Be My Valentine

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. You won’t be surprised that there are a few vintage Valentines around our house from old family albums. I’ve curated a little collection for your amusement and maybe horror. Many of these cards would not work today.

When I went to elementary school you gave a card to everyone in the class (or maybe it was just the other gender – those days it didn’t make much difference). The cards were cheaply printed in albums and you cut them out with scissors.

The kitten with a bow tie is an example – neatly cut out on the front but the printing on the back doesn’t really line up.

You put your pile of cards in a box in the classroom and then they got distributed and you counted to make sure everyone gave you a card. Then you took them home and threw them out.

Much nicer is this mid-19th-century hand-coloured card. It appears to be from an anonymous gentleman.

I have difficulty interpreting the verse but think it is similar to the sentiment of buddy in Love Actually who worships Keira Knightley from afar.

Sweet is the love

But sweeter, and purer,

And far better to me,

Is the dream of the heart

That’s inspired by thee.

The cupids on this 1907 seesaw are tossing your heart back and forth – love in the balance.

The sad child in this heart-rich landscape hands her own broken heart to the itinerant mender of broken hearts.

The consequences suggested in the verse inside sadly appear to have happened.

I’m not very old nor yet very big,

But there’s room in my heart for you,

And if you won’t live in its spacious depths

It surely will break right in two.

This card takes a more aggressive strategy. Read the verse and tell me how you interpret it.

Let’s just say if the kid next door went missing, I might suggest that the bleeding heart bed be dug up. Nice to see a confident young woman who is clear about what she wants.

And in this beautiful heart-shaped card what is cupid the enabler up to.