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How old is scrapbooking? Believe it or not, in the 15th century there were books called "Common Place Books". These books were used to record weights, poems, medical info and prayers. Overtime, Common Place Books were also known to hold newspaper articles, recipes and illustrations. Friendship albums were created by woman and given as gifts.
In 1598, Aristotle and Cicero as well as their students kept notebooks to collect information about religion, phiosophical and rhetorical discussions.
The word "Album" comes from the Greco-Roman times when a praetor's public notices were recorded on paper tablets.
Did you know Mark Twain was a lover of scrapbooking? He devoted much time to this hobby and then sold his work to Montgomery Ward.
William Granger authored "Biographical History of England" which included blank pages for illustrations. This process became known as grangerizing which means to illustrate engravings, prints, etc. obtained elsewhere often by clipping them from other books.
Thomas Jefferson was known to have kept books filled with news clippings and drawings.
In the 1800's people kept diaries, journals and friendship albums.
In 1826, John Locke published "Manuscript Gleanings & Literary Scrapbook. Then a scrapbook was described as a blank book which could hold paper clippings and pictures.
The term "Scrapbook" was given because of bright pieces of paper used that were actual leftovers from a printing job. Thus, people began to paste them into their albums.
After, Alex Haley's movie, "Roots", there was a great interest in geneology which only enhanced the scrapbook phenonomen.
In 1980 at the World Conference of Records, Marielen Christensen displayed 50 family albums. She wrote, "Keeping Memories Alive" and opened the first Scrapbook store.
Since that time many, many more scrapbooking stores have opened and many books have been written. Surprisingly, scrapbooking has been around for over 400 years. Ancestors of the past and families of today have always wanted to preserve their heritage for future generations. By scrapbooking, we can let others know where they have come from and give them meaning and purpose in life. Back to Articles |
