Dirt and Celluloid: On Collecting the Rosary

This all started with a magazine ad. I was flipping through a 1955 issue of the Messenger of the Sacred Heart. On page 80, right before the back cover was a full page ad that proclaimed: “At Last A Sculptured Rosary Contains Earth from the Catacombs of ROME IMPORTED from the HOLY CITY.” An image of the rosary wound around the page. It was made of ivorine, also known as celluloid, and its center bead contained dirt from the catacombs of Rome. This rosary was special. Dare I say I was enchanted? This ad worked on me—I had to have it.

I scoured eBay and found one in mint condition—it even came in the original box and “cardinal red” pouch. For the price of $5.95 Catholic readers of the Messenger could fill out a little slip of paper with their address and enclose a check, cash, or money order (or they could be billed later) to mail-order this rosary. I paid many times that price. This object traveled in different mediums: imported from Rome and marketed in print advertisements, mailed to the home of a buyer, somehow recirculated to the eBay seller, presented in the eBay search, and (with sizable financial investment) delivered to my home. It was the first of many I would come to collect as I created my own rosary archive. This object is a lens for broader thinking about the sensory history of the rosary and the affordances of eBay for understanding Catholic commodities and their reinventions.