Amongst the many, many Victorian scrapbooks that turn up on Ebay, there is occasionally literary and aesthetic treasure. And none more so than Annie Scampton’s absolutely gorgeous ode to her lovely life: a scrapbook I bid on in the early stages but ultimately lost to a high bid worthy of its charm.
What makes Annies scrumptious scrapbook so special is not just the sheer prettiness of its pages, nor the gorgeous fountain penned calligraphy, but that each page contains not just notes and quotes from Annie herself, but newspaper jokes, resplendent with the innocence of the era (Says the conceited young student proudly: "I say, look there! That shoemakers boy is putting his tongue out at me!" Friend: "Why you seem quite pleased!" Student: "Of course, he takes me for a doctor already!") and more tellingly, scaps, notes, autographs and letters, glued carefully into the pages, from friends and relations, that reveal Annie to be the wonderful woman we would have her be from this tiny peek into her 1889 life…
I worry sometimes that Typepad will go bust. That I will wake up one morning, flick on my computer and discover that
And perhaps this is a good thing.
At night, I still sit, glue in hand,
I don’t have to wait for more than a century to be found. We, none of us who commit daily to this blogging life do, we are here, now. And we owe it to ourselves to create online, scraps of who we truly are, because writing, even autobiographical writing is a funny thing: at some point we start to believe more in character than in truth.
The Summer Sale Is Here! 
The Brocante Round-Up! 
The Brocante Round-Up! 
The Autumn House
As always both entertaining and inspiring.
As always both entertaining and inspiring.
What a lovely scrapbook. You know there is a site where you can turn your blog into a printed book. I don’t know the site name but perhaps someone else will know – I’m sure you could search it.
And of course, as we keep reminding you, you could always write a book and publish it – I’d buy a copy for sure, perhaps more to give to friends!
Yes you should consider the blog to book option 🙂
Oh, Allison, that last line just got me… I'm not sure if you meant it this way or not, but it was a reminder to me that we are who we say we are… Our words, whether spoken or written, shape us… Negative words create a negative person… We create the person we want to be, no matter the circumstances in our lives… We can use our words to become who we want to be, no matter who we are now! I've needed that reminded in my writing for months… Thank you so much for being the constant inspiration that you are!
Interesting post – well done, I look forward to the scrapbook on line. All the best.
Interesting post – well done, I look forward to the scrapbook on line. All the best.
yes a very pretty scrapbook and your post has given me some food for thought. There is only one of us, we’re unique, our thoughts are our own and we can learn from them and from each other.
De-Lurking to direct you to http://www.blurb.com You can turn your blog into a book… hard or soft cover. You can choose to have photos and other images; basically, you design your own book and they publish it for you. You can even sell them on their website. From what I’ve heard, it’s reasonably priced.
Alison, I know you feel as though you've lost the original intention behind Brocante, but I feel that your diary-type entries still embody that spirit. I was telling my aunt (who's young enough to be my sister, so we're very close) the other day that I love coming to your website, because you always remind me that I can have gorgeousness in my life, even when life ain't great. Focusing on the little everyday pleasures that you let yourself have reminds me that I can do that too. And my life will be richer for it. So please write whatever comes to you, whether it be advice or just musings on your life. It will still work just as it's meant to… Thank you for being you, even if you feel it's sometimes a snippet that doesn't reflect your complexity.
the junction of your personality and your vision is what makes your blog go great! you are fabulous.