Funerary Card

Description: Mourning Stationary, card expressing sympathy. Handwritten on the front, "John Hogarth and daughter" and printed is, "desire to acknowledge with deep appreciation your kind sympathy." It is surrounded by a thick black border. The envelope is catalogued 2016-032-0022. In the Victorian Period there were strict rules surrounding mourning customs and mourning correspondence. The family of the deceased used mourning stationary, that was sold in a box that often contained writing paper, note cards, and envelopes all with solid black borders. Envelopes with a bold black border were for use during the first year of mourning, and ones with thin black borders were for use during the second year of mourning or half-mourning. Mourning stationary was considered to be the only proper stationary to use for personal correspondence during the two year mourning period.