Whatever the fate of these little treasures may be, the distribution and collection of holy cards and Bible cards is certainly not as popular today as it once was. Most people in possession of religious cards would hardly think of their accumulation to be a collection or hobby. Perhaps it seems a bit awkward for those who may have cards to consider the endeavor of collecting religious cards as a serious hobby. Somehow it may not seem right to place a worldly value on the cards.
For an interesting look at the place Catholic Holy Cards have in the print tradition, James Petruzzelli has authored an excellent essay. Click here for the full essay.
When carefully studying the variety and richness of what collectible material exists, one will find that religious cards have some very collectible features. Going back to the last half of the last century, Sunday School Bible Lesson cards were dated with each week's illustrated lesson, making them quite easy to sequence and index for the collector today. Some of the cards reflect historically the Protestant church's reverence for the Word of God and also the temperance movement at the turn of the century.
Catholic "holy cards" were often dated to commemorate the occasion for which they were distributed - sacramental events, as parts of spiritual bouquets, and as rewards for good behavior and hard work in schools. (Pl. 1) People seldom would buy a holy card for themselves, but would receive them from nuns, priests, teachers or godparents. Adults often used them as mementos of funerals, ordinations, weddings, missions and retreats. Catholic holy cards featured favorite saints such as St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Therese of Lisieux, the "Little Flower" and also marked the rise of devotion in particular to St. Jude in the 1930's and 40's. (Bricker, 1989)
There is considerable variety in religious cards, yet no overabundance. These Bible and holy cards evoke memories of childhood, memories of faith, and memories of times both joyous and painful. This combination of historical significance, sentimental value and collectibility would seem to make religious cards all the more important to preserve. These are the very reasons religious cards ought to be collected.
At the moment, illustrated religious cards are a type of paper ephemera
hardly noticed at all, yet the high quality of some of the miniature reproductions
often coupled with delicate die-cut lace borders and gold trim tend to
make them highly collectible on the merits of their craftsmanship alone.
It seems timely enough to bring the hobby of collecting these valuable
bits of our Christian heritage out of the drawers so collectors may begin
to share and enjoy them. Judging from the scarcity of entries of this category
in the classified sections of paper collector magazines and auction bid
sheets and with only a handful of collectors seeking religious items of
any sort, it seems like a prime field of paper collectibles to be developed.
Ade' Bethune