Forty years ago our family went to a Memorial Day parade in a small Michigan town. The organizers went all out with bands, veterans' organizations, floats, horses, and dignitaries in convertibles, but the heart of the event was a flatbed with a group of elderly World War I vets. They sat on folding chairs in their uniforms, dignified and proud to be honored by their community. Many had been in their teens when they went to serve their country in a foreign land, and no doubt it changed the course of their lives in drastic ways. They deserved more thanks than a parade could provide, but it was good that their sacrifices were remembered.
These veterans are gone now, the last allied soldier dying in Britain this year, but their passing doesn’t erase the nation’s debt to them and all others who served from 1776 to the present.
A hundred years ago Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was called then, was much different from the three-day weekend we enjoy today. It was a time when communities honored their war dead with speeches, parades, picnics, and visits to gravesites, often leaving flowers or small flags. Public buildings were draped with bunting, and people even sent postcards reflecting the spirit of the day.
There isn't a clear-cut beginning to Decoration Day, but one of the first observances to honor fallen Civil War soldiers has largely gone unnoticed. In 1865 up to 10,000 freed slaves gathered at a cemetery they’d built themselves to bury individual Union soldiers left in a mass grave in Charleston, South Carolina.
In the same year the graves of veterans were widely decorated in the North although there was no official recognition of one special day.
A year later Confederate women began decorating the graves of fallen soldiers, and in 1868 a memorial gathering at Gettysburg attracted national attention. That year General John Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed the observance of Memorial Day on May 30th. No major battle was fought on this date, making it a more inclusive way to honor those who fell throughout the war. After World War I the concept was changed to honor all American war dead, and it gradually became a time to remember all loved ones who’ve passed on.
At first only the states recognized Decoration Day, beginning with Michigan in 1871 and New York in 1873, but by 1890 all the Northern states observed May 30th as an official holiday.
The Southern states continued to honor their war dead on other days ranging from January 19th in Texas to June 3rd, Jefferson Davis’ birthday, in Louisiana and Tennessee. This didn’t change until after WWI. The three-day holiday we enjoy today became official when Congress set the last Monday in May as the official federal holiday in 1971.
Decoration Day postcards aren’t as plentiful as those for Christmas or Easter, but enough were made to show how important the holiday was to the American people in the early 1900’s. James Lowe’s Standard Postcard Catalog (1982) lists 24 series for Decoration Day and another 7 for Memorial Day.
In keeping with the solemn nature of the day, postcards sometimes picture a gravesite with flowers being placed in honor of a fallen military person. Allegorical figures are popular, and almost without exception, the cards feature red, white, and blue flags, bunting, drapery, shields, and decorative touches. They can be categorized as patriotic cards as well as holiday greetings.
For the most part, the art on Decoration Day cards is unsigned. One exception is an artist named Chapman who did a series of six for International Art Pub. Company. The one shown here is particularly colorful and appealing, but not much is known about the person who drew it.
Ellen H. Clapsaddle is a well-known postcard artist who created at least two Decoration Day series for International Art, her primary publisher in the 1910 era, along with cards for almost every holiday in this country. No other American artist was more popular in her day, and she's still widely collected today. Unfortunately her life is a riches to rags story.
Born in 1865, Clapsaddle honed her artistic skills at the Cooper Institute in New York City. At first she did the traditional things that women artists of her era did: china painting and objects for home decoration, but she found her niche working for postcard publishers including Tuck, International Art and Wolf Publishing Company (who owned International Art). She did thousands of designs including some fairly ordinary ones like Thanksgiving turkeys and ears of corn, but she found success with her children.
She was so highly regarded by International Art that this publisher sent her to Europe several times. When World War I broke out, she was traveling in Europe but managed to get home with the help of friends. She never married and was very much a woman alone when the postcard craze fizzled out after the war. Unfortunately she’d invested all her money in the Wolf Publishing Company. She died destitute in 1934, a sad end for an artist who contributed much to the art of postcards.
Besides the companies mentioned above, most of the leading postcard publishers of the day issued Decoration Day cards. That includes Sam Gabriel, Nash, Illustrated Postcard Company, Santway (identified by an S in a diamond trademark), and many others. The biggest caution in buying cards for this holiday is to be cautious about condition. Tuck’s, in particular, sometimes used rather fragile card stock for holiday greetings, and a damaged postcard isn’t a good investment. My preference is for cards that have gone through the mail if they’re in very good condition. Postmarks and messages add to their significance, especially if there’s mention of a Decoration Day observance. Others may prefer cards in pristine condition, always a challenge to find.
Although greeting cards are the most eye-catching, there are also a relatively small number of view cards featuring Memorial Day observations. They’re particularly valuable to people interested in their hometowns, but parades and decorated buildings add to the appeal of a collection of Memorial and Decoration Day postcards.
For the most part, Memorial Day cards from the early 1900’s, the Golden Age of Postcards, can be found reasonably priced. Halloween, Santa, and signed artist cards sell for considerably more, but Decoration Day postcards are more than just collectibles. They serve as reminders of the original intent of the holiday: to honor those who gave their lives for their country.
Many people will visit the gravesites of loved ones this Memorial Day, but others will take to the road to celebrate the beginning of summer or attend special events, like the Indy 500, that have nothing to do with the meaning of the holiday. Hopefully some will slow down for a moment of reverence as they pass cemeteries where small flags and colorful flowers testify to the love for those who have gone before us.