An autograph book page from the late 19th century!
A long time ago...well it sure feels like a long time ago, way back when we were teenagers, we used to have a curious practise. We used to fill up Slam Books or Autograph books. It used to be such a big deal to have one & to fill up the ones you got from your friends. Everyone had one & you'd be considered a bit of an outcaste if you didn't have it. These were made from old diaries that had been tastefully done up in bright colours, stickers & what have you. It was a delightful but not necessarily truthful insight into each others psyche! There were always questions that began with 'what if/what would you do' etc. Some of the questions that were used in these books went like :
If you were a caveman/cavewoman, who would your better half be?
Who would you like to be marooned in an island with?
And then there were tamer questions like - who's your favourite film star!
These books at one point in time determined pretty much how popular one was. You could also read other peoples' contributions and many a friendships have either blossomed or soured in its way but it was always hugely entertaining.
Here's to a long forgotten school time, teenage tradition that was replaced by online social networks!!
2 comments:
Nice post. Every time I go home I go through my old autograph books and laugh till my belly aches, and come off feeling a little warmer and happier for it. :) May I know where you found the picture of the 19th century autograph book from?
Hi Cinthya! Thank you for the kind words. i was actually going to remove these images as i wasnt sure of their copyright status :( I found the images on google search really. my slam books were destroyed in a termite attack, rainwater seepage & stolen too unfortunately. i'm glad yours is still intact :)
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