What Is a Fragment?

Abstract

Albums assembled from fragmentary materials present a special set of problems for bibliographic research. Inaccurately described in catalogs and often caught between different fields, these hybrid objects can be tricky to find within collections and even more difficult to place historically in terms of genre. Yet understanding these seemingly idiosyncratic albums has become more important to book history than ever, as the field pushes to tell deeper histories of the material text. This essay begins from the premise that the modern library catalog is, as an ordering technology, incapable of accurately describing these unique books. In order to dispel the fog of naïve wonderment that often persists around them, I proceed to develop a taxonomy of what fragments are (whether remnants, snippets, or pieces, with the related notion of scraps) and a spectrum of their use within collections (as specimens of something or as raw stuff to create something new). Finally, I draw on the terms laid out in this essay to survey some major genres of assembled albums, including Romantic albums, scrapbooks, paper doll houses, chromolithographic albums, Victorian photocollage, design portfolios, sample books, leaf books, and extra-illustrated volumes. By beginning to trace connections across time, this essay shows how a more sensitive reading of fragments might transform book history.