Valentine card

Valentine card , mid-late 1800s

Where object was made: England, United Kingdom

Material/technique: lithograph; perforating; embossing; paper; hand coloring

Dimensions:
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 110 x 88 mm
Object Height/Width (Height x Width): 4 5/16 x 3 7/16 in

Credit line: William Bridges Thayer Memorial

Accession number: 1928.7111

Not on display

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Teaching Gallery: Case study in contemporary installation art: Ann Hamilton + Cynthia Schira’s Commission for the Spencer Museum of Art An Errant Line

This Valentine card was once intended as an intimate show of affection between two individuals, but these emotions are now mediated through the lens of a museum collection and lend themselves more readily for appreciation of their aesthetic and nostalgic qualities. This process by which museums transform objects is a theme of An Errant Line.

The celebration of St. Valentine’s Day as a romantic holiday goes back to the medieval period. It was believed that this was the day that the birds began to mate and thus an auspicious day to choose a romantic partner.

The popularity of sending Valentine cards, written on plain paper, began in the 18th century. In the 1820s in Britain and the United States paper made specifically for Valentine cards began to be produced. By the 1840s the commercially produced Valentine card had become popular.

The Valentine card on display is typical of the mass produced cards of the mid-19th century. The cards were generally made of flat paper sheets with embossed borders, and would contain a printed illustration.

Joshua Daul, History of Art graduate student