Autograph album
Object NameAutograph album
Datec. 1895
MediumPaper and velvet
Dimensions7 1/2 × 4 5/8 in. (19.1 × 11.7 cm)
ClassificationsBooks, Manuscripts, Documents, Personal Symbol & Correspondence
Credit LineGift of Margaret Clark Barr. In the Farm House Museum Collection, Farm House Museum, University Museums, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
Object number74.12.3
Status
On viewCollections
Label TextFirst gaining popularity in America in the 1820s, autograph albums became a beloved pastime all around the world during the Victorian era. German immigrants brought the tradition into American culture in the late 18th century, and people widely embraced autograph books, with their popularity peaking around the Civil War. Purchased as blank books, they were filled by friends, family, and acquaintances who signed their names, added short verses, or occasionally created elaborate illustrations. Post Civil War, schools replaced them with yearbooks, causing their use to decline sharply in both cultures, though young women continued to favor them for a time. Eventually, autograph books in their classic form disappeared from American cultural life. Today, these albums offer modern viewers a glimpse into the social connections and formal etiquette that defined relationships of the era.
https://ajhs.org/autograph-albums/ https://history.nebraska.gov/collection_section/saving-memories-autograph-albums/ “History of the Autograph Book Collection”. Autograph Book Collection, 1825–1884. Princeton, New Jersey, United States: Princeton University Library. 1997.
Locations
- (not entered) Iowa State University, Farm House Museum
Object Name: Book
Harper & Brothers Publishers
1893
Object number: 80.12.18ab
