This website represents my personal collection of vintage valentines.

I do my very best to research, date, and annotate the valentines found here. It is, however, a difficult task. Even those few that are marked with a brand name are hard to date. Generally I am relying on dates pencilled on the back of the cards and my own stylistic assessment.

The American Antiquarian Society provides a good history of the valentine card, but like many valentine histories available on the web, the discussion stops in Victorian times. There are some limited examples of mid-century cards on the web, but thus far, I have been unable to find any real information about the history of the valentine card from the 1920s on.

And yet these modern valentines reflect changes in American society that very much interest me. For instance, I believe the valentines could be used to illustrate shifting levels of acceptability in terms of racial and ethnic stereotypes. They depict an evolving image of childhood and definitions of cuteness. They also mark changes in American English and often use antiquated phrases and slang to the point where some of the puns can be difficult to decipher.

Finally, the designer in me appreciates the workmanship of these old cards. Their stunning, unique graphics are far superior to the cookie cutter, bland valentines that I gave and received in the 1980s. Additionally, the creative paper engineering of the mechanical valentines are a delightful reminder that simple, but cleverly used cuts, folds, and movements can transform the ordinary into something truly magical.

For now, these ideas are simply bouncing around in my head, but I hope to flesh them out more critically in the future. If you have any knowledge about mid-century ephemera, or would simply like to share your own thoughts about the valentines and ideas posted here, I'd love to hear from you. Please get in touch with me on the contact page.

Thank you for your interest in this collection!

Elizabeth Rosenberry

2.5.08