A photo album is a real family treasure, which is inherited from parents to children. However, in reality, even a very high-quality photo album cannot last more than half a century. Therefore, after this time, photos should be moved to a new album to prevent damage and save them for posterity.

The first album for photographs was an ordinary book in which test photographs were placed. It could include pictures of relatives, but such a book could not be attributed to family photo albums.

The first ever photo album
The first albums began to appear almost immediately after the invention of photography. Just a year after the appearance of the first photographs in 1840, the English scientist William Talbot made the first ever photo album. In 1846, he made a book with photographs as illustrations called The Pencil of Nature (“Pencil of Nature”). It includes photographs of architecture and beautiful landscapes.

Albums for collections
Due to the fact that the photo process was gaining popularity, books for photographs began to appear on store shelves.

In the 50s. In the nineteenth century, Cartes-de-Visite appeared in France – photographs measuring 11.4 cm x 6.4 cm, which were attached to a business card. They were in great demand: they were collected, kept, sent to each other, exchanged, etc. A special hardcover album was devised specifically for collecting purposes. It was equipped with pockets and slots for cards.

Interest in collecting among the society increased, the albums available for sale did not make it possible to save newspaper clippings or letters. In this regard, albums appeared without pockets and slots with thick sheets of cardboard.

Creative approach to photo albums
In 1873, a Canadian newspaper published an article that offered readers several ways to make an ordinary photo album unique. From that moment on, photo albums began to appear in the living rooms of wealthy people and became part of the decoration of the room. The popularity of this item was reflected in its appearance and quality.

Now, with the advent of digital photography, photo albums have faded into the background. But they are still in demand.