During the Victorian Era, well behaved school children were rewarded for good behavior with a small piece of paper called a Reward of Merit. The Top of the card read Reward of Merit and usually written below was the student's name, followed by the teacher's signature who had issued the reward. They certainly make a modern day gold star pale in comparison, don't you think? It's nice to realize that both merit and personal recognition were highly valued by teachers and students, and these tokens of appreciation were cherished enough to be saved for over one hundred years.