Valentines of the mid-19th and early 20th centuries!

In the early beginning greeting cadrs were real Masterpieces!

Esther Howland Valentine, circa 1850: "Weddings now are all the go, Will you marry me or no"?

Handwritten poem, "To Susanna" dated Valentine's Day, 1850 (Cork, Ireland)



Comic Valentine, mid-19th century: "R stands for rod, which can give a smart crack, And ought to be used For a day on your back."



Valentine card, 1862: "My dearest Miss, I send thee a kiss" addressed to Miss Jenny Lane of Crostwight Hall, Smallburgh, Norfolk.



Whitney Valentine, 1887; Howland sold her New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company in 1881

Seascape Valentine, date unknown

Valentine postcard, circa 1900–1910