back. They became coffee table books that were displayed.
Even famous people adored scrapbooks. Queen Victoria had a scrapbook that she displayed in the Royal Palace. Thomas Jefferson had a scrapbook of news clippings, drawings, dried leaves and other items.
Scrapbooking has become a big part of our lives. We want to tell our stories and preserve our memories for future generations. This is what makes our lives unique. So, I encourage everyone to scrapbook. It’s an art.
Have fun!