More Finds at the Local Antique Shop

Carte-de-visite from Manchester, NH

How lucky I was to find this posted thesis about carte-de-visite when I set out ot do a bit of research on today's photograph: CARTE-DE-VISITE CULTURE IN MANCHESTER NH: A CASE STUDY by Carolyn Jambard-Sweet, 2006.


According to the thesis' author, a multi-lens camera allowed a photographer to create 8 carte-de-visite negatives in a sitting. "The photographs were then affixed to a paper card which was traded with friends and family by hand or delivered by mail, often ending up as part of a miniature portrait collection in an elegant album designed specifically for cartes-de-visite."

The woman in my picture sits with such an album on the desk in front of her. Her image is a typical portrait made for sharing with friends, but it also makes a clever statement about its own purpose. The sitter intended this image to end up in friends' photo collections similar to the one she includes here. (I wonder if the use of the album as a prop was her idea or the photographer's idea.)

Calling cards were once left in the drawing
room by house guests.

"Those albums are fast taking the place and doing the work of the long cherished card basket.  That institution has had a long swing of it.  It was a good thing to leave on the table that your morning-caller while waiting in the drawing room till you were presentable, might see what distinguished company you kept, and what very unexceptionable people were in the habit of coming to call on you.  But the card-basket was not comparable to the album as an advertisement of your
claims to gentility...." (Dan  Younger, 16.  As quoted from “The Carte de Visite,” The Photographic News, May 1862)

Information about the photographer of the portrait is supplied by the cards accompanying envelope. The thesis author found our photographer, Mr. S. Piper, in the local city directory, which stated that he was practicing at the corner of Elm and Amherst streets. He worked at his craft from the 1860s through the 1880s with his business outliving those of many of his contemporaries. His obituary described him as one of the best known photographers in Manchester, NH. It is believed that he photographed most of the residents of the city.

Though this card is far from unique, it has an interesting story to tell us about the time period in which it was made and the person who made it...I only wish that it were labeled so we could know more about its subject than her typical late nineteenth century hairstyle and dress.

More Finds at the Local Antique Shop - Rewards of Merit

According to The Ephemera Society of America. "Rewards of Merit have been part of the American educational system for more than 300 years. Typically paper and either printed or in handwritten form, teachers bestowed Rewards on their deserving students to recognize their classroom achievements and to acknowledge exemplary attendance. Even though youngsters received them, many times parents later wound up with the Rewards as gifts from their children."

If you would like to read more from the Society on this subject see http://www.ephemerasociety.org/news/news-rewardsofmerit.html . Their web site is actually a fabulous reference tool and is terrificly interesting, so I encourage you to explore it.

I find these cards remarkable from a number of perspectives. When I first saw them, I immediately thought of calling cards, which were carried by people who left them in special dishes put out for the purpose in the parlors of friends and neighbors whom they visited. Both calling cards and certificates of merit are very small (and sometimes very ornate) items and evolved as a result of modern techniques for printing. Cards served as a token of friendship, appreciation, and community. When they no longer had to be created by hand, individuals could more readily incorporate them into everyday routines, even creating practices built around the ability to print. The cards are beautiful and I've read more than one description of them that labeled them "charming."

Some of my found merit cards have the name "Libbie Hinkley" handwritten on them by the teacher. The backs of the cards contain remnants from the album or scrapbook from which they were pulled. I find myself longing for the intact book to learn more about Miss Libbie. Did the book contain images of her? Was there any more information about her school work? I am glad to keep her small collection of merit cards, but am saddened that it is such a small collection with no context. While I understand that antique dealers can make more money on individual items than on a whole collection, I am trying to think of a way to encourage the profession to keep intact collections together for historical reasons.

The American Antiquarian Society retains a large collection of Rewards of Merit. More locally to me, Historic New England also has a nice collection. If your organization has Rewards of Merit that you would like to share with readers, please add it to the comment section below.

From an educational perspective, I can't imagine most children in modern society getting excited about receiving this (except maybe my daughter and those of her ilk who have an inbred collecting gene and a love for paper.) Today, my daughter comes home with items from the "prize box," which include things such as little plastic frogs and erasers made in China. In the nineteenth century, students appreciated the new printing process that allowed for the creation of these educational incentives. It makes me wonder if teachers can try out new technologies and personalized documentation today to give praise instead of handing out meaningless cheap toys.