Surreal scrapbook to feature at Brighton Book Fair

The “mysterious” book, that is full to the brim with unconventional art, is owned by the fair’s manager Jez Carson, who is going to offer it to Brighton Museum.

Mr Carson believes the book's creator, Laura Bell, has links to the city.

“There’s definitely a connection because the only titled pictures in there are Brighton,” he said.

“Her name is Laura Bell. She’s spelt this out inside the front cover in a collage made of leaves.”

Composed of real flowers, leaves and cut-up pictures Mr Carson said the scrapbook is “a labour of love that’s full of surprises”.

One image shows an illustration of Mary Darling rowing to the rescue (Image: Jez Carson)

“I bought it at a book fair years ago and kept it because of the illustrations,” he said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s a surreal, dream-like quality to them which is decades ahead of its time.

“One shows a fishing boat surrounded with pictures of crabs and embellished with real seaweed.

“You can just make out the title Bognor. Another has a coloured illustration and again we see this bizarre collage of real seaweed, sand and layers of tissue paper. It’s a very dramatic scene.

There are many sea themed illustrations in the scrapbook (Image: Jez Carson)

“Women were at the forefront of abstract art, years before their more well-known male counterparts. Spirit drawings date back to the 1860s. Women made them at seances whilst in a trance. The pictures here are very similar in their disregard for convention.

“There’s a light-hearted, mischievous tone and that makes them very modern – except they were done 140 years ago.

A photograph, believed to be of Laura Bell, is in the scrapbook (Image: Jez Carson)

“There’s only one photograph in the book, a tiny one, and I’m convinced it’s her – she’s built herself into a floral design. Another clue to her personality is at the very back of the book. She’s stuck in some ‘fortune telling’ flowers, with petals which unfold to reveal ‘your sweetheart’s name’, ‘your character’ and ‘your desire'.”

There will be thousands of old books, maps, photographs, postcards, ephemera and more at the book fair, which is at Brighton Racecourse on Saturday, October 22.

Brighton Book Fair will be at Brighton Racecourse in the main hall between 10.00am –and 4.00pm.

Admission is £1 of free with a flyer.