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by our staff
The concept of scrapbooking has been around ever since printed material became readily
available, though the hobby as we know it did not become popular until the last decade or so.
Nonetheless, there is documentation to show that famous people of yesteryear such as Mark
Twain and Thomas Jefferson were avid scrapbookers. In addition, there is archeological
The History of Scrapbooking
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evidence to indicated that even the ancient Greek engaged in some form of scarpbooking,
though the methods of scrapbooking are a bit different today.
Showing Off Photos
Ever since photography became more readily available to the common people, scrapbooking
and photography have gone hand in hand. In its earliest stages, these photographic
scrapbooks usually included photos that were mounted with special photomount corners.
In addition, small notations were often made next to the photo, explaining the story behind the
picture. In its most basic form, these early scrapbooks contained the names of those in the
picture as well as when and where the photo was taken.
Scrapbooks Evolve to Something More
Over time, people began to add more and more to their photo books. Each addition helped to
personalize the book a bit more and to tell the story behind the images more thoroughly. Items
such as letters, newspaper clippings, and other memorabilia began to be added to these
books. Today, scrapbooks contain more than just photos and memorabilia. They also contain
items that add a more decorative touch, such as stickers, and special paper is used to add a
more decorative element.
Scrapbooking Becomes Lucrative
In 1981, the first scrapbooking store in the world was oppend. This store, which is now known
as Keeping Memories Alive, was opened by Marielen W. Christensen. The store was
headquartered in Spanish Fork, Utah and enjoyed a fair amount of success.
Although she didn’t open her first store until 1981, Christensen had been making money from
her love of scrapbooking since 1976. It was at this time that she started to design her own
creative pages for her personal family scrapbooks. By 1980, she had already created over 50
different scrapbooks, all of which involved placing her special sheets inside of sheet protectors
and placing them inside of three ring binders. When she was invited to show her memory
books at the World Conference on Records, her concept of scrapbooking really caught on.
After her concept gained so much interest, Christensen was invited to teach classes and to give
seminars to a variety of different groups. These groups include civic groups, church groups,
and school groups. For the next 25 years, Christensen continued to lecture and to share her
scrapbooking ideas.
By 1993, Keeping Memories Alive was selling scrapbooking materials at wholesale prices to
other stores wishing to get involved in the business. When the store went wholesale, the
industry really leapt forward in the United States as multiple small stores opened up throughout
the country.
Without the innovative ideas of Christensen, scrapbooking likely would not be as popular of a
hobby as it is today.
