Macabre Calling Card
Tiny Tuesday is getting spooky!
To get into the Halloween spirit, our posts during October will highlight the mysterious, macabre, and oftentimes creepy artifacts found in our collections.
Today’s piece is a late 19th century calling card with some interesting alterations in an unidentified hand. A thick black line has been drawn around the border, imitating the Victorian tradition of black-edged stationery used while in mourning. Our unknown “artist” also drew a striking skull and cross bones below the caller’s name and included the eerie phrase “Admit to Cremation of”.
The card was found in a collection of biographical material pertaining to a Fall River family; as such, we do not know who made the frightful alterations, nor do we know who the unfortunate Miss Alice P. Sanborn was – there were several.
Sometimes, the backstory of artifacts is shrouded in mystery, in this case, causing one to wonder about the relationship between Miss Sanborn and the “artist” who turned her calling card into a memento mori. Regardless, this is one invitation we would politely decline!