| Before computers and talking greeting cards, people of the past would celebrate Valentine's Day with paper valentines. Many vintage valentines were made by hand with exquisite attention to detail. Without the distractions of the modern world, our ancestors had plenty of time to fashion and craft truly special valentines for their loved ones.Vintage Valentine PostcardIt can be difficult for the collector or dealer to find choice valentines from circa 1740 through 1840 as most of these treasures are in museums. Different types of valentines flourished during different eras and trends and styles changed with the times.Those early American valentine crafters used not only paper and ink, but other embellishments as well. It was not unusual for valentines of the past to have pinpricks, cutouts, watercolors and sketches to make them unique and interesting. Other adornments that can be found on some vintage valentines are semi-precious stones, a lock of hair, dried flowers and scraps of yarn and cloth.Vintage Valentine Greeting CardFrom the years of 1895 to 1915, popular valentines were often a stand up card along with a base. A valentine with 3-dimensional layers that folded out was especially prized. So were valentines that were made of honeycomb paper puffs. These opened to resemble many shapes such as hearts, fans, bells as well as hearts. Valentine postcards flourished during this era as well.Mechanical valentines became all the rage around this time. Victorian mechanical valentines had trains, ships, automobiles or other scenes that would allow the recipient to get the card moving with the touch of a paper lever. Because of the amount of play and movement the card encouraged, these intricate valentines are a rare find today. Those mechanical valentines that were manufactured well into the 1930s were not as fancy nor as elaborate as the earlier cards made in the elaborate Victorian era.Collectible Vintage Valentine CardA valentine from the past can evoke powerful emotions from the collector, especially if there is a handwritten note contained inside. As much as things change from era to era, the one thing that remains constant is romance and expressing your love with a special valentine.Alana Morgaine |