Resources:
Entertainment and Hobbies in the 1950s
Janet Leverage's Scrapbook
This scrapbook was donated to Armley Mills museum by a lady called Janet N Leveridge of Roundhay. She put it together over a number of years, between the ages of 4 to 9, in the late 40s/early 50s. Scrapbook collecting was a popular children's pastime in the 1950s and many children would have had one.
The book itself is an old ledger book and you can still see some of the writing, however the pages are completely covered with things that Janet has collected over the years. These include memorabilia, souvenirs and cuttings from comics and magazines.
She also had a card containing a poem that read;
Polly put the kettle on
Polly put the kettle on
Polly put the kettle on
We'll all have tea.
Sukey take it off again
Sukey take it off again
Sukey take it off again
They've all gone away
This scrapbook is a record of Janets memories as it is full of things that were important to her at the time. The pupils from St. Barts were asked to use the scrapbook to create a 'profile' of Janet, a child from the 1950s. The key question was 'What did she save and why?'. They used the pictures and cuttings in the book to consider what she liked to do, who were the people important to her, what celebrities she admired and why she kept particular clippings.
Children could be asked to make their own scrapbooks, using things Janet put in for inspiration. They must consider a child from 50 years in the future looking at their scrapbook- what do they want them to know about themselves and what pictures/clippings will they use to put that across?
Learning article provided by: Page Comments
