Late 19th - Early 20th Century Printer's Scrapbook.

[Boston]: [1888 - 1917]. 9" x 7-7/8". 50 leaves, of which 31 have been used. Stab-bound green and brown paper-covered boards, white title label on burgundy paper, burgundy paste-downs. Contains 53 clippings, plus 21 other pieces: an S. J. Parkhill & Co. business card, an insurance document for Charles L. D. Parkhill, several printed announcements and poems, a three page typed poem on the back of Parkhill letterhead, flyers, etc. Light wear; paper of front joint cracked; leaves and clippings toned and somewhat brittle, with occasional short tears and chips to edges; tears and wear to some laid in material. One leaf shows evidence of an item having been removed. Good.

A scrapbook apparently belonging to printer Charles L. D. Parkhill, the son of Samual James Parkhill, who founded S. J. Parkhill & Co. Printers in Boston in 1875; by the 1910s, the firm was primarily known for its publication of textbooks. The scrapbook is a compilation of clippings, printed matter and a few holograph scraps affixed, tipped-in and laid into the album, many of which are notices of the death or bankruptcy notices of other local printers and publishers: Louis Prang, Edgar O. Silver, William E. Cochrane (employed by Prang), Dana Estes, Moses King, Josiah Stearns Cushing, and, of course, Samuel James Parkhill. Other Parkhill material includes a business flyer for James Duffy, an employee of Parkhill & Co., as well as a newspaper clipping of his death notice, and a newspaper clipping announcing the marriage of another Parkhill employee.

Several newspaper clippings pertain specifically to Charles L. D. Parkhill, which, with the aforementioned Parkhill material and the insurance document, lead us to believe the scrapbook was created by Charles Parkhill. In 1911, he was arrested for speeding, and he appears to have enjoyed a fast lifestyle in other areas as well: several non-printing related items attest to his love for horseracing, drinking, literature and dogs, not necessarily in that order.

Overall, an interesting and somewhat morbid collection of material by one printer about his fellows in early 20th century Boston.