Historically, the term "album" was applied to a collection of various items housed in a "book" format, and in musical usage the word was used for collections of short pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century.
The term "album" was applied to a collection of various items. This was historically. These various items were housed in a "book" format. The word was used for collections of short pieces of printed music from the early nineteenth century. This was in musical usage.