Williamina Blackett's Album c. 1865

This is Williamina Blackett’s album, made of paper, cloth, and leather around 1880 by Georgina Murray. Bound albums like this were both precious objects and commonplace. The brown cloth and dark leather give a sense of sturdy protection to whatever is contained inside. The album’s appeal resides not only in its own appearance, but in the expectation of intimate keepsakes and memories being preserved within its covers. Mass production played a role in making such albums accessible to a wide public, but they also provided an opportunity for individual expression, like a handcrafted container. Murray has engaged with different histories of creative practices, like bookbinding, and aesthetics, alongside that of craft and fine arts. In this sense, the album embodies both the industrial and the personal, inviting us to consider how we preserve memories and create meaning through material objects.