Thursday, February 14, 2013

Object of the Day: A Victorian Valentine




Our Victorian forebears knew how to make a good Valentine. There’s a reason, after all, that most of our current Valentine’s Day imagery has decidedly Victorian overtones—cupids and lace and glittering hearts. 

I found this Victorian valentine last month in an antique store and knew it had to be added to my collection of ephemera. Not only is it a masterpiece of Nineteenth Century printing—gorgeous chromolithography and die-cutting, it’s the sort of novelty which made these Victorian greetings cars so special. It’s a pop-up. By pulling on the red tab atop the greeting, you can expand the card into a three-dimensional love note of all of the most romantic imagery of the day…and now.



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