The small embossed pictures were in no sensible order in the box on the auction table. I suspected that they had been removed from an old Victorian scrapbook where they had been carefully placed and perfectly organized.
They were Victorian scraps, used by people of means in the 19th century to while away the time in a lovely and relaxing way. I’ve come across numerous vintage scrapbooks with loads of these embossed images.
They are also called die-cuts or chromos, and these had retained their brilliant colors. The rooster looked as if it had sat proudly for its picture and the girl with her doll was still neat and tidy.
Filling albums with scraps was a favorite pastime during the 19th century, enjoyed by both adults and children. These small pieces of paper started out as black and white images on flat sheets in the early part of the century. With improvements in printing and embossing, they were produced in color as chromolithographs and coated to give them a glossy look.
Then, through a method called die-cutting, a machine cut away any unwanted paper around the image. The pictures were sold on large gummed sheets, attached by strips so they could be detached.
Scraps were not only used in scrapbooks, but also on screens and greeting cards. Like the ones at auction, Victorian scraps bore the images of animals, flowers, clowns, people, angels, birds and just about anything else. Some were even caricatures. Scraps also included trade cards and other collectible paper items.
Today, individual Victorian chromo scraps are very affordable. The albums, however, are not always so.
Here are some of the scraps from the auction:
Omg, they had sticker books, like we girls did in the 1970s and 80s.