Antique Communion Souvenir 1897 – Chromolithograph with Angels in Reverse-Painted Glass Frame

A single day in April 1897, preserved on cardboard and behind glass: This antique communion keepsake from Austria commemorates a girl's first holy communion. Colored chromolithography, a handwritten inscription, and the original black and gold reverse-painted glass frame have remained together to this day.

What the card shows

Above a starry sky stands a Neo-Gothic monstrance with the host and the Christogram IHS, surrounded by a halo of light. Four angels are gathered around it: above are two crowned angels, their hands crossed over their chests or folded in prayer. Below, an angel with a wreath of roses in her hair carries a steaming censer, while opposite, an angel in golden robes bows her face in prayer. The gold tones were printed and still shimmer today.

Below the image, in Fraktur script, is the old praise "Hochgelobt und gebenedeit sei das allerheiligste Sacrament des Altars" (Praised and blessed be the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar), followed by the title "Andenken an die erste heilige Communion" (Souvenir of the First Holy Communion). The pre-printed lines were filled in with a pen in elegant cursive: name, parish church, the date April 25, 1897, and a signature. This day was that year's White Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter, when First Communion was traditionally celebrated.

How the picture is framed

The card lies behind a pane of glass, the back of which is painted black and adorned with fine gold lines. This reverse-painted glass technique, related to the French Verre églomisé, leaves only a window for the image. Outside, a black-framed wooden frame with a continuous tendril relief and a gilded inner trim follows. On the back, there is an old cardboard backing held by hand-driven nails, and an iron hanging ring.

Condition

• Reverse-painted glass: The black paint layer is flaked in places, most noticeably in the lower field, upper left, and along the left edge of the card. Lighter subsoil shows through there. The gold lines are largely preserved.
• Picture card: Colors and gold well preserved, the ink of the handwriting has faded, isolated small spots and dust particles.
• Frame: Black finish rubbed, small imperfections in the relief with light ground, fine cracks in the ornament, gilding of the inner trim worn, miter joint at the top left slightly open.
• Back: Original cardboard backing, one nail with rust trace, hanging ring present.

The picture has not been restored and honestly shows how it has endured since 1897.

Dimensions and Data

• Frame: approx. 27 × 20 cm
• Dating: handwritten April 25, 1897
• Technique: Chromolithography with gold tone, reverse-painted glass, wooden frame
• Origin: Austria

Where it belongs

On a quiet wall in the study, hallway, or bedroom, in a collection of sacred devotional images, or as a memento among old family photos. Against light lime plaster or dark wood, the black and gold particularly stands out.

Shipping

Shipping from Austria. Due to the glass pane, the picture will be packed particularly carefully and shatterproof. Price applies to 1 piece.

Found at the flea market in Eisenstadt. Sometime after that White Sunday, a family framed this sheet so that a single day would not be lost. The ink has faded, the black behind the glass crumbles, the angels continue to pray undeterred. What remains of a day when no one remembers it anymore?

A Sunday, preserved under glass — Objects with a Soul · VintageAustriaShop