Issues of the Invalids Magazine Album. This fascinating set of 'scrap albums' are the survivors of a set that was seemingly created over a period of 10 years or more from the beginning of the 1900's to the start of the First World War. It is difficult to do these albums justice in describing them, as they are a treasure trove of charm and innocence. They not only contain articles handwritten by the contributors, but occasional newspaper cuttings and photographs of domestic scenes, landscapes, foreign holidays, and watercolour paintings of flowers, landscapes and 'designs'.
The earliest volumes contain simple stories in melodramatic style, and exhortations by the editors to send in contributions on time. As the contributors grow up we can see the paintings improve, the stories and articles become more considered and the photographs become art rather than snapshots. The later volumes contain articles about the war which had just been declared, photographs of recruitment and a list of some dozen members of the I.M.A. who were then 'in uniform'. As an editorial note put it "...the most terrible war of all times has swooped down down upon us...".
Invalids Magazine Album