Elizabeth Walker Tatham was born circa 1849 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England to George Tatham and Hannah Marie Walker. Elizabeth was the youngest of three sisters all very close in age, with eldest Annie Sophia Tatham born circa 1847 and middle sister Georgiana Tatham born circa 1848. Her father worked as a leather manufacturer and served as the Mayor of Leeds from 1879-1889. Elizabeth married Joseph Bottomley Firth on September 17, 1873 and does not appear to have had any children.

Variations on the practice of scrapbooking date as far back as the 14th century when it was popular for upper-class members of European society to keep a bound journal of blank pages, known as a commonplace book, that served as a place for the owner to write informal notes taken from a variety of sources in one place. With the introduction of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440s, books and other printed materials became more accessible, increasing the use of the commonplace book as a way to organize the rapid growth of available information. While initially used primarily by men, women soon began keeping their own commonplace books filled with religious passages, recipes, and interesting quotations.

By the 1800s, as the availability and types of printed materials expanded, the role of the commonplace book shifted, with owners now filling them with clippings, poetry, drawings, and other various "scraps" of printed material, including greeting, calling, and prayer cards. As the focus of these new scrapbooks shifted from academic interests to social interests and preservation of family materials, by the late 1800s the practice of "scrapbooking" had become a predominantly female hobby.

The first recorded use of the term "scrap book" as noun to describe these books with blank pages for pasting items is believed to be in 1821, with the two words morphing naturally overtime into the now common "scrapbook". The first use of the word as a verb to describe the practice itself was recorded in 1879.