Dorothy Abraham
Pittsburgh, PA
1927
Pittsburgh, PA
1927
Dorothy Abraham kept valentines, paper napkins and the plastic cellophane from a sweetheart’s box of chocolates. She saved ticket stubs from football games, school concerts and “Stunt Day” at her school. She collected autographs, telegrams, invitations and calling cards, and pasted in the portraits of each of her classmates and teachers. Included here too are the results from her driving test, a piece of school chalk and a sample of her expert shorthand. But what is most compelling are the many pages of letters, each of them folded neatly, one next to the other, with the addressee side faced down. The envelopes, like paper cocoons, are gently positioned alongside other saved matter, making the page look like an unusual experiment in origami.
09.12.08 Comments (4) digg | del.ic.io.us | reddit
09.12.08 Comments (4) digg | del.ic.io.us | reddit
COMMENTS
I was wondering if Dorothy Abraham was affected by the great flood of 1927? Did she write anything about it in her scrapbook?
posted on 09.09.08 by
Annette Florid
An interesting question, and I'm afraid the answer is no. Like many young girls who kept scrapbooks, Dorothy Abraham wrote about things that mattered to her more directly. It's a notable omission though, and reminds me of another scrapbook I will post soon about a prominent Boston women's scrapbook from 1912 that makes no mention of the sinking of the Titanic.
posted on 09.09.08 by
Jessica Helfand
I'm struck by the idea that a life seemed capturable through its small artifacts, the people actually had the time to notate their lives using these visual cues. Today so much experience is virtual that few have tangible remnants of their day to day experiences. will memories be lost without these visual momentos? Andrea Barnet
posted on 09.16.08 by
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A New Book by Jessica HelfandComing this fall from Yale University Press
A gorgeous visual history of American scrapbooks and their evolution over two hundred years. 242 pages, 425 photographs printed in full color.
Combining pictures, words, and a wealth of personal ephemera, scrapbook makers preserve on the pages of their books a moment, a day, or a lifetime. Highly subjective, rich in emotional meaning, the scrapbook is a unique and often quirky form of expression in which a person gathers and arranges meaningful materias to create a personal narrative. This richly illustrated book is the first to focus close attention on the history of American scrapbooks—their origins, their makers, their diverse forms, the reasons for their popularity, and their place in American cultural life.
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The New York Times June 8, 2008
In this Op-Ed page SUMMERSCAPES, Jessica Helfand reflects on the fascinating "Stunt" Book kept by a young California debutante in the summer of 1920.
more news ->
came from a distinguished family in Natchitoches, Louisiana. She kept a detailed scrapbook of her adventures that profiles life in the south during the 1920s.
go to
lydia blanchard website ->