Royal and Aristocratic Ephemera of the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
by Ashley Vernon
With the support of a Decorative Arts Trust Research Grant, I was able to take my studies transatlantic. In London, I was fortunate to visit the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum’s new East Storehouse, the Museum of the Home1, and the Royal Collections Trust. My goal was to gain a deeper understanding of how influential women such as Queen Victoria and Queen Mary of Teck creatively captured their worlds using ephemera. Furthermore, I sought to discover the ways in which these women may have influenced similar practices in the United States.
At the National Art Library Study Room, located at the recently opened V&A East Storehouse, I examined a scrapbook by Queen Mary (Mary of Teck, 1867–1953) (figures 1 and 2). Broadly dated as having been made between 1870 and 1890 based on the scraps and clippings used, this album likely functioned as a girlhood project that extended into Queen Mary’s adulthood. The album includes 27 colorful, linen-covered pages. The pasted imagery depicted many themes, including illustrations from a Renaissance-style fairy tale, sea travel, country life, and nature. Many of the scraps show people and seem to be arranged into abstract scenes as if following a story. The presence of hand coloring, added details, and the recurrence of specific scraps reinforces the idea of a running narrative and suggests an intentionality and logic behind the placement of clippings.
Figure 1. Author with scrapbook created by Queen Mary of Teck between 1870 and 1890. Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Figure 2. Closer view of scrapbook created by Queen Mary of Teck between 1870 and 1890. Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
At the Museum of the Home, I viewed a textile sample book (figures 3 and 4) as well as sketchbooks (figure 5) of Mary Gibbs Shapter (1842–1921), daughter of John Shapter, a member of the Queen’s Counsel. The sketchbooks document her London home and the contents therein. The five sketchbooks housed at the museum show how she meticulously recorded the furnishings and their history. Painting, sketching, and collaging were all techniques used in the volumes. A watercolor record of the rooms of her house at 7 Clarendon Place, Hyde Park Garden, is particularly impressive. She documented not only the space, but the changes made to it over time, using folded leaves of paper that could be lifted to see before-and-after views.2
Figure 3. Author with merchanting pattern sample book for textiles from the R. Dalglish Falconer Company Ltd. of Manchester and Glasgow. Credit: Museum of the Home.
Figure 4. Closer view of this merchanting pattern sample book for textiles from the R. Dalglish Falconer Company Ltd. of Manchester and Glasgow, which was put together 1890–96 and provides examples of textiles that may have been used in scrapbook houses of the time. Credit: Museum of the Home.
Figure 5. This is a page from Mary Gibbs Shapter sketchbook 19/2013-1 (1890-1921) at the Museum of the Home. This page demonstrates how Ms. Shapter was using sketching, painting, and collaging techniques to accurately portray items within her family’s home. Credit: Museum of the Home.
In search of a different type of artistic endeavor, I visited Windsor Castle, where the Royal Collection Trust holds the sketchbooks of Queen Victoria. A prolific artist, the queen captured the landscapes beyond the castle walls in drawings and paintings. Her sketchbooks display scenes from an idyllic countryside or a garden terrace. Additionally, she captured the world of theater through her drawings of ballet and opera performances. Each sketch was carefully labeled with the name of the show, the actor/actress portrayed, and the scene number. Her creations seem to show moments where she felt at peace, removed from the demands of royal duties. Unfortunately, I am unable to share images of these intimate renderings!
These collections were invaluable to my research. I gained insight into the creative process displayed in scrapbook houses for paper dolls and how this, primarily American, craft form directly connects to craft and collage traditions in England. I am grateful to have been able to experience the aforementioned sites, as well as connect with the museum professionals who were able to provide insight and guidance for my research. Thanks to the support of this research grant and everyone who made my travels possible, I am able to continue my research with a focused path and more nuanced understanding of the creative backgrounds of these objects.
1. Previously the Geffrye Museum.
2. This technique was also used by American women and girls in creating scrapbook houses for their paper dolls.
Ashley Vernon is a Lois F. McNeil Fellow in the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware.
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