Submitted by Sydney Langille, Heritage Center Summer Intern
The word “scrapbook” has been in use since the 1850s, and the hobby itself has been practiced in some manner for centuries before then. By nature, people like to save and collect items that tell a story of the time they are living in, and the Sisters and students at Nazareth are no exception. The SCN Archival Center has many scrapbooks in its collection, and they range widely in subject. Students that attended Nazareth Academy kept scrapbooks that were personal and functioned like diaries or journals. Like other scrapbooks from the 1900s, they contain a wide variety of items. This article serves as an overview of memorabilia and media one might find when flipping through the pages of scrapbooks created by three Nazareth Academy students: Gertrude McDermott, Alice Elizabeth Stephans, and Enola Garnett.
Gertrude’s scrapbook, titled “The Girl Graduates,” is full of images of Nazareth, notes on the wonderful Sisters, and comments on her everyday life. It is from 1914 and tells the story of her time at the Academy, highlighting the social events that the Sisters put on for the young students. She writes about the Halloween Party, the Christopher Columbus Dance, and other gatherings. Gertrude was also active in the academy’s music department, having been in countless recitals, as well as acting in student plays. Because this is a graduation book, the scrapbook also includes letters written by classmates with their pictures, as well as class photographs.
Enola Garnett finished her first year at Nazareth Academy in 1913. It was at the conclusion of this semester that she began to track her life with a scrapbook. Enola took meticulous notes on events, even going so far as to list out what the girls ate. For example, for their Japanese tea party on May 24, 1913, the girls had stuffed eggs, egg sandwiches, olives, nut sandwiches, tea, strawberry shortcake, peanuts, mints, and ice cream cake. She also appears to have had a sweet tooth; not only are there many candy wrappers pasted throughout the scrapbook, but also even a receipt sent by mail from a candy store. Enola writes about these candies in detail and, of the three authors, tends to have written the most diary-style entries in her scrapbook.
Alice Elizabeth Stephans’s scrapbook is the newest of the three, dating to 1919. In this post-war era, it is the only scrapbook that contains pictural references to World War I, which occurred from 1914-1918. There are cartoons of soldiers, as well as images of presidents. Alice clearly kept up with the news.
She also included the images of silent film actors and actresses, evidence of the rise of American film after the war. In a time when movie making had been contained to European countries, mainly France and Germany, movie production was forced to shift to the United States when the fighting began oversees. This not only brought more movies to the US, but it dramatically increased the number of American viewers, including Alice.
Looking at these scrapbooks, the personalities of the students begin to form quickly. By viewing the following types of memorabilia, one can gain a glimpse into the lives of these Nazareth Academy students and begin to understand what life might have been like there in the 1910s.
Greeting cards and general correspondence were often pasted into scrapbooks, typically with the envelope glued to a page and acting like a pocket for the card or letter enclosed inside. The notes range from a brief Christmas card (as seen below) to pages and pages of letters to friends and family. These envelopes also contain useful information for dating when the mail was sent.
Greeting card from Charlotte Wilson to Alice Elizabeth Stephans
A letter to Gertrude in the “Her Invitations” section
Calling cards were applied in a similar manner to greeting cards, but without the envelope. They were frequently attached with the name visible and even could be tucked between the pages of a scrapbook. These calling cards represent an acquaintance or friendship that the scrapbooker would have held with an individual, with the style of the card often determining social standing or wealth.
Calling card to Alice Elizabeth Stephans from Martha Gaines Prince
Though slightly less common, post cards were also found in scrapbooks. Their size tended to make them unwieldy; a post card might take up an entire page, hoarding coveted space. It is possible that post cards were cut to include a smaller image, but this is difficult to tell simply by looking at a clipping. Nearly all of the postcards in each of the three scrapbooks are images of Nazareth, both students and Sisters. However, this vintage postcard of Mammoth Cave before it was a National Park is an example of trips the girls might have taken.
A postcard from Enola found in the correspondence section of her scrapbook
Nazareth Academy was certainly a busy place, and the number of programs sprinkled throughout these scrapbooks is proof of that. Short pamphlets detailing a music recital, graduation ceremony, or another event often list the scrapbooker’s name, hence a reason to save it. These programs can also be especially useful to a viewer if they contain a date and time, something that a scrapbooker frequently tends to leave out. The following program is one from Enola’s piano recital and was found in Gertrude’s scrapbook. Both girls have recital programs in their scrapbooks, including many of each other’s.
Recital program from Gertrude’s scrapbook
Though a scrapbooker’s dream medium, photographs could be costly, and gluing a precious photo into a journal might have been a hard thing for some to do. Within Nazareth Academy scrapbooks, photos were not used as frequently. Additionally, the photos that were pasted into scrapbooks are not preserved as well as they might have been otherwise, especially if they are over 100 years old and used an adhesive that can cause damage to the images. Discoloration is often common. Consumers during this time had many different options for photograph types, and some were less stable in others. Still, photos remain a helpful tool when identifying the author of a scrapbook, despite their condition.
Photographs of Gertrude from her scrapbook, 1914
Though not as unique as a personal photo might have been, scraps were employed to bring color into a scrapbook. Scraps were small die-cut images with designs that were prevalent among scrapbookers in the early 1900s. Many scrapbooks are full of these, and clippings from magazines and other color media were used in a similar way.
A page from Gertrude’s scrapbook featuring a die cut image
This next image was taken from Gertrude’s scrapbook. One can see her use of magazine clippings and scraps, like the red Bardstown flag. To add character, she added her own captions to these images. Gertrude’s words next to the images give them a deeper meaning and context. They also demonstrate advertising at the time.
“Miscellaneous” page from Gertrude’s scrapbook, highlighting the artistic expression of the creator
The logos on this page also make an interesting study. The child emerging from the cacao bean is one of the original logos for Hershey Chocolate, and the old Spearmint gum arrows are quite different from today’s packaging. The red In Er Seal label is the earliest form of the current Nabisco logo, also seen on the Arrowroot Biscuit cut out. That logo dates to 1898-1914, accurately fitting the time this scrapbook was made. The Kis-Me labels are from the chewing gum company that was located in Louisville, KY. Gum was not frequently purchased by women, as it was considered unladylike, so Kis-Me marketed their gum as being “far better than a kiss.” It seems that this marketing tactic worked, as Gertrude has many of these logos throughout her scrapbook.
Advertisements of any kind are often likely to be found in a scrapbook. Because advertisers employed witty statements, colorful images, and interesting logos in their ads, they were perfect for those looking to add more color into their scrapbooks. Advertisements were also readily available and allowed for cheap and creative solutions to a dull page.
Advertisement found in Alice Elizabeth Stephan’s scrapbook
Even though the above list of memorabilia contains the most common items found in scrapbooks, it is not exhaustive. There are no rules to scrapbooking! Each scrapbook also contains its own unique pieces. Here is a list of some unusual items found in scrapbooks in SCN Archives:
- A domino
- Dried plants (flowers, leaves, even entire stems)
- A hem of a friend’s lace petticoat
- Packaging from snacking peanuts
- Many candy wrappers
- A lock of hair
- Dinner place cards and party favors
- Knitted items
Gertrude McDermott, Enola Garnett, and Alice Elizabeth Stephan’s scrapbooks paint a beautiful picture on how life looked at Nazareth Academy in the early 1900s. Come check out the scrapbooks on display in person at the SCN Archival Center starting Monday August 3rd!