INDESTRUCTIBLE SCRAP BOOK
Scrap Book
1880-1889 (made)
1880-1889 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The earliest printed use of the word 'scrapbook' is in 1825. Scrapbooks may be said to have their origins in the commonplace books popular with adults from at least the 16th century: these books contained a mixture of observations, recipes, poetry, letters etc, which might be printed or hand written, and the pages were sometimes also decorated with pictorial elements.
Scrap books for use by children became really popular from about the 1870s, when colour printing became more affordable and readily available. This meant that in addition to cutting illustrations from magazines and books, and pasting in souvenirs, the scrap book compiler could easily and quite cheaply buy colourful and professionally produced pictorial 'scraps' or 'reliefs' showing a wide variety of subjects. These had originated in Germany in the 1800s as printed decorations for confectionery, and began to be collected as souvenirs of various occasions. Among the more popular subjects for children were flowers, birds and animals, nursery rhyme figures and seasonal outdoor scenes such as children harvesting or skating.
The scrap book has had something of a revival in recent years, partly in connection with the availability of digital and computer-accessible images, and is often created in digital form.
Scrap books for use by children became really popular from about the 1870s, when colour printing became more affordable and readily available. This meant that in addition to cutting illustrations from magazines and books, and pasting in souvenirs, the scrap book compiler could easily and quite cheaply buy colourful and professionally produced pictorial 'scraps' or 'reliefs' showing a wide variety of subjects. These had originated in Germany in the 1800s as printed decorations for confectionery, and began to be collected as souvenirs of various occasions. Among the more popular subjects for children were flowers, birds and animals, nursery rhyme figures and seasonal outdoor scenes such as children harvesting or skating.
The scrap book has had something of a revival in recent years, partly in connection with the availability of digital and computer-accessible images, and is often created in digital form.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | INDESTRUCTIBLE SCRAP BOOK (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Cloth, cardboard, glazed cotton, printed paper and decoupage |
| Brief description | Scrap book, with 56 pages, bound in reddish brown cloth, compiled by Evelyn Agnes Clarke, England, 1880-1889. |
| Physical description | Scrap book of portrait proportions, bound in reddish brown cloth-covered boards decorated with a stamped title in gilt letters and stamped cartouches and motifs of arabesque form in black. The 56 pages are of glazed white cotton, with a variety of coloured images stuck to them, some apparently from books, including three of Marcus Ward's illustrations (all of 'Simple Symon') from The Royal Illuminated Book of Nursery Rhymes, published by William Nimmon in Edinburgh in 1872 and scenes by J Proctor from the story of Little Red Riding Hood. Among the recurrent subjects are animals and birds, people in national and historical dress, rural occupations and military scenes (an illustration on page four shows a man in military uniform who very much resembles the Emperor Napoleon III of France [1808-1873]). |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'E A C FROM A W' (On first page, 'E A C' is Evelyn Agnes Clarke, the scrap book's owner and compiler, 'A W' is so far unidentified) |
| Credit line | Given by Lucy A Clarke |
| Object history | Compiled by Evelyn Agnes Clarke (born 1874, died 1962), the daughter of Frederick Clarke, solicitor and attorney of Copse Hill, Wimbledon, and Emmeline his wife. 'Evie' was the youngest child, her siblings being Sebastian, Caroline, Henry, Ernest and Arthur. The donor writes "I assume the reason the scrapbook was inherited by my late husband's branch of the Clarke family is because when 'Aunt Evie' married and travelled to India she gave the book to the elder daughter of her eldest brother, Sebastian Clarke. His daughter (1897-1985) was christened Agnes Mary but was always called Nessie. At the end of her life she lived in a retirement home for governesses which is still in Chislehurst. We had regular contact with her during these years and when she died we inherited some of her possessions." |
| Summary | The earliest printed use of the word 'scrapbook' is in 1825. Scrapbooks may be said to have their origins in the commonplace books popular with adults from at least the 16th century: these books contained a mixture of observations, recipes, poetry, letters etc, which might be printed or hand written, and the pages were sometimes also decorated with pictorial elements. Scrap books for use by children became really popular from about the 1870s, when colour printing became more affordable and readily available. This meant that in addition to cutting illustrations from magazines and books, and pasting in souvenirs, the scrap book compiler could easily and quite cheaply buy colourful and professionally produced pictorial 'scraps' or 'reliefs' showing a wide variety of subjects. These had originated in Germany in the 1800s as printed decorations for confectionery, and began to be collected as souvenirs of various occasions. Among the more popular subjects for children were flowers, birds and animals, nursery rhyme figures and seasonal outdoor scenes such as children harvesting or skating. The scrap book has had something of a revival in recent years, partly in connection with the availability of digital and computer-accessible images, and is often created in digital form. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.193-2009 |
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| Record created | February 9, 2010 |
| Record URL |
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