Memorandum Book

PeriodCirca 1880 - 1920

Place MadePossibly Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.

MediumCelluloid, silver, brass

Dimensions2.75 × 5 in. (7 × 12.7 cm)

ClassificationsWriting Tools & Accessories

Credit LineGift of Miss Louise Hartshorne, 1933

Object number357

DescriptionA small pocket memorandum booklet, consisting of six thin ivory-colored rectangular celluloid panels mounted with a fan-style pin, between two thicker rectangular ivory-colored front and back panels. The front panel is ornamented with a small silver shield originally designed to be engraved with the owner's monogram, and two small silver panels mounted at the center top edge of both front and back covers, originally mounted with a hanging loop or similar attachment. The back cover's panel is missing, but the outline of the original shape can be seen.
Curatorial RemarksAs early as 1855, celluloid was being developed as an inexpensive and light-weight alternative to ivory and similar materials. Nitrocellulose, made from wood pulp, was mixed with camphor (an aromatic evergreen tree often used in medical and pharmaceutical applications) along with fillers, dyes, and other additives to create a lighweight, moldable material. Celluloid can be manipulated to look very much like ivory. By the late 19th century, celluloid was used for toys (particularly dolls), buttons, belt buckles, flatware handles, jewelry, and much else. Early motion pictures used celluloid film. The one downside to early celluloid was that it was highly flammable. Little memorandum booklets, most constructed similarly to the Hartshorne memo book, included a number of thin "pages" mounted in a fan-style arrangement. These little booklets could be carried in a purse, a pocket, or, if fitted with a small hoop or ring, on one's belt. A pencil could be used to note lists or appointments on the celluloid surface, which could be easily wiped clean and reused. Some memorandum booklets had blank pages, while others like this one were printed with days of the week for appointments.NotesMiss Louise Hartshorne (1866 - 1956), the donor, made her home from 1876 to 1929 at Locustwood, a grand house built between 1830 and 1832 in Middletown village, Monmouth County, by her grandfather Charles J. Hendrickson. Locustwood became a residence for single women from the extended Hendrickson / Hartshorne family, including Mary Matilda Hendrickson (1835 - 1893), Ella Hendrickson (1846 - 1929), their first cousin Julia Wikoff (1838 - 1917) and niece Louise. When the house was broken up and sold in 1929, its contents were distributed among several heirs, including Miss Louise. She and her sister, Susannah Hartshorne Bennett, gave many inherited items from Locustwood to the Association. The little memorandum booklet was likely used by any one of the Hartshorne family members in the late 19th or very early 20th century.

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