A number of years ago, my sister and I had the opportunity to clean out a house with over 60 years of accumulations of a life well lived. This very social lady, Olive kept her life preserved along with a fair amount of her late husband’s things; everything from ticket stubs to vintage Valentines, glass jars of coins to bottles of booze, rodeo posters to closets full of vintage clothes. Her daughter lived half way across the country and couldn’t be bothered with all the ‘stuff’ that was left in her parent’s home. Olive’s daughter cashed in the coins, took a couple small mementos, and just wanted the remaining things gone. We had two short weeks to pack it up, donate or sell the rest and get the house clean enough to sell. For any antiques dealer, this was a dream come true. Lots of work but so worth it in the long run. It’s over eight years later and I am still finding small bits and pieces from Olive’s estate to sell.
Originally, I put the vintage Valentines away thinking I’d start a collection or maybe sell them; I wasn’t sure but that summer when we did the clean-out was not the time to put them on sale so I packed them away vowing to get these beauties out just after Christmas. Well, Christmas sales came and went and I totally forgot about the Valentines that first year and for several years after. Usually I resurrect them just after Valentine’s day or during the summer so there’s not much chance of selling the lot. Just before Christmas 2017, I came across that shoe box of Valentines and decided since I finally found them in time to sell for Valentine’s Day; this year is the year.
Some of them are just your average single piece of paper type Valentine but others are die-cut, a few are postcards, some have moving parts, honeycomb bits and added lace. Most of those dated are from the late 1920’s. It appears in the 1920’s this was one holiday where everyone participated. I love reading the cheesy sentiments and the way friends signed the cards with so much affection for each other ninety years ago.
In this large group of vintage Valentines my favorites are the ladies with honeycomb tissue skirts. Their fans swivel open to a Valentine greeting. Three of the ladies are exactly the same with bonnets and parasols all sent from different people….must have been a popular card that year. The other one has her hair piled high on her head similar to the ladies in the Louis XIV court. The honeycomb skirts fold flat to allow them to be slipped into an envelope but when the skirts are folded flat, the graphics complete the look of their outfits so that the card is complete; beautiful whether flat or unfurled.
These die cut Valentines stand on their own with the help of honeycomb folded tissue accents. The stand-up, die-cut carriage has three layers that unfold to give it depth with only small honeycomb bits near the wheels.
Every one of the small die-cut cards are just as appropriate today as in the 1920’s. But unlike a modern Valentine, the inside greetings are decorated with a small black and white graphic as well as the poem.
Their cheesy vintage sentiments are so sweet and the deckle cut edge just adds to the Valentines’ charm.
It seems Olive and her husband, Clovis were very popular in school and almost a century later, their Valentines hopefully bring delight to someone new. Most were signed in pencil so they could be erased and used again, or just left as is with a sentiment added.
So, now that I’ve shared these beauties, here’s hoping they all sell.
Only one month to Valentine’s Day. Who will be your Valentine?
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