Reward of Merit

I'm eternally charmed by the fact that over a hundred years ago children and adults alike were thrilled with decorative papers as gifts and awards in the late 1800 and early 1900s.  I guess it isn't that different than kids today getting stickers, but I still find it remarkable that pretty cards and cut-outs were treasured so much that children and adults kept them for their whole lives. Today you can still find them and often in great condition because of how much they were treasured.

An Award of Merit was one of the first pieces of ephemera I got. I found it at an old bookstore in Oakland in the late 80's and kept it displayed in my house for a long time.

Most Rewards of Merit are about 3.5 x 5, some are smaller like a business card and some are larger like a 5x7 size. This one below is large and a unique image for a Rewards of Merit card. It just says the name Ethel on the back.

I listed some of my collection of Reward of Merit cards in the Etsy shop today.

my first

I think this is the first piece of ephemera I bought. I got it at a huge old bookstore in Oakland around 1989. I am sure the bookstore is long gone.

I love the idea that little pieces of illustrated paper were prizes at one time. I can imagine that Lizzie kept this for her whole life. Maybe she placed it in the corner of a mirror or propped it up on her desk in her room while she was growing up. No doubt is was a treasured item.