The History of Printed Scraps
Alistair Allen & Joan Hoverstadt
New Cavendish Books, London 1983, 176 pages, 21,5x30,5 cm, ISBN 978-0904568943, 150 illustrations including 108 in full colour.
Small paper images, lithographically printed and often embossed are colloquially known as ‘scraps’ both in the UK and the USA. In Germany they are known as ‘oblatten’, in Scandinavia as ‘glansbillender’ and in France as ‘noveauts’ or ‘Chromos’. This book deals with the as yet unwritten history of this medium from the early 1800s to the late Edwardian period. Fortunately, the authors have been able to draw on some of the finest Victorian and Edwardian scraps in existence; sometimes in the form of wonderful scrap albums and often as rare uncut sheets. The scraps illustrated reveal a vast spectrum of subject matter ranging from outrageously romantic imagery, often used in Victorian valentines, to wildlife, military subjects, architecture, etc. The richness of colour has been reproduced as far as possible and gives the reader a feeling for the beauty of a Victorian scrap book. As well as being a visual feast, the book is an exhaustively researched reference work and over thirty pages list virtually all the known scrap printers and manufacturers.
