Stations of the Cross

Since it's Good Friday, I've got three to share with you this time.  First is another Liguori Stations, this time with a brilliant red cover.

The illustrations in both the first and second booklets remind me a lot of the style of art used in vintage Protestant religious materials I've seen.  When I was a kid, it was still pretty common to have posters and pictures from the 40's and 50's still in use in Sunday School.

I spent a summer in college working at a church in Miami with a couple of retired missionaries.  They had been retired by their agency, but insisted on continuing their work on their own.  It was a trip, let me tell you.  They had been there over 40 years, by that point.  One day, they asked me to take some stuff to their storage closet, which was actually a large room.  It was stuffed to the brim with every picture, book, Bible, hymnal, poster, magazine, flyer, leaflet and booklet they had ever used.  These ladies threw nothing away.

I ended up spending a half hour up there.  They thought I had left for the day, but I had to check stuff out.  The graphics and things were so amazing!  I slipped a couple of old church fans out to take with me.  (Shhh!)  I think about all of that stuff there days and wish for just one more chance to visit that room.

But I digress.  Back to the Stations of the Cross.

The cover to this second booklet is my favorite of the bunch.  I love the somber, moody feel.  The image is almost ethereal, like it's being projected by that little flame on the "W" in the word "Way."  Cool effect, that.

 This last booklet is not really a Way of the Cross, but rather a devotion for Good Friday itself.  There are no illustrations aside from the cover, but I wanted to include it, since the service may also include the Stations.  The church name stamped on the front is a local church that is still in operation.  I always love finding things with local connections, even if it's just a name stamp.

This series wraps up tomorrow!

Stations of the Cross

Today we have a children's Way of the Cross booklet from the 40's.  They use silhouettes to tell the story, maybe because the traditional images might be too intense for kids.  I don't know whether these are cut-outs or drawings, but they remind me a lot of the cut-outs of Sister Mary Jean Dorcy, who frequently illustrated children's books, often stories of the saints. She wrote many of the books she illustrated. I've always liked her work, because it has a kind of ethereal quality to it. These images don't quite have the gracefulness of her stuff, but they do have a power of their own that ius quite captivating.  Enjoy.

Kind of a gruesome image for children. huh?

The sixth station is my favorite.

The thirteenth and fourteenth stations are the most dramatic.

Stations of the Cross

This is probably the oldest one out of my set.  I love the illustrations.

Awesome front cover!

Inside front cover.

The heading illustrations for the stations themselves look kind of like medieval wood-cuts.

Stations of the Cross

This is a popular version of the Stations.  I actually have two or three different editions of the Liguori Stations.  I liked the images in this one a lot.  You can tell from the cover the use that this particular booklet has received throughout the years.

Traditional symbols of the Crucifixion from the back cover.

Stations of the Cross

I decided to start this series of vintage Stations of the Cross prayer booklets with my very favorite one.  I love the purple color and the images that they use for each station, probably the most vivid black and white images I've ever seen.

I was a little thrown at first by the cover image with the crossed crucified arms, one bare and one clothed.  It finally dawned on me that this is a Franciscan booklet, so the two arms represent Christ (bare) and St. Francis (clothed).  St. Francis is supposed to have been the first person to bear the marks of the stigmata.

From the back cover.

Inside back cover.

By the way, it appears that the St Francis Bookshop is still in business in Cincinnati, but it's moved to a different location.  (This booklet is from the 30's.)