Were roses still red?

Ah, Valentine's Day. I wondered what it would have been like a century ago. I have to admit to some grumpiness: I was hoping to discover that it hadn't been invented, or that it was only celebrated in America, or perhaps even that celebrating it was considered immoral, loose, shocking.

First shock: we've been sending Valentine's cards in the UK longer than they have been sent in the US (at least according to Wikipedia). Yup, we even had Valentine's Cards factory-made in Victorian times, all covered in first real then paper lace. There is a collection of 400 Victorian Valentine's Cards in the Priest's House Museum in Dorset and more at the web-based Greetings Cards Museum. It wasn't till about 1850 that an innovative American woman, one Esther Howland, started selling them in the US - a remarkable early businesswoman, she seems to have made her fortune. Following her start, Valentines got more and more elaborate as the nineteenth century moved on, at least according to the American Antiquarian Society.

Which brings us, almost, to 1911. Scanning the internet produces Valentine's postcards from that year, mostly covered in cherubs. The messages are different from today's:  - I greet thee Valentine! or,

Goodness gracious isn't it fine
To be somebody's Valentine

I quite liked the two Valentine's Cards below, the one on the right more for the Art Nouveau swirling dress than anything else. Most of the images of the cards online are from auction sites. There is something very sorrowful about a Valentine's card, sent a hundred years ago, up for sale. I can't decide if the thought makes me like Valentine's day less or more. Treasure your cards, people, and make sure they are passed on to others who will look after them too!

1911 postcard, sighted ebid 2011
(no copyright info available)

c.1900-1910 US, Wikimedia (creative commons)