Saint Martha, Patron saint of Café workers and soft drink sellers, c.1910 (colour litho)

Illustration from a series of the patron saints of different trades and professions produced as promotional cards to accompany the sale of 'Chocolat Aiguebelle'; Saint Martha was the sister of Lazarus and Mary; after the death of Jesus, she and her brothers travelled to the South of France, where she tamed a monster at Tarascon, where she is buried; Sainte Marthe, patronne des Cafetiers et des Limonadiers; feast day is 24 February and she is also the patron of hoteliers; the Chocolaterie d'Aiguebelle was established in 1869 by Trappist monks at their abbey of Aiguebelle in the Drôme area; between 1893 and 1895 a factory was built in the nearby town of Donzère and became an important supplier of chocolate products until 1978, when production ceased and the factory closed; however a branch had been established in 1942 in Morocco and as the Compagnie Chérifienne de Chocolaterie continues today to make chocolates under the brand name of Aiguebelle; the promotional trade cards produced by Aiguebelle in the late 19th and early 20th century were of exceptional quality;