George Washington Letter Found in 1826 Scrapbook
Do you think your scrapbooks will ever amount to much? Be seen by people other than immediate family? Those photos, letters, stories and memorabilia might be of great interest to historians even centuries from today. Take this story of a really old, but historically important, scrapbook.
A letter written by George Washington in May 1787 was found in a brown leather scrapbook made by a 10-year-old litte girl. The letter was addressed to Jacob Morris, the grandfather of Julia Kean, the scrapbook’s owner. Julia started the scrapbook in 1826. You can read the story at the New York Times.
There are several points of interest about the letter and the scrapbook that caught my attention:
* The letter was written on acid-free linen paper, and was protected from light. It has become faded but is deemed to be “well preserved”. It’s proof how important it is to use paper and embellishments that are acid-free, and to protect our scrapbooks from sunlight.
* Julia pasted a photo of George Washington on the page containing the letter. In this instance, the photo was added on. It was the letter, the journalling, that was truly important.
* In addition to the Washington letter, the scrapbook also contains one from Thomas Jefferson, playing cards, ball invitations, newspaper clippings, poetry, and other mementos. Taken together, these present a glimpse of the era.
Isn’t it wonderful that this news became public just days before National Scrapbooking Day? This is why we scrapbook. Maybe our photos and albums will never be historically significant. But they are similarly important to our families now and to those who will be reading them decades from today.
Tags: scrapbooking, scrapbook, George Washington, Washington letter
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