Christine Mathieu Marian holy card collection

The Christine Mathieu Marian holy card collection contains approximately 1,700 Catholic holy cards, primarily depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary. The collection includes French Marian holy cards from circa 1853 through 2001. Holy cards in the collection document Marian devotional themes, iconography, titles, pilgrimage sites, and prayers. Themes in the collection include the Immaculate Conception, the life of Mary, Heart of Mary, Lourdes, Marian shrines in France, and others.

The collection is composed primarily of holy cards including cards for private devotion, souvenir cards from Marian shrines, cards distributed to commemorate a special occasion or Catholic sacrament, and prayer cards. The collection includes a small number of additional devotional and ephemera materials including postcards, brochures, and scapulars.

Most materials are French, but the collection includes several items from other western European countries including Belgium, Germany, and Italy. Many holy cards contain handwritten text or a prayer on the verso.

A large number of the cards represent the 'Sulpicien' style and were published in the Saint-Sulpice neighborhood of Paris by Maison Bouasse-Lebel and its successor, Bouasse-Jeune.