Introduction Research:

 

History of Scrapbooking

In 1825, the first recorded version of the original scrapbook idea came about. It was aptly named ‘The Scrapbook’, and included ideas on how to use pictures and newspaper clippings to fill a blank scrapbook.

In 1826, a book called Manuscript Gleanings and Literary Scrap Book was published and an artistically inclined gentleman, Mr. John Poole, created it. The book was filled with printed poems and engravings. It also contained advice on how to collect scraps and other bits of memorabilia, and what to do with them.

This book marked the beginning of modern scrapbooking as we know it, for it sparked a scrapbooking craze among the middle-class Americans of the time.

The sudden surge of interest in scrapbooks led to publishers responding to the demands, and scrapbooks, albums and scrapbook related trinkets filled the markets. A variety of embellishments were introduced, including printed pieces of paper with ornate designs. These were similar to the designer papers we use nowadays, and the colorful papers were used to decorate and embellish scrapbooks.

Of course, the invention of photography changed the way people scrapbooked in a big way. In 1837, Louis-Jacques Daguerre invented the daguerreotype. As the process was made public only in 1839, that is the year better known for the birth of photography. The invention of photography would play a huge role in changing the way people scrapbook in the future, but at this point in time, photographs were not common among the masses yet.

During mid-1800s, companies began to produce leather albums with preprinted pages devoted to various themes, and these pages were heavily embellished with images of birds and flowers.

In 1857, "carte-de-viste" albums which contained pockets for photograph insertions gained popularity in the United States. Besides pages for displaying photographs, these early scrapbook albums also contained pages for doing watercolor paintings and pencil drawings.

In 1872, another famous American scrapbooker, the famous author Mark Twain invented his profitable patented invention, Mark Twain's Adhesive Scrapbook that contained prepasted pages. This invention netted him $50,000 in profits and became one of Twain's most popular books.

In 1870s, companies also started to produce embossed papers that scrap collectors could use in their scrapbooks.

It's only with George Eastman's invention of the Kodak camera and roll film in 1888 that revolutionized the whole photography industry! With photography becoming commonplace, photographs also found their prominence in many scrapbooks.

However, the popularity of scrapbooking fell in the early 1900s due to the recession following World War I. The recession forced many scrapbook-related business to close down.

The mass production of photo albums also caused a plunge in scrapbooking popularity around 1940.

1980 was the turning point in the history of scrapbooking.

That's when a lady, Marielen Christensen first shared her 50 volumes of her family memory books with others. Right at the World Conference on Records in Utah. Her memory books created quite a stir among people. So much so that she went on to open Keeping Memories Alive, the first scrapbooking store.

In mid-1990s, with the explosion of scrapbook idea publications, scrapbooking picked up speed in becoming one of the fastest growing hobbies in America.

Thanks to the Internet, scrapbooking continues to gain popularity and spread to other parts of the world, reaching scrapbookers worldwide. Increasing number of scrapbooking websites popped up all over the Internet, and the once rare local scrapbook stores began to mushroom in numbers.

All these helped to scrapbooking to bloom and flourish. Today. scrapbooking has grown into a multi-billion industry.

Why Scrapbook:

 

It's about expressing one's thoughts, feelings and sentiments. It's about preserving memories, special moments and recording family stories. Scrapbooks were cherished and kept by families for many years.

Scrapbooking Is a Great Creative Outlet. Did you know that you have an artistic, creative side? Everyone does, it’s just that not everyone uses it. Scrapbooking, with its colors, themes, cutting and pasting, writing, and arranging, is a great way to express your creativity. The best part is that all of that is enjoyable and so much fun!

Scrapbooks Protect Your Photos, Not only does a well-made scrapbook protect and preserve your photos, it also makes the photos themselves more fun to look at. Most people would much rather thumb through a scrapbook with its extra, fun touches than a plain photo album.

Scrapbooks Make Great Gifts, Because they are so personal, scrapbooks make a great gift for a loved one on a special day. Some especially good occasions to give a scrapbook as a gift are: weddings, anniversaries, milestone birthdays, graduations, and retirement parties. Scrapbooks show that you put a lot of time and thought into your gift and can be a wonderful keepsake for the receiver.

Scrapbooking Captures Precious Moments and Memories. Creating scrapbooks and documenting your family's history is a celebration of your family itself!

The art of keeping family history alive does not happen by accident; it requires a small investment of time and a determination to stay the course. The problem is that we live our lives by the moment, an hour at a time, but decades, generations, and centuries measure a family's history. The things we treasure and save out of the every day bric-a-brac of living—the trinkets, photographs, and letters that we pass forward to our children—become an important tangible and visible link to the past once we are gone.

Family scrapbooks are one of the best ways to preserve family history for future generations. For many modern parents, scrapbooking is almost a lost art form. A scrapbook is much more than a semi-organized collection of thoughts and memories—the ritual of building and maintaining the family archives can itself be a rich and rewarding experience for both parents and kids. It becomes an opportunity to talk, reminisce, and explore yesterday's events. Part of our family collection is a tattered scrapbook my grandmother created nearly a century ago. Because she died before my children had a chance to know her, the bits and pieces of her childhood, which she saved, are precious beyond measure. They are the only things that speak to them of a distant generation.

You've invested a lot of money and time in your memories. Because we want to remember every moment in our lives and the lives of our loved ones, we spend hundreds of dollars on cameras, film, developing, and portrait studios. Why would you give the final prints shabby treatment? Don't take the display of your photos lightly. By creating scrapbook pages you are giving your memories the treatment they deserve.

Scrapbooking is an especially great hobby for sharing with friends. Many communities have scrapbooking clubs where scrapbookers can get to together to scrapbook, share ideas, show each other photographs, and talk for hours. Some craft stores also have a scrapbooking night for this same purpose (usually with the hope that people will buy a few things).

These scrapbooking nights or “crops”, as they are called by scrapbookers, are a great way to get out of the house and spend some time socializing with other people. If you really need some time for yourself, get your club to put on a weekend scrapbooking retreat. It will be two days of nothing but scrapbooking fun!