Autograph book

This autograph book is not bound like a book. It has the rectangular shape of a box about the size of a cigar box, containing several handwritten individual sheets. The box is completely covered with brown grained leather. Viewed from above, the lid looks like a picture frame with a narrow golden line bordering a large floral ornament made of embossed leather. At its centre there is a small flower or star embossed in gold. The casket has clearly been handled a lot; the edges are a little worn. Concerning the owner of the autograph book, we know that she bore the name Josephine – with the nickname Pepi – and that she lived in Graz and Vordernberg in Austria. The differently coloured insert sheets show handwritten quotations and wishes in old German Kurrent script. Some of them are decorated with drawings, glued-in dried plants or motifs made from fine pinpricks. The autograph album commemorates people Josephine shared her life with – her cousin, for example – or stages of her life.