The Scrapbook of Life and Death

‘Dentist Robs Women of Teeth’ – ‘Death Chair for Nice Old Man’ – ‘Mother Feeds Son Like Bird’ The British newspaper clipping collection of egalitarian George Ives, collected between 1892 and 1949, ranged from murder and theories of crime to cricket scores. He was fascinated by the unusual, the gothic, the sexual, and the melodramatic. In this graphic novel, acclaimed cartoonist J. Webster Sharp shares some of the most bizarre stories from his archives in silent comics form. With often shocking, visceral black and white artwork, the strangeness and eccentricity of the Edwardian era provides a backdrop for Sharp’s own struggles with mental health. The Scrapbook of Life and Death is a fascinating, personal window into forgotten historical views of eccentric and socially transcendent and disturbing behaviours – and their resonance in life today.