history

History of Cards and Card Collecting

Introduction to History of Cards and Card Collecting
St. Sulpice Art
Sunday School Bible Lessons
Catholic Holy Cards
Collecting Cards

The history of these "little holy pictures" goes back to the 1400's in Europe. The earliest dated European wood block print is a picture of Saint Christopher, printed in 1423. (Pl. 2) The pious activity of creating handmade devotional cards - in France known as dévotesdentelles, and in German lands, Andachtsbilden was exceptionally popular back to the fourteenth century. They were carefully crafted of paper or parchment with paper cuts of saints, borders, and the like. (Cronenwett, 1995) These hand cut and later die-cut paper lace cards became popular as gifts and remembrances of special events. These cards were the likely forerunners of greeting cards, valentines and present day holy cards.

One Saint-to-be in fact had a short career in selling holy cards. After working as a shepherd, a servant and unloading cargo ships, St. John of God became a book peddler, traveling from town to town selling religious books and holy cards. A vision at age 41 (in the year 1536) led St. John to Granada, Spain where he sold books from a little shop. (For this reason he is patron saint of booksellers and printers.) After hearing a sermon on repentance, he was so overcome by the thought of his sins that he rushed back to his shop, tore up any secular books he had, gave away all his religious books and all his money. The townspeople thought he had gone mad and so sent him to the Royal Hospital where he was placed with the lunatics. There he began nursing the other patients, changed his vocation to nursing the poor and homeless and later founded the Brothers Hospitallers. (Matz, 1996)

According to Ann Ball, author of numerous books and articles on Catholic traditions, “The history of modern religious cards dates back to the work of a German map inspector named Aloys Senefelder (1771-1834), the inventor of the printing process known as lithography. Senefelder began experimenting with processes while trying to devise a means for printing his own dramatic writings. In 1796, he discovered a method of marking with wax on stone that he called chemical printing."

Dedicated to high ideals, he hoped that his process would "bring to mankind manifold benefits and may tend to raise it upon a nobler plane, but may never be misused for an evil purpose." May the Almighty grant this!" he dramatically noted. "Then blessed be the hour in which I made my invention." The German's process, a versatile and inexpensive means of multiplying drawings, rapidly gained popularity in Europe. Within 25 years, European printers were producing floods of lithographed devotional prints, and industrialization brought a radical increase in the quality of prints available to worldwide markets. By 1825, the new technology was being used successfully in the United States. And by the 1840's, the reproductive color process known as "chromolithography"- also a Senefelder invention was in wide use.” (Ball, 1997)

Color pictures were still a novelty for much of the nineteenth century so companies put out colorful cards as a form of advertising known as trade cards. Greeting cards were a nineteenth century invention along with baseball cards first promoted by tobacco companies as giveaways and now by the gum companies.” (Kovel, 1990) (Plate 4) Sometime in the mid nineteenth century both holy cards, scripture and Bible lesson cards became quite popular in America as well.

St. Sulpice Art

As early as the 1840's a good deal of Catholic religious material was generated by French companies in Paris in the area of rue Saint-Jaques and the Church of St. Sulpice. In 1862 there were at least 120 firms that made and marketed mass produced religious goods: holy water fonts, candles, medals, statues, crucifixes, creches, rosaries, scapulars, lace pictures, novena and holy cards. A good deal of this material was sold in America. This style, characterized by soft, feminine looking images came to be known as l'art St. Sulpice. At the time, French scholars and clergy criticized the art for being commercialized. The popularity of these inexpensive images caught on despite its critics. (McDannell, 1995)

"Catholics commonly exchanged holy cards and medals as gestures of affection. Some bought fancy lace cards and tied medals on them; other cards were hand decorated with flowers and designs. Small pictures of Christ and the saints were assembled on velvet. These intimate gifts were exchanged between Catholic women, nuns and children as signs of mutual friendship. Such gifts frequently were mass produced....

To increase sales in America some European printers set up branches in the United States. Carl Benziger and Sons, in operation since 1792 in Switzerland, opened in Cincinnati as early as 1838. Later known as Benziger Brothers, the company became the most important Catholic publishing house in the United States, with branches in a number of cities. (Pl. 5) Local competitors exploited the lucrative print market by setting up their own shops where European compositions were often pirated or adapted.” (Ball, 1996)

Lithographers and Protestant church affiliated publishers offered similar cards:

...From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, Protestants used bookmarks and decorative cards in the same ways Catholics used holy cards. Rather than having pictures of saints, Protestants preferred biblical scenes, picturesque scenery, and innocent children accompanied by scriptural texts or inspirational mottos. Catholics put their cards in their Sunday missals, Protestants in their Bibles. Both groups shared a fondness for the colorful and the sentimental... (McDannell, 1995)

Simple Victorian cards with scenery or bouquets of flowers accompanied by a scripture text are referred to as album cards, because many were pasted in scrap book albums that were the rage of day in the last two decades of the 19th century. (Plate 6, Plate 7, Plate 8)

Sunday School Bible Lessons

The first Sunday School cards date back to the 1870's. Cards followed a systematic format known as the International Uniform Sunday School Lessons. The cards had a colorful lithograph bible illustration on the front with scriptural reference and a memory verse or "Golden Verse" for the child to memorize. (Plate 9, Plate 10, Plate 11) On the reverse was a short explanation of the scripture and a series of questions for the child to answer. Some of the early cards had a note to "Mamma" imploring the help of the mother of the home to insure that the lesson was studied.

"DEAR MAMMA:- Will you please help your child learn this lesson; will you, also, by your prayers, advice and example, aid us in our endeavor to lead your child to love and obey the savior."

Typically the cards were published in quarterly packages of 13 cards and were distributed to children weekly. The last card of each quarter was a review card, often with a spot for the child's signature and 13 tiny boxes for the child or Sunday School teacher to check or punch to record the child's attendance. (Pl. 12,13) The cards were advertised in the Baptist Missionary Magazine of Nov. 1880 in this way: &n Picture Lesson Card (New)

3 x 4 1/2 inches, printed in beautiful colors; containing Lesson Story, Lesson Picture, Lesson Hymns, Questions and Answers & c. For each Lesson a different card. Prepared exclusively for Primary Scholars.

Terms. - 3 1/2 cents per set of lessons for one quarter, or 12 cents per set for one year. A set consists of the 13 lesson Cards, - one for each lesson of the quarter, and one Quarterly Merit card. A set for a year consists of 2 Lessons and 4 Quarterly Merit cards. No order for less than five sets, or for a shorter time than a quarter is filled.

In December 1914 The International Sunday School Lesson Committee was reorganized and consisted of forty-three members, twenty-seven of whom were elected by co-operating denominational bodies, and sixteen by the International Council of Religious Education. The lesson outlines prepared by the committee were, therefore, the joint product of the various denominational bodies and The International Council of Religious Education. The outlines were sent to the denominational houses and others for their guidance in presenting the lessons to their constituents.” (Swan, 1927) Lessons produced under this new organization were known as the Improved Uniform Series' lessons.

Harris, Jones & Co., later to become Providence Lithograph Co. of Providence, Rhode Island was the most prolific of religious card publishers serving the Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist/Episcopal, United Brethren and Congregational churches of the times. (Plate 16) The Providence based partnership of Harris & Jones entered into business as commercial lithographers in 1868, and became the Providence Lithograph Company circa 1875. In 1878, the firm began to emphasize religious lesson material for Sunday schools, and grew to become the leading printers of Sunday school lesson material in the country. Most of their work was done directly for the educational and publishing wings of the larger Protestant denominations. They also published periodicals and a small number of illustrated religious books under the imprints of Harris-Jones and the Religious Press. These publishers provided the lithographed illustrations for many denomoninational bodies which in turn printed their own weekly lesson stories and questions on the backs of the cards. They also printed one series of cards written in the German language, Kleine Lehrbilder aus der Bibel.

David C. Cook Publishing of Elgin, Illinois was another early publisher of Bible Lesson Cards. Early series of Cook Publishing cards have volumes dating back to 1879. Cook continued publishing cards until 1969. (Plate 14, Plate 15) Standard Publishing of Cincinnati began printing cards with its first volume in 1898 and produced cards under the uniform system until 1973. (Plate 17, Plate 18) Today they are the only publishers of a weekly Bible Lesson card. As early as 1895 there is evidence that the cards were accompanied by larger 2 ft by 3 ft. enlarged reproductions that the teachers used in the Sunday lessons to accompany the ones distributed to the students. (Plate 19)

Catholic Holy Cards

Meanwhile, early Catholic holy cards were most commonly used to commemorate funerals. The cards with somber black borders and black and white lithographs of crucifixion, crosses and other images were common during the turn of the century. (Pl. 20) Funeral wakes are still the prime occasion for the distribution of holy cards. Religious subjects were represented as well in "scrap" and die cut lace styles of paper of the Victorian era. Pasting commercially printed die cut scrap into scrapbooks was a popular pastime of the late 1800's. (Pl. 21)

One book that records the origin and history of holy cards since the 14th century was authored by German Adolf Spamer in 1930. This grand book has color illustrations throughout, in fact they are card reproductions mounted in the book. Titled Das kleine Andachtsbild Vom XIV.Bis Zum XX or "The Little Holy Picture, from 14th - 20th Century, copies of the book can be found in larger libraries. The book is written in German and there is no known English translation. For its illustrations alone it is quite worth the opportunity to view the book. Today German university folklorists still study the use and meaning of exchanging holy cards. (Primiano, 1996)

Spamer was a professor at the Technical University of Dresden. He included some 314 illustrations, with 218 plates (some in color) and 53 illustrations in the text of his book. He also lists countless major collections of holy card material in museums, libraries and private individuals throughout Europe at the time of 1930. The book actually illustrates just one card of the twentieth century by the German publisher Beuron and very few other cards much past 1850. Otherwise it is a thoroughly detailed treatise of styles and Catholic holy card publishers up to the year 1900.

Another book was published in 1980 under the same title Das kleine Andachtsbild, with a subtitle of "Pragedrucke und Stanzspitzenbilder des 19.Jahrunderts" or in English "Embossed Printing and Die Cut Pictures of the 19th Century." This book by Mathias T. Engels picks up where the Spamer book leaves off. It features 181 stunning illustrations of Victorian era lace holy pictures of the late 1800's.

We have records of how and when the cards were used from the lives of some famous saints of the 19th century. In a biography of St. John Neumann (1811-1860), the first American male saint, the hagiographer writes “(His parishioners) tenderly spoke of him long after he was gone, saying: "He was a real saint!" And many, who as children had been given holy cards by the beloved priest, were to cherish these possessions as relics in their old age.” (Neumann, 1997)

Hagiographers also record that St. Anthony Maria Claret, in his first two years as Archbishop of Santiago from 1851-52, confirmed 100,000 persons, was instrumental in bringing 300,000 to the confessional, distributed 38,217 books, 20,663 rosaries, 8931 medals, and 83,500 holy cards. (Tan Books)

Pierre Descouvemont, a diocesan priest from Cambrai, France, and a devotee of St. Therese of Lisieux has authored a book of 326 rare photographs, illustrations and texts documenting the life and times of Therese (1873-1896). Holy card enthusiasts can see photos of the preserved objects, books, holy cards, paintings and statues that were a part of Therese's spiritual coming-of-age. The text is often hard to follow but the captions and photos of actual holy cards from St. Therese’s collection are exquisite.

During the 1930's through 1960's, devotions to Mary and to the saints, particularly St. Jude, were quite popular. With these popular Catholic devotions came the increased production and distribution of holy cards. “In fact a strange custom appeared in the church during the 1940's. It was reported that women were eating holy cards of the Virgin Mary. In a systematic way they ate around the holy card, eating the edges off first and then swallowing the center whole. Later a company in Ireland began to manufacture compressed holy card pellets, so the devout were saved the trouble of chewing the paper holy card!”(Orsi, 1989) It is doubtful that any trace of those cards have survived!

Holy cards were part of most parochial school child formative years. The book Growing Up Catholic takes a humorous view of their importance:

“Holy Certificates were a reward for just about any big competition. For lesser accomplishments, kids received Holy Cards. These beautifully printed cards featured gilt-edged pictures of a favorite Saint in a heavenly aura on one side and a brief life history or special prayer on the other. Parochials collected and traded them like baseball cards. Every kid knew if you could get a patron saint to intervene with God in your behalf you would be just that much closer to heaven. The cards didn't have anything to do with Patron Saint intervention but it gave you more names to call on just in case one or two didn't come through. Catholics who haven't attended services for years still find Holy Cards amongst (good biblical word) their keepsakes.””

Many of the cards over the past century were laid away in shoe boxes, preserved in the leaves of devotional books or stuck away, forgotten, in a drawer. It seems that in most cases it was the mothers who collected the cards for themselves or for their children. There are numerous stories of elderly women, often mothers and grandmothers, who carried prayer books filled with holy cards. These loose ”holy card files” often served as a family record of sorts, a wealth of memories and genealogical information.

Collecting Cards

Paper collectibles of all types were almost ignored until the 1970's when the word ephemera came into common use. Ephemera is defined as something that lasts just a short while. Anything made of paper is ordinarily considered ephemeral. Ephemera is sometimes described as "throw-away" bits of history. We are more aware today that these bits are of historic importance. In earlier generations paper was not common and very little ephemera remained. The history of the rich and famous remains in paintings and documents, but much of the everyday ephemera of the common people is lost.”(Kovel, 1990) Religious cards fit into this category of ephemera which includes but is not limited to menus, newspapers, maps, trade cards, cereal boxes, autographs, personal letters, diaries, children’s lesson books, paper end labels, wallpaper and instruction books for old machinery. Religious cards, like other ephemera, are small, lightweight and easy to trade by mail.

Probably the largest collection of holy cards worldwide is contained in the Liturgy and Life Collection at the Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections at Boston College. Having a sense that relics of the pre-Vatican II era must be preserved Fr. William Leonard, S.J. of Boston College began in 1978 to collect artifacts of the pre-Vatican II Church in America. This collection of books and miscellany includes some 100,000 Mass cards, posters, programs, leaflets and holy pictures. It is the most complete guide to what it was like to grow up Catholic in America in the middle of this century.” (O'Neill, 1992) Fr. Leonard has yet to complete the cataloging of the 30,000 books in the collection, before he turns his attentions towards the smaller holy cards. Catholic archivists are seeing religious paper, such as holy cards, as a very under explored genre of heritage material.

David Ramsay, Director of the Archives of Modern Christian Art at the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California has some 1000 items of holy card size in the collection. The collection has drawn the interest of those studying the phenomena of Catholic devotions and the place that holy cards have in that aspect of Church life. For many young people who first received the early turn-of-the century cards, this may have been one of their first exposures to religious art when printed color reproductions were far less common.

The Ryan Memorial Library at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, PA also has a Holy Card Collection numbering almost 1000 holy cards dating from the nineteenth century to the present. The collection is arranged in broad subject areas (e.g. Crucifixion; Our Lady of Fatima; Male Saints). The Library encourages donations (small or large) to this collection.

Archivists and genealogists have for some time recognized the value of collecting religious materials such as holy cards. The French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Wisconsin, in its compilation of suggestions for beginning genealogists, mentions holy cards as a prominent source of genealogical information along with photos, diaries and journals. Holy cards, particularly those with funerary information, can provide vital genealogical information. The Library of Congress uses the broad term of Devotional Images to include Holy cards, Religious pictures and Sunday school cards. The Library describes the images this way:

“Pictures intended as aids to prayer or worship. Examples include the small lace paper embossed pictures common in Europe during the 1880s that featured saints or scenes from the life of Jesus Christ. Sometimes issued in sets or used in religious school. May have a brief religious text.”The Library of Congress has further notes for catalogers and archivists that devotional images may be double indexed under Collecting Cards for appropriate images. The classification Devotional Images” is most commonly used for holy cards. On a narrower level the terms Bible cards and Mizriha'ot may describe devotional images from Protestant and Jewish faiths. Related terms are Collecting cards, Ephemera and Rewards of merit.”

In an illustrated article in Barr's Postcard News, the most widely read weekly newspaper for collectors of post cards, issue 685, October 23, 1995, collector Louis A. Gaitanis announced an "unusual" find of cards which he described as religious cards smaller than the usual postcard. A number of the cards featured in the article were die-cut lace edged Victorian era holy cards. This may be the first reference to holy cards in a paper collectible journal. (Gaitanis, 1995)

Brent Devitt, a Catholic school principal, and card collector has a collection of well over 25,000 religious cards of Protestant and Catholic origin. Since 1990 Devitt has catalogued the collection with a simple computer database. Devitt shares his passion for collecting the cards and corresponds with fellow holy card collectors. (Ball, 1996) Devitt has authored a web page, known as Saints Unlimited, devoted to the collection and study of devotional cards.

Perhaps the most prolific of collectors is Italian Pierluigi Stradella who claims over 100,000 holy cards in his collection. Pierluigi promotes the hobby with his own web site and sells cards online.

Today, holy cards are experiencing a revival. Catholic bookstores report increasing sales. The new cards, however aren't quite like the old ones. With a nod to modern technology, they are often encased in or printed on plastic, although paper versions are still available. Many cards are purchased by individuals who want a bookmark or a special prayer to carry with them.”(Bricker, 1989)

In fact cards have been recently published for young people in a very collectible format, just like baseball cards. Bible Character Cards, first printed in 1989, were some of the first published in the trading card format. Series like the "Holy Traders", "Ancient Heroes" and "Heavenly Saints" are growing in popularity. Images common to cards are now being marketed in other popular formats such as refrigerator magnets and even POGS (milk caps) to appeal to the use and interests of a wider audience.

Now a number of devotional card publishers advertise on the internet. Images can be viewed and purchased electronically. One group, Chant Art, has scanned turn-of-the-century cards, touched them up, then prints, laminates and markets these reproductions via the internet. A number of Internet sites offer the convenience of sending e-mail holy cards where a devotional image is attached to a message and pops up as an image right on the computer screen! So it seems the history of little devotional cards has spanned the centuries, from the earliest printing presses to the modern electronic super highway.