cover image The Scrapbook in American Life

The Scrapbook in American Life

, . . Temple Univ., $25.95 (332pp) ISBN 978-1-59213-478-6

This academic but delightful volume explores the myriad ways 19th- and 20th-century Americans scrapbooked, turning photographs, magazine ads, love notes and recipes into albums that fashioned identities and preserved memories. Fifteen historians, librarians and literary critics contribute essays examining scrapbooks by an African-American musician, a Depression-era teen, a Wild West prostitute, South Carolina plantation ladies and countless children (including the young Willa Cather). In the 19th century, teachers and parents embraced scrapbooking as a wholesome pastime that would teach children to be frugal and productive. Scrapbooking wasn't an exclusively female pursuit. Ott argues that men often scrapbooked as part of their professional lives and examines male physicians' scrapbooks. The history of this hobby is bound up with the march of consumer capitalism; making scrapbooks was a way to refine and display one's taste, and mass-produced scrapbooks were the products of an industrial economy. The 65 b&w images scattered throughout are a visual feast: a prostitute's business card, newspaper photos of FDR, late–19th-century advertising cards, paper dolls, postcards, awards, Singer sewing machine ads, Bible cards. Scholars and scrapbookers alike will enjoy these slices of social history. (June)