In the archives is a fragile scrapbook which has inscribed on the first page in a large, careful hand `Rose Taylor Nov 18th 1892’.
Compiling scrapbooks was a popular pastime from the mid-nineteenth century, particularly among women and children. Many such books would have been thrown away over the decades; those that remain are of interest for what they can reveal about hobbies, printing techniques and popular art and design from that era.
Rose Taylor appears to have spent hours on her scrapbook, artistically arranging and pasting in cards, magazine pictures and scraps - lithographed, embossed and die-cut illustrations that were sold in sheets. The embossed cloth cover is further embellished with a raised, hand-painted bird. (Click on the image for the cover).
The book was donated to the Library in 1975. Unfortunately, no information is held about Miss Taylor.
Jo Birks, Special Collections
References
Taylor, Rose. Scrapbook. MSS & Archives A-138, Special Collections, University of Auckland Library