1893 Business Card (Inscribed and Dated) of Rev. James S. Duffy

N/A, 1893. Business card; 1 3/4 x 3 1/2; Engraved 'Rev. James S. Duffy / Brooklyn, NY' on recto. Handwritten "Wishing you + family a "Merry Christmas" / 1893' on verso. Faint discolored spot to lower right corner and a small nick to bottom edge; overall in very good condition.Rev. James S. Duffy was the pastor and keeper of St. Agnes's Church in Brooklyn, NY (one of the largest Catholic churches in NY) which was struck by lightning, twice, in July 1901 and burned to the ground. Houses up and down the street also caught fire. Three firefighters were critically (truncated) injured and a collection or priceless religious paintings perished. Father Duffy, who had been with the church since its inception in 1878 and was made a private chamberlain in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII and a domestic prelate in 1904 by Pope Pius X, was said to have suffered a terrible blow but he, along with his people, “at once set to work to rebuild and it was not long before a new stone church rose out of the ruins of the old one. It was dedicated on May 18 1913.†The church is still in existence today. (Inventory #: 000803)