Obj. ID: 54428
  Sacred and Ritual Welcome! Mazal Tov le-Zachar. Welcome!, New York, circa 1925
sub-set tree: 
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
From earliest times, man has tried to protect himself from misfortune by the use of objects which he considered holy or otherwise (e.g., magically) potent. Amulets and talismans are Items generally worn around the neck or wrist, carried in a pocket or purse or hung on a wall. They are meant to protect or aid those who carried or wore them. The Hebrew word for amulet, kame‘a, has the root meaning "to bind". Jewish amulets are usually comprised of texts (either letters or graphic symbols) that are inscribed on some sort of material; some may also contain plant matter or precious stones. The texts of amulets usually include holy names that are believed to have the ability to affect reality, along with incantations summoning angels or other magical powers. For the most part, an amulet has a specific purpose: to ease childbirth, facilitate recovery from illness, improve one’s livelihood, and so on, but in the modern world many are also made for general protection.
Printed amulets that could serve the purpose of hand-written talismans began to appear in the late 17th century, continuing into the 18th and 19th centuries. The few surviving examples from this period are of European origin. This amulet is a part of a large group of printed birth amulets, usually for male and female children. They are of the simplest form with only the most basic amuletic formulas and are generally very small as well. The basic elements are Psalm 121, the naming of the patriarchs and matriarchs, and a few "names", all of which are invoked for protection against Lilith. They appear in this form in many different countries in Europe, North America, North Africa, and the Middle East. This particular example for a female child was most likely printed in New York copying similar amulets from Lithuania.
Amulets printed in the United States are relatively rare and were only printed in the wake of the massive immigration of East European Jews after 1880. They are in general copies of Eastern European printed amulets as is this example. This amulet if for a male child and an identical one, printed on pink paper and for a female child is in the Gross Family Collection, 027.011.084.