Hello Stefan, These are called prayer cards, I think and are similar to Catholic holy cards that have pictures of Jesus, Mary and Christian saints on them. I have a whole collection of German Sterbebildchen also from way back. They were meant to be placed in prayer books as you mentioned and then people could say the prayer that usually was also included on the back along with the name and dates, etc. of the person who died. Here in the USA, one can still find these cards commemorating a person's death. Often funeral homes, especially those with Catholic owners, give out generic ones for their clients. Families can also order special ones with a picture of their choice and the deceased's names and dates. Hope this helps. Mary Ann > Hello All, > > in Bavaria it is usual to print so-called "Sterbe-bildchen" when somebody > has died and hand them out e.g. during the funeral. I have here copies of > such Sterbe-bildchen from 1897 on. I don't know, when this habit started, > and whether it would be a useful source for genealogical data. > > The Sterbe-bildchen are small enough that they fit into a prayer book and > contain, besides the name and the death date, all or some of the following > data: > - profession > - birthdate and place > - maybe a photograph > - a hint about the reason of the death (e.g. "after long illness") > They start with something like "To pious commemoration of Ms.....", > followed by the a.m. data and then some prayers. > > I checked my dictionaries here, but didn't find something suitable. > How is / or would be something like this called in English? > > Regards, > Stefan --- Mary Ann Allen wallen@pipeline.com The Gathering Place http://sites.netscape.net/murrallen/homepage