By Annika Dekker
One of my favorite parts of working at the William L. Clements Library as a graduate student assistant is getting to explore types of artifacts that I had never heard of before. One of my first projects here was to create a finding aid for our Rewards of Merit Collection. A reward of merit is an award given to a student or young person to recognize and congratulate them on an achievement. This achievement is usually educational; a student may receive a reward of merit for perfect attendance or good grades. The tradition of giving out rewards to children at school began in the 1600s in the United States, and, at its core, can still be found in classrooms today. I remember getting a gold star sticker for good work in elementary school!
Late 1800s reward of merit.
Watercolor detail added to a printed reward of merit, ca. mid-1800s.
Our collection contains rewards of merit from the 1800s to the 1900s. The way rewards of merit were made evolved over time, and if you know what to look for, you can infer what time period each one is from. Rewards of merit from the late 1700s and early 1800s were handmade by the schoolteacher. They are unique, colorful, and detailed. Schoolteachers used watercolors and ink to embellish them, and these awards were often hung in the family home to show off the child’s achievement.
By the mid-1800s, rewards of merit were most often printed from types or woodcuts in a process called stereotyping. The prints, often made with one color of ink, may be enhanced with watercolors by the schoolteacher. Rewards of merit from this time period often featured verses on religion, good behavior, or advice for a student. They also shrunk in size, fitting nicely in one’s hand.
In the late 1800s, printing continued to evolve. With the invention of a printing process called chromolithography, rewards of merit could be printed in a whole array of colors. Schoolteachers could also now buy mass-produced rewards of merit. Mass-produced rewards would supply “fill-in-the-blank” spots for the student’s name and sported imagery of florals, animals, and domestic scenes. Other rewards looked like currency, or came in sheets that the teacher cut into individual awards. They shrunk once again as well.
Today, children may receive stickers or notes from their teacher to congratulate them on a job well done. We continue to celebrate and reward good behavior in school, though our tokens of merit may not be as intricate.
![Manuscript oval in gray and blue lines surrounded by green and yellow leaves. “A Premium in the First spelling class given to Miss [Sheila] E. Downing Week ending Sept 15th 1818.” Signed.](https://clements.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/early1800s_1.jpg)
Early 1800s
Early 1800s
Early 1800s
Mid 1800s
Mid 1800s
Mid 1800s
![Printed image of a flowers and a letter that reads “Reward of Merit Presented to Charlie A. Roberts By Jennie [illegible] Teacher” The student and teacher’s names were written in by hand.](https://clements.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/late1800s_1.jpg)
Late 1800s
Late 1800s
