Mortgage Burning at the A.M.E. Zion Church, Atlantic Street, Hackensack, New Jersey

[Hackensack, N.J.]: The Riverside Press, 1906. Very good.. Printed handbill, 9 x 6 inches. Minor wear and toning to edges. An unrecorded handbill emblematic of an intriguing practice by mortgage holders in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Mortgage burning services and celebrations were particularly popular in African-American churches, and involved just what they imply: upon the completion of payment of a given mortgage, the debtor would burn the promissory note to signal its fulfillment. As related in the present handbill, a mortgage burning would often result in a neighborhood party ("Come and Rejoice with Us on the Occasion. This Mortgage Is of About 20 Years Standing." The present celebration involved two days of sermons, addresses, music, and food, most notably a lecture by Right Reverend Alexander Walters. The handbill includes the names of other preachers and the trustees involved in the event. No copies in OCLC.