Inscribed inside the front cover of this autograph album is “Merry Christmas to Christine Carlson from your sister Olli.” The cover of the book is white celluloid with embossed purple and yellow daffodils with gilded stems. The 25-page album has pale green, white, and pink pages. The autographs in the book are dated between 1901 and 1905 and are from friends and family.
16th century Dutch and German students had classmates and professors sign the margins of their textbooks. Later small leather-bound albums with blank pages were used for collecting signatures. During the Victorian era (1820-1901), autograph books became popular with both men and women. Autograph books became treasured keepsakes to those who moved away and might not see friends and relatives for a long time, if ever again. They served as sweet reminders of childhood and school days. Antiques autograph books contained good and silly poetry, witty sayings, the signers’ thoughts and good wishes, and artistic drawings. A lock of hair or pressed flowers may even be found pressed between the pages. Autograph books had a resurgence of popularity around 1914 through the 1920s. Autograph books have not passed into oblivion, yet from the 1950s on, they mostly contain simply signatures and perhaps addresses.