My father, of fond memory, collected those prayer cards from every funeral he attended over a period of fifty or sixty years, and often had one of any variation of the decorated side.
He didn't do anything much with them, they just sat, eventually in stacks held by a rubber band in the top drawer of his chest of drawers. I don't recall him ever taking them out to look at or show anyone, and I would not have noticed them except when I was constructing a family tree. They were useful in tabulating birth and death dates of relatives I don't think I ever met.
I've never seen any market for them and have no idea what happened to his accumulation.
http://colnect.com/en has a section for "Holy cards" collectors. This section is relatively new, just started about 6 months or so ago. Might be of interest to other collectors there.
Mike / meostamps
Great new card collectors' exclamation: "Holy Card! "
boB
Thank you for the responses thus far. I find the old Business Cards particularly interesting. Not only are the "trades" long gone, like carriage builders, but I'll bet the addresses and even the streets are long gone.
My grandfather had a huge stack of funeral holy cards. Every morning he'd go through the deck and say prayers for all the souls. I have the stack and keep adding cards from all the wakes and funerals I attend. As said, it's a great family resource, he has cards for my great grandparents and other family members. Beyond that, I'd have no interest in cards of stranger.
re: Late 1800s/Early 1900s Prayer Cards, Greeting Cards, Business Cards, etc.
My father, of fond memory, collected those prayer cards from every funeral he attended over a period of fifty or sixty years, and often had one of any variation of the decorated side.
He didn't do anything much with them, they just sat, eventually in stacks held by a rubber band in the top drawer of his chest of drawers. I don't recall him ever taking them out to look at or show anyone, and I would not have noticed them except when I was constructing a family tree. They were useful in tabulating birth and death dates of relatives I don't think I ever met.
I've never seen any market for them and have no idea what happened to his accumulation.
re: Late 1800s/Early 1900s Prayer Cards, Greeting Cards, Business Cards, etc.
http://colnect.com/en has a section for "Holy cards" collectors. This section is relatively new, just started about 6 months or so ago. Might be of interest to other collectors there.
Mike / meostamps
re: Late 1800s/Early 1900s Prayer Cards, Greeting Cards, Business Cards, etc.
Great new card collectors' exclamation: "Holy Card! "
boB
re: Late 1800s/Early 1900s Prayer Cards, Greeting Cards, Business Cards, etc.
Thank you for the responses thus far. I find the old Business Cards particularly interesting. Not only are the "trades" long gone, like carriage builders, but I'll bet the addresses and even the streets are long gone.
re: Late 1800s/Early 1900s Prayer Cards, Greeting Cards, Business Cards, etc.
My grandfather had a huge stack of funeral holy cards. Every morning he'd go through the deck and say prayers for all the souls. I have the stack and keep adding cards from all the wakes and funerals I attend. As said, it's a great family resource, he has cards for my great grandparents and other family members. Beyond that, I'd have no interest in cards of stranger.