Victorian Scrapbooks/Albums at UVic: An Annotated List
Would you like to find out more about Victorian era albums housed at the University of Victoria Libraries Special Collections and University Archives? The following annotated list may be of interest.
The annotated list includes the albums that were featured in the exhibit, as well as other unfeatured examples. Albums were selected if they were created during the Victorian era (1837-1901), or if they were created just before or after.
For more information on viewing these materials, email speccoll@uvic.ca or visit UVic Special Collections and University Archives (located in Room A005, lower level, Mearns Centre – McPherson Library).
Anonymous theatre critic's scrapbook (featured)
Creator: Unknown
Creation date(s): 1884-1903
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: 1 volume (approximately 354 pages)
Description: This scrapbook, compiled in London, England, features handwritten reviews of London theatre productions. Examples of reviewed plays include an 1885 production of Olivia starring Ellen Terry, an 1884 production of Adrienne Lecouvreur starring Sarah Bernhardt, and an 1884 production of Hamlet starring Wilson Barrett. Alongside the handwritten reviews, the scrapbook owner often pasted in newspaper reviews of the same plays, photographs or illustrations of the actors, and sometimes original sketches of the characters. It is not known who compiled the scrapbook.
Part of: Mary Henderson collection (SC372)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Cecelia Sylvester's autograph album (featured)
Creator: Cecelia Davies Sylvester
Creation date(s): 1863-1921
Genre: Autograph album
Physical description: 100 pages : illustrations ; 20 x 17 cm
Description: This autograph album, created in San Francisco, CA, and Victoria, BC, belonged to Cecelia Davies Sylvester. Sylvester (1848-1935) was born in Sydney, Australia, grew up in San Francisco, and then moved to Victoria, BC, in 1863. In Victoria, she was a founding member of the local Jewish congregation. Sylvester was a life-long scrapbooker and album-maker, and this volume contains autographs and inscriptions from Sylvester’s friends and family. Some pages also include pasted-in chromolithography die-cuts.
Part of: Frank and Cecelia Sylvester family fonds (AR281)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Cecelia Sylvester’s early scrapbook
Creator: Cecelia Davies Sylvester
Creation date(s): 1854-1928
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: 137 pages
Description: This scrapbook, created primarily in San Francisco, CA, and Victoria, BC, belonged to Cecelia Davies Sylvester. Sylvester (1848-1935) was born in Sydney, Australia, grew up in San Francisco, and then moved to Victoria, BC, in 1863. In Victoria, she was a founding member of the local Jewish congregation. Sylvester was a life-long scrapbooker and album-maker, and this volume contains newspaper clippings (tidbits; birth, death, and marriage announcements), greeting cards, souvenirs, photographs, and report cards.
Part of: Frank and Cecelia Sylvester family fonds (AR281)
Digitized version: N/A
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Cecelia Sylvester's scrapbook (featured)
Creator: Cecelia Davies Sylvester
Creation date(s): 1886-1919
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: 130 pages ; 26 x 19 cm
Description: This scrapbook, created in Victoria, BC, belonged to Cecelia Davies Sylvester. Sylvester (1848-1935) was born in Sydney, Australia, grew up in San Francisco, and then moved to Victoria, BC, in 1863. In Victoria, she was a founding member of the local Jewish congregation. Sylvester was a life-long scrapbooker, and this volume contains pasted-in newspaper clippings about events related to Sylvester’s family and friends: birth, death, and marriage announcements. Sylvester also pasted in family photographs, and ephemera such as event programmes. The scrapbook itself is one of Mark Twain’s patented self-pasting scrapbooks.
Part of: Frank and Cecelia Sylvester family fonds (AR281)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Edward Morell Holmes' seaweed album (featured)
Creator: Edward Morell Holmes
Creation date(s): 1849-1918
Genre: Seaweed album
Physical description: 122 pages ; 34 x 24 cm
Description: This album features approximately 250 dried and labeled seaweed specimens which were collected by British botanist Edward Morell Holmes, his colleagues, and his wife, Catherine “Kate” Appleford. Collected specimens are mostly from various locations around the United Kingdom, but some are from France and Turkey.
Part of: Edward Morell Holmes fonds (AR069)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Ella Kidman's autograph album (featured)
Creator: Ella Kidman
Creation date(s): 1897-1930
Genre: Autograph album
Physical description: N/A
Description: This friendship autograph album was owned by Ella Kidman (1880-?), and was created in England. The contents of the album include ink and pencil drawings by Kidman, often depicting flowers or plants. These drawings also often feature deliberately blank spaces and compartments for the addition of signatures and inscriptions. Artwork, inscriptions, and autographs from Kidman’s friends and family are collected in the album. The album features many inkblot signatures. Notably, Ella Kidman’s autograph album matches the one owned by her older sister, Lilian. The sisters’ respective albums have many similarities, suggesting that they may have worked collaboratively on their custom designs. Additionally, Ella and Lilian Kidman had mutual friends, and their albums contain similar entries from their shared connections. The album itself is commercially made and was given to Ella Kidman as a Christmas gift in 1897.
Part of: Kidman family fonds (SC624)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
English 19th century autograph album (featured)
Creator: Unknown
Creation date(s): 1828-1859
Genre: Autograph album
Physical description: 1 volume (unpaginated) ; 29 x 22 x 2 cm
Description: Not much is known about the origin of this celebrity autograph album. It features a collection of autographs from a variety of English notables: for example, Wellington, Peel, Palmerston, Disraeli, and Cruikshank. The album contains an index and is constructed using a commercially made scrapbook album with colourful pages. It is likely that the album’s creator collected autographs after requesting them through the mail.
Part of: English 19th Century Autographs Scrapbook collection (SC198)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Frank Sylvester's commonplace book
Creator: Frank Sylvester
Creation date(s): 1874-1907
Genre: Commonplace book/scrapbook
Physical description: 631 pages ; 24 x 36 cm
Description: This commonplace book, created primarily in Victoria, BC, contains miscellaneous information recorded from a variety of sources, including newspaper clippings and journals, about random facts, art, ships in port, recipes, accounting and bills, obituaries, a meteor falling, diseases and medicine, drawings, Alert Bay Canning accounts, etc. and a few entries of daily life and accounts.
Part of: Frank and Cecelia Sylvester family fonds (AR281)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Judge Mulvena’s scrapbook
Creator: Henry Walter Mulvena
Creation date(s): 1883-1903
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: N/A
Description: This scrapbook, created in Sherbrooke, QC, was compiled by a Canadian judge with Irish heritage. Included are newspaper clippings regarding the Irish political situation in the UK and in North America.
Part of: Judge Mulvena fonds (SC400)
Digitized version: N/A
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Kidman family art album
Creator: The Kidman family (Henry Oscar Kidman; Lilian L. Kidman; Ella Kidman)
Creation dates: 1829-1895
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: N/A
Description: This scrapbook, created in England, primarily features artwork created by the Kidman family. Additionally, the scrapbook contains family history documents such as letters and greeting cards. The album also holds loose paintings and drawings by artists other than the Kidmans.
Part of: Kidman family fonds (SC624)
Digitized version: N/A
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Lilian L. Kidman's autograph album (featured)
Creator: Lilian Leigh Kidman
Creation date(s): 1898-1928
Genre: Autograph album
Physical description: N/A
Description: This friendship autograph album was owned by Lilian Leigh Kidman (1879-?), and was created in England. The contents of the album include ink designs drawn by Kidman, often depicting fantastical elements such as elves, or moons and suns with faces. These designs also feature deliberately blank spaces and compartments for the addition of signatures and inscriptions. Artwork, inscriptions, and autographs from Kidman’s friends and family are collected in the album. The album also features many inkblot signatures. Notably, Lilian Kidman’s autograph album matches the one owned by her younger sister, Ella. The sisters’ respective albums have many similarities, suggesting that they may have worked collaboratively on their custom designs. Additionally, Lilian and Ella Kidman had mutual friends, and their albums contain similar entries from their shared connections. The album itself is commercially made and was given to Lilian Kidman as a Christmas gift in 1897.
Part of: Kidman family fonds (SC624)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Minna Duckworth’s story album
Creator: Minna Duckworth
Creation date(s): 1869-1875
Genre: Album/notebook
Physical description: N/A
Description: This album, created in England, belonged to Minna Duckworth, Virginia Woolf’s aunt. Collected in the album are three completed children’s stories (two by “Aunt Minna” and one by “Aunt Netty”). Two title pages for stories by “Aunt Ena” and “Cousin Julia” precede blank pages.
Part of: Minna Duckworth collection (SC037)
Digitized version: N/A
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Muriel Gerrard's scrapbook (featured)
Creator: Muriel Gerrard
Creation date(s): 1891
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: 1 volume (unpaginated) ; 19 x 25 x 1.5 cm
Description: This child’s scrapbook, compiled in England, includes greeting cards, costume cut-outs, newspaper clippings, a variety of coloured paper cut-outs, and some chromolithography die-cuts. The scrapbook itself is a repurposed copy of F. Edward Hulme’s Flower Painting in Water Colours, which was given to Gerrard by her mother in 1891.
Part of: Muriel Gerrard fonds (SC236)
Digitized version: Available in UVic Libraries' Vault
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Robert Seymour’s caricature scrapbook
Creator: Robert Seymour
Creation date(s): 1830
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: N/A
Description: This scrapbook was compiled by London illustrator and caricaturist Robert Seymour, who was the first illustrator of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. Seymour was the originator of the concept behind The Pickwick Papers; Dickens was commissioned to write the narrative. Seymour was also known for his cartoons, and this scrapbook contains thirty-nine clippings of Seymour’s caricatures of the 1830 tory cabinet.
Part of: Robert Seymour fonds (SC390)
Digitized version: N/A
For more information, see the finding aid description.
Thomas Kelly’s scrapbook
Creator: Thomas Kelly
Creation date(s): 1886-1911
Genre: Traditional scrapbook
Physical description: N/A
Description: This scrapbook, created in Dublin, consists of pasted-in newspaper clippings of Thomas Kelly’s article “Streets of Dublin” (1911). The scrapbook also contains holograph notes and additional newspaper clippings.
Part of: Thomas Kelly fonds (SC238)
Digitized version: N/A
For more information, see the finding aid description.