Memories

Boston: Samuel Ward, 1945. Cloth. Embossed decoration. Fine. An unused autograph album for a high school student from the bobby sox era. A charming nostalgic souvenir from the pre-Rock 'n Roll youth culture of the time. Big band swing music was still the thing, sweaters worn like Lana Turner were still the look, and girls would coiff themselves with Victory Rolls. N.d., 1940s. Oblong, 11 by 15 cm. Unpaginated, 31 leaves. Half of the pages, or 31, have small vignette illustrations in the corner that allude to the typical high school experience of the day, whether academic or extra-curricular activities in the school, and a few, capture social life activities outside school. The album was most definitely geared more to girls, with a few vignettes that capture the romantic sentiments that would have obsessed them more than the guys. Particularly nice are the embossed images on the front cover, including a boy and girl in an oval cameo format, but also a megaphone, a football, two textbooks. Other than the vestigial remnant of a long removed corner stamp on the front cover, this is in Fine condition. (Inventory #: 20181)