Stamp albums are fascinating because they show how the hobby has been marketed over the years. Most of the stamp albums before 1939 seem to have been rather serious volumes with lots of imitation leather or cloth bindings and images of expensive stamps. The small album illustrated is part of the Cromwell series and carries a picture of the Triangular Cape of Good Hope. The implication is that the collector might one day find a valuable stamp such as this – if only he or she keeps up their collecting. The green album illustrated was inscribed by its owner and dated 1931.
I've included a couple more pictures of interesting albums. The Trusty album show a picture of the London docks as they might have appeared after the end of World War Two. The implication is that stamps are exciting because they are carried around the world and give the average schoolboy an insight into far-flung lands.
The Chums album – I'm not sure when it was printed – stresses the social side of stamp collecting. Two boys and a girl on the cover are involved in an animated conversation about stamps. The suggestion is that stamps offer a wonderful social outlet. Incidentally, this particular album was owned by a girl (her name was in the front cover).
See also - How much does it cost to mount a collection?