Reward of merit, Ohio, ca. 1870.
Rewards of merit, small tokens of congratulation given to students for good behavior and scholastic accomplishments, have been utilized by teachers for generations. The practice was most popular during the nineteenth century when printing techniques evolved to make this form of ephemera readily available. Some rewards of merit depict topics such as polite behavior, patriotism, and games.
AAS's unique collection of over 2,000 hand painted, engraved, printed, and chromolithographed examples provide a glimpse into education and cultural issues over a span of almost one hundred years.
The collection is fully cataloged online in the general library catalog. Images are available through GIGI, the Society's digital image archive. Search keywords "rewards" to browse.