This design, published by James Campbell & Son between 1880 and 1890, is an
example of postcards based on "scrap."
Scrap were colorful paper images, usually die-cut, often embossed, and able to
be cut apart. Children and adults bought them for pennies per sheet at fine
stationery stores, city department stores, or small-town general stores. For a
few cents more, merchants sold scrap with gold embossing or in large size,
printed two to a sheet.
Victorian women and children pasted scrap on many everyday objects, as well as
used it to embellish such items as holiday cookies, stockings, and tree
ornaments.
But the most recognized use of scrap was on album pages. Victorians assembled
scrapbooks for family entertainment and personal amusement. Parents reveled in
an activity that taught children the alphabet, colors, reading, science, and
cultures of the world, in addition to practical skills of manual dexterity,
organization, and design.