“To Greet You My Valentine.” This valentine is signed, “DearMearl, Wishing you happiness and prosperity. Lovingly MissNelle.” Marked, “Stecher Lith. Co. Roch. N.Y.”

Valentine’s Day is not a legal holiday, whichmeans that schools, post offices, and otheroffices are open. Still, it is a special day for peo-ple to celebrate, and celebrate they do! In coun-tries near and far, an array of gifts is given onFebruary 14, including flowers, candy, and, lastbut not least, Valentine’s Day cards, betterknown simply as “valentines.” Valentines arecards that can be purchased or made with lov-ing hands. Most bear a message such as “To myloving husband” or “To a great friend.” Butbefore we go more in depth into what a valen-tine is, let us see where it all began.

The history and folklore of Valentine’s Day,the day for lovers, is varied. How did it allbegin? Who is this mysterious saint, and whydo we celebrate this holiday? The answers to

these questions can be found on the followingpages.

February has been a month of romance foryears. Valentine’s Day is a mixture of bothChristian and Roman traditions. The CatholicChurch recognizes not one but at least threedifferent saints named Valentine or Valentinus.

Some say that St. Valentine was a priest dur-ing the third century in Rome when EmperorClaudius II thought that single men made bet-ter fighters and soldiers than married men. Sothe emperor outlawed marriage for young menin order to increase his pick of soldiers. St.Valentine, refusing to obey the emperor, per-formed marriages anyway until Claudius final-ly put him to death.

St. Valentine as a priest and physician is one

13

HISTORY AND LEGENDS

“Sweetheart Be My Valentine.” Thisembossed card is inscribed, “HappyValentine From Grace Rohrer—MissZanerian Funk 102 Fairground Ave.City.” It is postmarked Hagerstown,Maryland, February 13, 1912. Makerunknown.

“I send you this card and call you mineand love you always my valentine.”Marked, “P.C. 245” and inscribed,“From Walter Harold Howley.”

of the most popular legends. He was a kind-hearted doctor who practiced medicine in asmall room in his home. St. or Dr. Valentinealso loved to cook and would carefully pre-pare medicines that pleased his patients’ tastebuds. Many of his medicines contained honey,wines, or milk. He would lead followers inprayer. Many times he would pray for thegood health of his patients. One day a jailer forthe emperor of Rome knocked at Valentine’sdoor holding his blind daughter in his arms.The tales of Valentine’s medical and spiritualhealing abilities had reached this man and hewanted desperately to find a cure for hisdaughter. After several visits and a number ofweeks had passed, the girl’s sight still had notbeen restored. Finally, soldiers arrived at thehome of St. Valentine and arrested him. BeforeValentine’s execution date of February 14, hejotted his farewell message to the blind girland signed it, “From your Valentine.” Whenthe blind girl opened the letter she was able toread St. Valentine’s words—her eyesight wasrestored.

The legends continue. For instance, others

believe that Emperor Claudius II arrested St.Valentine for helping Christian martyrs. Afterrefusing to give up the Christian faith, he wasbeaten to death on February 14.

United States and British history differsfrom Roman and Catholic legends. It is saidthat while the Romans were conquering mostof Europe, they brought valentines with them.They gave these messages of love to womenthey met.

Although the truth behind the Valentinelegends is shadowy, many stories certainlyemphasize Valentine’s appeal as a sympathet-ic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic fig-ure. It is no surprise to many that by theMiddle Ages, Valentine was one of the mostpopular saints in England and France.

It is really quite funny how many differentlegends there are about St. Valentine. Manyare very similar yet have distinct features alltheir own. Any of the above explanations maybe true. I think that Valentine’s Day developedout of a combination of all or parts of the leg-ends explained.

History and Legends 15

FEBRUARY 14

While some believe that Valentine’s Day iscelebrated in the middle of February to com-memorate the anniversary of Valentine’sdeath or burial—which probably occurredaround A.D. 270—others believe that theChristian church may have decided to cele-brate Valentine’s feast day in the middle ofFebruary in an effort to “Christianize” cele-brations of the pagan Lupercalia festival.

It is said that in A.D. 496, Pope Gelasius setaside February 14 as a day to honor St.Valentine. Valentine would become known asthe patron saint of epilepsy, having sufferedfrom it in life. He also became the patron saint

of lovers when the church assimilated the fer-tility festival into its calendar.

In ancient Rome, February was the officialbeginning of spring and was considered a timefor purification. Houses would be cleansed bysweeping them out and then sprinkling saltand a type of wheat called spelt throughout itsinterior. Lupercalia, which began February 15,was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, theRoman god of agriculture, as well as to theRoman founders Romulus and Remus. Tobegin the festival, members of the Luperci, anorder of Roman priests, would gather at thesacred cave where the infants Romulus and

Remus were believed to have been taken careof by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would thensacrifice a dog, for purification, and a goat, forfertility. The priests then sliced the goat’s hideinto strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood,and took to the streets. They gave them toyoung men, who would gently slap bothwomen and fields of crops with the goat-hidestrips. You would think it would send terrorthrough the women of the area. Instead, it waswelcomed, since Roman women believed thatbeing touched with the hides would makethem more fertile in the year to come.

Later in the day, according to the legend, allthe young women in the city would placetheir names in a big urn or bin. This ritual wasknown as “drawing lots.” The city’s bachelorswould then each have a chance to choose aname out of the urn and become paired for theyear with that chosen woman. These matchesoften ended in marriage. This custom wasChristianized and spread throughout Europeand England. Later, the names drawn were ofsaints instead of girls, and the girls who drewthe names were supposed to model thosesaints’ behavior for the year, acting as well as

16 GREETINGS WITH LOVE

“Your Valentine sends her best wishes.” Marked, “SeriesNo. 9017. The Pink of Perfection Regd. The Fairman Co,Cin. & N.Y.”

“Ye Valentine Wish. Apart, will we Surely beLonely: Love me ‘Cause I love thee Only.”Marked, “S. Bergman N.Y. 1913.”

they could. This change was not very popular,however.

In France the tradition differed. The firstyoung man seen by a girl on Valentine’s Daywas to become her boyfriend, or valentine, forthe year to come. It was expected for anengagement to follow at the end of the year,and in many cases, it did.

After Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St.Valentine’s Day, the Roman “lottery” system forromantic pairing was found to be un-Christianand outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, itwas believed in France and England that

February 14 was the beginning of birds’ matingseason, which added to the idea that the middleof February—Valentine’s Day—should be atime for love and romance (see “On the Wingsof a Dove” chapter).

It is also thought that when Oliver Cromwell,Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, came topower he declared Valentine’s Day immoraland had valentines banned. By 1660, Valentine’sDay was restored. The 1969 book The Valentineand Its Origins states that the earliest valentinerecorded in Britain contained verses of Chaucer.Chaucer served as an esquire in the royal court.

History and Legends 17

“To My Valentine:—Hands up! I’m playingrobber, My weapon’s cupid’s dart, And I willkeep you at its point Till you give me yourheart.” Maker unknown.

Some cards seem quite silly, such as this one, which states,“This valentine card has NO purpose . . . except to makemoney for the printer.” Marked, “Valentine No. 15 Printedin U.S.A. © CVC.”

“To My Valentine—Iwould be Friends withyou and have yourLove. Shakespear.”Marked, “6718” andinscribed, “With loveFrom Veora Patterson.Ruth Collins, City.”

“To my Love.” Inscribed,“Dear Aunt & Mama,”with message, signed,“Your Little NieceShirley.” Dated 1949.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, I’ll always bewarmhearted toward you.” This card has a bowand heart in red raised fuzz.

The oldest known valentine still in exis-tence was a poem written by a Frenchman,Charles, Duke of Orleans. It was sent to hiswife while he was imprisoned in the Tower ofLondon following his capture at the Battle ofAgincourt. The greeting, which was written in1415, is on view today at the British Museumin London, England. It is believed that severalyears later, King Henry V hired a writernamed John Lydgate to compose a valentinenote to Catherine of Valois.

Valentine’s Day began to be widely cele-brated there around the seventeenth century.Some say the Germans began the valentinetradition by sending Freundschaftkarten or“Friendship Cards” on the New Year, birth-days, and anniversaries. This custom wasthen imported to England and America in the1700s, where such cards were given onValentine’s Day. Valentines were placed onfriends’ doorsteps and given to men andwomen in England while children sang valen-tine carols. By the middle of the eighteenthcentury, it was very common for friends andlovers from all social classes to exchangesmall gifts or handwritten notes.

History and Legends 19

VALENTINE’S DAY CARD

“I have met many, Liked a few. Loved but one, Here’s to you.”Marked, “Authorized by act of Congress—May 19, 1898.”

This beautifulembossed valentinestates, “To One IFondly Love” and issigned, “To Mary from N. F.”

The popularity of Valentine’s Day grewduring this time. Gifts were costly, so manyvalentines were homemade. In America,valentines accompanied gifts such as flowers,candy, and perfume.

By 1800, printed cards began to replacewritten letters due to improvements in print-ing technology. Ready-made cards were aneasy way for people to express their thoughtsand emotions in a time when direct expressionof one’s feelings was looked down upon. Thelower postage rates also contributed to anincrease in the popularity of sending aValentine’s Day greeting.

Poets or other writers would work withprinters to produce the valentines. Many ofthese valentines were produced in bookletform, with space reserved for the sender towrite a message. The cost for these works ofart was around a penny.

Many countries celebrate Valentine’s Day,including the United States, Canada, Mexico,the United Kingdom, France, Italy, andAustralia. However, England has had by farthe biggest impact on the holiday. By the 1600s,the English had a similar legend as the French,

where a girl was supposed to marry the firstboy she saw on the fourteenth of February.Another English tradition was to draw slips ofpaper with names on them to choose yourvalentine for the rest of the year. Men and boysdrew names of women and girls and some-times vice versa. The couple could go todances together, exchange gifts, or just spendthe day together. If you were lucky, the personwhose name you drew would be compatible,but in some cases, an older woman might bepaired with a much younger man or viceversa. This really was not the most effectiveway of bringing lovers together, though some-times sparks did fly!

One can only guess the true origin ofValentine’s Day or the valentine card. Onething is for certain; valentines did catch on.According to the Greeting Card Association,an estimated 1 billion valentine cards are senteach year, making Valentine’s Day the secondlargest card-sending holiday of the year. (Anestimated 2.6 billion cards are sent forChristmas.) Women purchase approximately85 percent of all valentines.

20 GREETINGS WITH LOVE

“Valentine Wishes—My whole affection is set uponyou Please say you like me a little bit too.” Marked,“Series 1080 A.” Inscribed, “Dear Dick, Wasawfully glad to hear from you again. You haven’tmoved yet—I take it. I wrote a letter and sent cardsto your home. Did you get them? How are younow—we’re all fine here. Love Dot.”

There are many different types of valentinecards, from the traditional to the far out. Manydepict scenes related to the history of thevalentine.

Valentines went through many changes asthe years went by. Around 1840 to 1850 thenew “comic” valentine was becoming morecommon and popular. These were not thefunny style of today’s valentines but rathermean-spirited remarks that were often hurt-ful. These “sour” types of valentines areknown as “vinegar” valentines or “pennydreadfuls” and are very collectible today. Whoreceived the vinegar cards? Several people,including those the sender was mad at or justdisliked. Often they were sent anonymouslyto a foe, and many times they were sentpostage due!

After 1840, the United States and GreatBritain’s mail service was greatly improved.Before this time it could take weeks to get aletter from one place to the next. When mail

service improved, more people used it to sendvalentines.

The years from the 1840s through the 1890swere known as the “Golden Age” of valen-tines. A couple from England, Jonathan andClarissa King, produced an array of beautifulvalentines. It is believed that Clarissa Kingwas the first person to put feathers on valen-tines. She also would take small pieces of glassand grind them into little sparkles to add tothe cards. The couple’s valentines became sopopular that they opened a small factoryemploying a couple dozen workers to helpthem in production.

Esther A. Howland (1824-1904) fromWorcester, Massachusetts, began her careerworking at her father’s stationery shop.During the valentine season the shop wouldbecome filled with beautiful valentines fromEurope. Esther thought she could make valen-tines just as pretty as the imported ones andfor much less, so she began producing and

History and Legends 21

THE BUSINESS OF CARDS

This gorgeous valentines says, “Valentine Greetings” onthe outside, and inside the poem reads, “Take it gently offyour hook, Take a careful, steady look! You will find, my

Valentine That big heart you’ve caught is mine!” It isinscribed, “To Missie Martin From Guess Who??” Marked“Whitney Made Worcester Mass.”

Many valentine cards had themes. These three feature water.

selling them at her father’s shop around 1848. In no time her work sold out and people

were asking for more. She began selling hervalentines to other shops in various cities.Working out of her home, Esther produced avariety of valentines with the help of hiredworkers. The majority ranged in price from $5to $20, with some selling for as high as $35, agreat deal of money at that time. In fact, dur-ing the 1800s $35 could buy a means of trans-portation such as a horse and buggy, so youcan see the expenditure some consumersmade for one of her works.

Esther become known as the first person tosell mass-produced or “assembly-lined” valen-tines in America. An enterprising woman andgraduate of the Mt. Holyoke Women’sSeminary, she became very wealthy. Her com-pany expanded after the success of her valen-tine cards, adding Christmas and other holidaycards to the selection. Her company’s saleswould reach over $100,000 a year. Esther wasone of the first employers to pay women adecent wage and one of the first women busi-ness owners to travel without a chaperon.

Esther developed her own style by usingimported lace paper to make beautiful valen-tines. Some of her loveliest and earliestvalentines are not signed, but collectors canrecognize them by their large size and fancy,ornate style. Many of Esther Howland’s latervalentines are marked in the upper left-handcorner with the letter H. (An H on the rightcorner is from a different valentine manufac-turer who produced cards about twentyyears later.) After many years of producingstylish valentine cards, Esther sold her com-pany to the Whitney Company in 1866, amajor printer of children’s books.

Though Esther Howland was known as oneof the innovators of valentine making, other

History and Legends 23

This mechanical valentine can move back and forth. Itstates, “To my Valentine—Just read my heart and youwill see Whose Valentine I’d love to be!”

This beautiful foldout valentine states, “To my Valentine—Loving Greetings.” It is marked, “Printed in Germany” andinscribed, “To Beverly, from Martha Dunlap 1930.”

women followed suit with creations of theirown. Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) was one ofthem. Ms. Greenaway, a British artist, is wellknown today as an illustrator of children’sbooks such as Robert Browning’s Pied Piper ofHamelin. Many of her earliest works werevalentines. Kate Greenaway loved to use chil-dren as the focal point of her cards. Often theydepicted children giving valentines to otherchildren. Another of her favorite subjects wasthe garden. The greeting card companyMarcus Ward & Company produced many ofher designs.

After the Whitney Company took over theHowland ventures, George C. Whitney’spaper-novelty publishing company, based inWorcester, Massachusetts, became one of themost important valentine producers of thenineteenth century. Their valentines sold formany years and were cute and pretty.However, they lacked the luster of theHowland cards and, for that matter, of thosemade by other major valentine publishers,such as Nister and Tuck. The companyfocused on schoolchildren as its primary cus-tomers. Their price and designs showed thatfocus. From about 1910 until 1940, the majori-ty of the Whitney cards were stand-ups, withtwo panels at the base that folded backward.

After the Civil War, George Whitney andhis brothers Edward and Sumner organizedtheir business and focused mainly on assem-bly-line production with some of the partsimported from overseas. After 1870, GeorgeWhitney took full control of the company andpurchased machinery to publish more valen-tines as well as other greeting and holidaycards. The company closed its doors in 1942.

Whitney’s largest competitor was theMcLoughlin Company. Some McLoughlinvalentines have a blue H in the upper right-

24 GREETINGS WITH LOVE

hand corner. The H can be confusing for col-lectors of Howland cards, since her cards alsohad an H in one corner. The price for col-lectible McLoughlin cards today, around $10to $25, is lower than for Howland cards.

Around 1900, a popular valentine was theGerman foldout card with honeycomb tissueand beautiful die-cuts. Though Americanvalentines were similar, the price of these ver-sions was much less and they were usuallynot as pretty.

As Kate Greenaway did in the 1880s, manytop illustrators (including Norman Rockwell,

Grace Drayton, and Francis Brundage) drewand designed valentines during the 1920s and1930s.

As the 1900s moved onward the fascinationfor valentines began to wane. They were stillas beautiful as ever but the cost prohibitedmany from purchasing them. Around thistime, several things happened. First, severalgreeting card companies were founded,including American Greetings and Hallmark.Mass production by these companies loweredprices. Children could now afford to buyValentine’s Day cards and give them to their

History and Legends 25

This valentine states, “For My Valentine.” The red heart foldsover with red honeycomb tissue and may be hooked onto theback to stay open. There is also a cardboard stand on the back.Maker unknown.

friends. That tradition has not waned andtoday children are the main givers ofValentine’s Day cards. The cards havechanged greatly over the years, but theirallure continues to grow. The United Statesand Britain lead the pack of nations celebrat-ing Valentine’s Day today. As in the earliest

days of valentines, certain subjects, such ashearts, cupids, flowers, birds, and children,have remained popular. The following chap-ters will illustrate many of the much-loveddesigns and sayings from years of valentinegiving.

26 GREETINGS WITH LOVE

INTERESTING FACT

Did you know that the expres-sion “wearing your heart on your sleeve”comes from a Valentine’s Day party tradition?Women would write their names on slips ofpaper to be drawn by men. A man would thenwear a woman’s name on his sleeve to claimher as his one and only—the one who wouldhave his heart for the coming year.