|
|
|
Early Valentines
Prior to the mid-eighteenth-century,
valentines
that were not handmade were often
imported from abroad. Before they became
mainstream and mass-produced in the United States, they were
highly creative and personal.
|
|
|
Valentine
Writers were
booklets devoted to assist in writing verses for use in
handmade
or purchased valentines. Many of the verses were addressed to
or from specific persons or trades, such as the 'Fishmonger'
who tells his love "Thou art a dish of dainty fish"
or the 'Mason' who sighs that his beloved's heart is
"harder than
stone." Some featured acrostics with the first letter of
each line spelling out the name of the recipient. This
Valentine
Writer was written by Peter Quizumall, Esq., in
May of
1823. |
|
Lithographed valentines made their
appearance
in this country at the start of
the Industrial
Revolution, between 1840 and 1850, when craftsmanship
in many lines was undergoing
rapid changes. This hand-colored lithographed
valentine, manufactured
by Turner and Fisher of Philadelphia and New York, is
dated
Feb. 14, 1840. At this time, a space for a personal message
was often left open. The sender added in his own handwriting
"May friendship's constant kiss be thine, from this sweet
day of Valentine."
|
|
|
|
This early valentine, given to
Mary
Andrews of Millbury, Massachusetts, was hand-cut and
hand-painted
with watercolors, marked and 'By M. F. Andrews of
Millbury." |
| In the February 1849 issue of the
popular Godey's Lady's Book, the author of this Valentine's
Day article decries the current fashion of sending
expensive
imported printed valentines, suggesting that a
subscription
to this magazine would be more appropriate for the occasion
and of greater worth.
Imported English valentines were
probably
the most fashionable, being made with a satin or painted center
and bordered with embossed lace paper. Sometimes the
valentine
would have a small envelope attached in which a locket or hair
or private note would be included. |
|
|
|
By 1840, comic valentines were produced
on a relatively large scale commercially. In sharp contrast
to the sweet and sentimental valentine, the caricatures were
often cruel and the humor venomous, expressing everything but
love. They insulted the fat, the thin, the schoolteacher, the
doctor, the dandy, and the drunk. Often they were sent anonymously.
While some of the earliest ones were lithographed and
hand-colored,
wood block printing was used more than any other process.
This card is a
good example of a comic wood block valentine. |
| Many valentines were published during the Civil
War for both soldiers and civilians. This chestnut curl on a
hand-painted card dated 1863 went through the war with a
Union
soldier. |
|
|
|
| |
|
