Antique Memorial Day postcards are among the most evocative piece of vintage ephemera you can collect. With their elegant imagery mixing both patriotism and remembrance of those who died in service of this country, they are almost uniformly somber but almost uplifting at the same time.

The postcards on display here mostly date from the first few decades of the 20th century, when the holiday was more often known as Decoration Day. That’s due to its roots as a day to decorate the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers. Not coincidentally, these cards are heavy on the Civil War imagery.

One of the few cards of its era to recognize soldiers from the pre-Civil War period.

“GAR” is for Grand Army of the Republic.

“There honor comes, a pilgrim gray, to bless the turf that wraps their clay.”

“They fought like heroes, long and well, and then like heroes died.”

“May the wreaths they have won never wither nor the star of their glory grow dim.”

My favorite.

An unfortunate misspelling.

Celebrating the USS Monitor.