Scrapbooking and the literal meaning of “cut and paste” before the digital age

Long before Facebook, Instagram, X, and Pinterest existed, people made photo albums and scrapbooks to highlight and document notable events and things they deemed interesting. Scrapbooking was particularly popular because of the wide variety of media one could use, and it allowed for more creativity in its creation. Photographs, news clippings, images from magazines, and ephemera were trimmed to size and glued or taped to a page. The computer lingo “cut and paste” that we often use today has its origin in manuscript editing and scrapbooking in which sections of text or images are physically cut, arranged, and pasted onto a page.

Librarian Kathleen Boyd (center) proudly shows the 1965 Pasadena Public Library scrapbook the library made for the John Cotton Dana Award contest to three new library staff, librarians Millicent Sharma (left) and Frederick Olsen (right) and clerk Doris Nighswonger. The photo was published in the March 7, 1973 issue of the Pasadena Star News with the caption “Reading the past.” 1973.

Scrapbooks originated from the commonplace books that were popular in 15th-century England. These were books that mostly the well-educated used for compiling bits and pieces of information and thoughts—recipes, quotes, poetry, letters, and other mementos. With the advent of the printing press and then photography in the 15th and 19th century, respectively, these books quickly evolved into the scrapbooks we recognize today—a book containing news clippings, magazine cutouts, photographs, ticket stubs, flyers, and various other items that could be placed flatly on a page.

Early scrapbooks were mostly compilations of newspaper articles. This scrapbook contains news clippings from 1925 to 1930 about the Pasadena Public Library. They’re arranged in an overlapping fashion, which makes it impossible to digitize. Scrapbooks like this one are good resources for researching the history and development of an institution. 1925–1930.

Using glue, tape, scissors, and mixed media and even objects, scrapbooking has become very much an arts and craft activity. However, it’s more than just a fun hobby, scrapbooking is also a legitimate way to record personal and organization history and document events that were significant to a person, family, or organization. Scrapbooks are a collection of memories, and like a piece of art, every scrapbook is unique with its own story to tell.

The Pasadena Public Library made three scrapbooks that were entered in the John Cotton Dana Award contest in 1959, 1961, and 1965. The award is one of the most prestigious awards given to libraries for outstanding library public relations. The 1961 scrapbook was given this award for illustrating the library’s involvement and importance in the community. 1961.

The Pasadena Public Library has in its special collections a variety of scrapbooks from individuals and organizations such as Tuesday Musicale, Public Works Department, and the Pasadena Playhouse, but it also has a significant collection of scrapbooks that library staff have created over the years. A number of them were created by Betty Ryder, who was a librarian at the Pasadena Public Library between 1963 and 1976. The scrapbooks she put together highlight the many library programs and events held at different branches in Pasadena, notably Lamanda Park Branch and Linda Vista Branch where she was a branch librarian. They offer a glimpse into the past and have become part of the library’s historical records.

Her scrapbooks and two others made by librarians have been digitized by California Revealed and can be viewed at these two websites:

California Revealed (page scrolling view)

Internet Archive (page flipping view)

(You can clear all filters to see the rest of the Library’s digital collection in California Revealed and Internet Archive.)

The library has a collection of scrapbooks by Tuesday Musicale from the 1940s to early 2000s. Founded in 1914, Tuesday Musicale is a cultural organization that promotes music in the community through its free musical performances. It has a long history with the Pasadena Public Library, and we have many of its scrapbooks, some of which are works of art. 1957–1964.
This scrapbook documents the construction of the Brookside Golf Course and is one of many scrapbooks that have been donated to the library by individuals or private entities. The acidity of newspaper and the glue used have discolored the newsprint and stained the adjacent page. Acid-free tissue paper is used between pages to act as a protective buffer between the acidic newsprint and surrounding pages. 1967–1969.
This Ludwigshafen scrapbook was gifted to Pasadena mayor Floyd A. Gwinn (1964–1966) by the city of Ludwigshafen. Officially called Ludwigshafen am Rhein, it became a sister city to Pasadena in 1956. The two cities’ history goes back to 1948 when Pasadena sent packages of food, clothing, blankets, and medicines to help Ludwigshafen residents after the war. 1964.