St. Valentine's Day History

To My Valentine Think of Me, John Winsch Valentine

2010-08-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

Publisher: John Winsch
Artist: Samuel Schmucker

Purchase here: Winsch Valentine

Additional resources:

The Golden Age of Postcards Early 1900s (Identification and Values)

The Book of Postcard Collecting

The Artist-Signed Postcard Price Guide, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Reference

Silk John Winsch Valentine Postcard, Samuel Schmucker

2010-08-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Plea with Poem, John Winsch Publisher

2010-08-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Plea

Your voice in laughter or in Song
Hold in its spell the whole day long
One who would say "The World is mine!
If you would be my Valentine!"

Publisher: John Winsch
Artist: Samuel Schmucker

Purchase here: Winsch Valentine

Additional resources:

The Golden Age of Postcards Early 1900s (Identification and Values)

The Book of Postcard Collecting

The Artist-Signed Postcard Price Guide, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Reference

Dutch Girl Valentine, Cupid in Wooden Shoes

2010-08-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Spanish Girl with Fan, Winged Cupid Playing Mandolin

2010-08-21T19:17:00.000-07:00

An Irish Leprechaun Themed Valentine Postcard by John Winsch, Schmucker

2010-08-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

Publisher: John Winsch
Artist: Samuel Schmucker

Purchase here: Winsch Valentine
Additional resources:

The Golden Age of Postcards Early 1900s (Identification and Values)

The Book of Postcard Collecting

The Artist-Signed Postcard Price Guide, Second Edition: A Comprehensive Reference

Valentine with Geisha Girl, for John Winsch by Samuel Schmucker

2010-08-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

I Greet Thee Valentine, John Winsch for Samuel Schmucker

2010-08-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

Be My Valentine, a Samuel Schmucker Valentine for John Winsch Publishing

2010-08-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

John Winsch Valentine Postcard by Samuel Schmucker, To My Valentine

2010-08-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Samuel Schmucker Valentine Postcard by John Winsch: To My Valentine

2010-08-21T18:55:00.000-07:00

John Winsch Valentine Postcard by Samuel Schmucker, My Valentine Think of Me

2010-08-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

Samuel Schmucker Valentine Postcard by John Winsch: A Gift of Love

2010-08-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

Sailor's Valentine

2010-08-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

Original item available here: Sailor's Valentine

A sailors' valentine is a type of antique souvenir, or sentimental gift, originally brought home from a sailor's voyage at sea for his loved one between 1830 and 1890. Sailor valentines are typically octagonal, glass fronted, hinged wooden boxes ranging from 8" to 15" in width, displaying intricate symmetrical designs composed entirely of small sea shells of various colors glued onto a backing. Patterns often feature a centerpiece such as a compass rose or a heart design, hence the name, and in some cases the small shells are used to spell out a sentimental message.

Although the name seems to suggest that the sailors themselves made these objects, a large number of them originated in the island of Barbados, which was an important seaport during this period. Historians believe that the women there made the valentines using local shells, or in some cases with shells imported from Indonesia, and then the finished products were sold to the sailors.

In his book Sailors' Valentines, John Fondas concludes that the primary source for sailors' valentines was the New Curiosity Shop, located in McGregor Street, Bridgetown, Barbados, and a popular shop where sailors would purchase souvenirs. The shop was owned by the English brothers B.H. and George Belgrave. Fondas' research tells of a sailors' valentine reconstruction, during which the reconstructing artist found pieces of a Barbados newspaper inside the backing.

Today, antique sailors' valentines are collectables, valued for their beauty and unusual qualities. Collector interest has sparked a resurgence in sailors' valentines as an art form, and shell kits and patterns are now sold at craft shops. Many sailors' valentines, both new and old, can be found on Nantucket, Massachusetts.

To see more Sailor's Valentines, visit Sailors' Valentines

Welsh Love Spoon

2010-08-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

Welsh Love Spoons

The love spoon is thought to have originated from the "cawl" (soup or stew) spoon. Over generations, decorative carvings were added to the spoon and it lost its original practical use and became a treasured decorative item to be hung proudly on a wall.

The earliest surviving example, displayed in the St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff, dates from around 1667, although the tradition probably dates back long before that.

Symbols

The love spoon was given to a young woman by her suitor. It was important for the girl's father to see that the young man was capable of providing for the family and woodworking.

Sailors would often carve love spoons during their long journeys, which is why anchors would often be incorporated into the carvings.

Certain symbols came to have specific meanings: a horseshoe for luck, a cross for faith, bells for marriage, hearts for love, a wheel supporting a loved one. and a lock for security, among others. Caged balls indicated the number of children hoped for. Other difficult carvings, such as chains, were as much a demonstration of the carver's skill as a symbolic meaning.

Although the Welsh lovespoon is the most famous there are also traditions of lovespoons in Scandinavia and some parts of Eastern Europe, which have their own unique styles and techniques.

Today love spoons are given as wedding and anniversary gifts, as well as birthday, baby gifts, Christmas and just because. They are now mostly seen as a folk craft.

For a selection of love spoons, see Welsh Love Spoons

Chocolate Valentine's Day Recipes

2010-08-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

by Jill Seader

We all know that the way to a woman's heart is through chocolate. And chocolate treats that you make yourself are sure to win her heart this Valentine's Day. These three chocolate baking recipes are simple ones to make that hardly take any time at all. She will love the fact that you took the time to make something yourself. It always means more to get something that you have made for her than something you bought.

Chocolate Creams
1 package (8 squares) semi-sweet chocolate squares
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup butter
1 3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
finely chopped pecans

In a small saucepan, melt the chocolate squares with the butter over low heat. Take it off of the heat and add in the confectioners' sugar, cream and vanilla. Chill in the refrigerator until it holds together when shaped (about 1 hour). Form into balls and roll them in the pecans. If you want to take a little more time to make your Valentine's Day treat even more special, shape the dough into hearts and put red and pink sprinkles on them. Make sure to store them in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Pudding Cake
1 package chocolate cake mix
1 large package (6 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup oil
4 eggs
1 container chocolate frosting
pink and red sprinkles

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs. With an electric mixer, beat the mixture for 2 minutes. Grease (take butter and smear it over the bottom and sides of the pan) and flour (put about 1/4 cup of flour in the pan after you've greased it and shake it around, covering the bottom and sides completely) a 9 x 13-inch pan. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until cake tests done (put a toothpick in the center and when it comes out without anything on it, it's done). Allow to cool for 30 minutes to an hour and then frost with the chocolate frosting. Shake the red and pink sprinkles evenly over the top of the cake for added Valentine's Day decoration.

Fudge Cookies
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 square semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup milk

3 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup coconut

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, butter, chocolate, and milk. Stir almost constantly. When mixture starts to boil around the edges, start to stir it constantly. Allow the mixture to boil for one minute. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the oatmeal, pecans and coconut. Drop the mixture by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets covered in waxed paper. For an added Valentine's Day touch, put a candy heart on top of each one. Put in the refrigerator to set until hardened (overnight works best). Be sure to store them in the refrigerator.

About the Author:
Jill Seader loves to share her baking recipes at YourBakingStory.com. She has a passion for baking and stories that she shares through recipes and recipe scrapbooking supplies. Come share your story or create one of your own! Happy Baking!

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Saint Valentine's Day History

2010-08-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

Girl Holds out Her Pinafore to Receive the Many Valentines She is Expecting

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Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day) is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 500 AD. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.

Historical facts

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome, and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).

The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him.

No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost.

In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feastday of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14." The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan (Malta) where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Vatican II calendar.

Romantic legends

The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were expounded briefly in Legenda Aurea. According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer.

Since Legenda Aurea still provided no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail.

There is an additional modern embellishment to The Golden Legend, provided by American Greetings to History.com, and widely repeated despite having no historical basis whatsoever. On the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he would have written the first "valentine" card himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved, as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed, or both. It was a note that read "From your Valentine."

Attested traditions

Lupercalia

Though popular modern sources link unspecified Greco-Roman February holidays alleged to be devoted to fertility and love to St Valentine's Day, Professor Jack Oruch of the University of Kansas argued that prior to Chaucer, no links between the Saints named Valentinus and romantic love existed. Earlier links as described above were focused on sacrifice rather than romantic love. In the ancient Athenian calendar the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.

In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia, observed February 13 through 15, was an archaic rite connected to fertility. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier "or "the chaste Juno," was celebrated on February 13–14. Pope Gelasius I (492–496) abolished Lupercalia.

Chaucer's Lovebirds

The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer wrote:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day

Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

["For this was Saint Valentine's Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate."]

This poem was written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. A treaty providing for a marriage was signed on May 2, 1381. (When they were married eight months later, they were each only 15 years old).

Readers have uncritically assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Valentine's Day; however, mid-February is an unlikely time for birds to be mating in England. Henry Ansgar Kelly has pointed out that in the liturgical calendar, May 2 is the saints' day for Valentine of Genoa. This St. Valentine was an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307.

Chaucer's Parliament of Foules is set in a fictional context of an old tradition, but in fact there was no such tradition before Chaucer. The speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among eighteenth-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of Butler's Lives of Saints, and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars. Most notably, "the idea that Valentine's Day customs perpetuated those of the Roman Lupercalia has been accepted uncritically and repeated, in various forms, up to the present"

Medieval period and the English Renaissance

Using the language of the law courts for the rituals of courtly love, a "High Court of Love" was established in Paris on Valentine's Day in 1400. The court dealt with love contracts, betrayals, and violence against women. Judges were selected by women on the basis of a poetry reading. The earliest surviving valentine is a fifteenth-century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife, which commences.

Je suis desja d'amour tanné
Ma tres doulce Valentinée…
—Charles d'Orléans, Rondeau VI, lines 1–2

At the time, the duke was being held in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt, 1415.

Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in Hamlet (1600–1601):

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5

John Donne used the legend of the marriage of the birds as the starting point for his Epithalamion celebrating the marriage of Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, and Frederick V, Elector Palatine on Valentine's Day:

Hayle Bishop Valentine whose day this is
All the Ayre is thy Diocese
And all the chirping Queristers
And other birds ar thy parishioners
Thou marryest every yeare
The Lyrick Lark, and the graue whispering Doue,
The Sparrow that neglects his life for loue,
The houshold bird with the redd stomacher
Thou makst the Blackbird speede as soone,
As doth the Goldfinch, or the Halcyon
The Husband Cock lookes out and soone is spedd
And meets his wife, which brings her feather-bed.
This day more cheerfully than ever shine
This day which might inflame thy selfe old Valentine.
—John Donne, Epithalamion Vpon Frederick Count Palatine and the Lady Elizabeth marryed on St. Valentines day

The origin of the poem Roses are red traces as far back to Edmund Spenser's epic The Faerie Queene 1590, (Book Three, Canto 6, Stanza 6): The modern cliché Valentine's Day poem can be found in Gammer Gurton's Garland 1784 collection of English nursery rhymes;

The rose is red, the violet's blue
The honey's sweet, and so are you
Thou are my love and I am thine
I drew thee to my Valentine
The lot was cast and then I drew
And Fortune said it shou'd be you.
—Gammer Gurton's Garland (London, 1784)

Modern Times

In 1797, a British publisher issued The Young Man’s Valentine Writer, which contained scores of suggested sentimental verses for the young lover unable to compose his own. Printers had already begun producing a limited number of cards with verses and sketches, called “mechanical valentines,” and a reduction in postal rates in the next century ushered in the less personal but easier practice of mailing valentines. That, in turn, made it possible for the first time to exchange cards anonymously, which is taken as the reason for the sudden appearance of racy verse in an era otherwise prudishly Victorian.

Paper Valentines became so popular in England in the early 1800s that they were assembled in factories. Fancy Valentines were made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace introduced in the mid 1800s. In the UK, just under half the population spend money on their Valentines and around 1.3 billion pounds is spent yearly on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts, with an estimated 25 million cards being sent. The reinvention of Saint Valentine's Day in the 1840s has been traced by Leigh Eric Schmidt. As a writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday." In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828–1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but Howland took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received, so clearly the practice of sending Valentine's cards had existed in England before it became popular in North America. The English practice of sending Valentine's cards appears in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (published 1851). Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary."

Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow.

In the second half of the twentieth century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman. Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates packed in a red satin, heart-shaped box. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry. The day has come to be associated with a generic platonic greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day." As a joke, Valentine's Day is also referred to as "Singles Awareness Day". In some North American elementary schools, children decorate classrooms, exchange cards, and eat sweets. The greeting cards of these students sometimes mention what they appreciate about each other.

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million valentines are sent each year in the US. Half of those valentines are given to family members other than husband or wife, usually to children. When you include the valentine-exchange cards made in school activities the figure goes up to 1 billion, and teachers become the people receiving the most valentines.

The rise of Internet popularity at the turn of the millennium is creating new traditions. Millions of people use, every year, digital means of creating and sending Valentine's Day greeting messages such as e-cards, love coupons or printable greeting cards. About 15 million e-valentines will have been sent in 2010.

There are some families, however, who choose to find other means of honoring Saint Valentine on Valentine's Day. Many of these traditions involve bonfires, for fire is said to represent passion.

Cupid Whispering in Ear, St. Valentine's Day Greeting

2010-07-13T17:12:00.000-07:00

St. Valentine's Greeting Cupid Whispering in Ear Scene

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St. Valentine by J. C. Leyendecker

2010-04-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

St. Valentine, c.1918

More paintings by Leyendecker

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Joseph Christian Leyendecker (March 23, 1874 – July 25, 1951) was one of the pre-eminent American illustrators of the early twentieth century. He is best known for his poster, book, and advertising illustrations, the trade character known as The Arrow Collar Man, and his numerous covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Between 1896 and 1950, Leyendecker painted more than 400 magazine covers. During The Golden Age of American Illustration, for the Saturday Evening Post alone, J. C. Leyendecker produced 322 covers, as well as many advertisement illustrations for its interior pages. No other artist, until the arrival of Norman Rockwell two decades later, was so solidly identified with one publication.

Monk with Wings and Watering Can, Watering Hearts

2010-03-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

St. Valentine's

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St. Nicholas Magazine, 1916

2010-02-14T17:03:00.000-08:00

St. Nicholas, Valentines

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Heart with Arrow Piercing Through, 1901

2010-02-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

St. Valentine's 1901

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Clown on a Saint Bernard Valentine

2010-02-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

Clown on St. Bernard, Be My Valentine

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St. Valentine

2010-02-07T14:59:00.000-08:00

St. Valentine

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St. Valentine's Greeting, Boy with a Heart-shaped Boat

2010-02-04T16:57:00.000-08:00

There goes my message true, may fair winds speed it on to you!

St. Valentine's Greeting, Boy with Heart Boat

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Schrafft's Valentine Window Display, New York, 1948

2010-01-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Title: Schrafft's, 58th St. and Madison Ave., New York City. St. Valentine's Day window
Creator: Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc., photographer
Date Created/Published: 1948 Feb. 1.
Part of: Gottscho-Schleisner Collection (Library of Congress)

Folklore and Mythology of the Bagpipe

2009-06-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's not about Valentine's Day, but Joanne, your blog host at St. Valentine's Day History, has just released a new book of folklore and mythology that is all about bagpipes and pipers!

Barnes and Noble and Amazon are the first of the major booksellers to have The Piper Came to Our Town listed.

You can learn more about the book by visiting Bagpipe Folklore, Legends, and Fairy Tales. There you will find vintage photos, engravings, and other images of bagpipes and pipers from around the world, as well as stories, legends, and true-life tales related to piping.

Queen of Hearts Valentine

2009-02-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts
Upon a summer's day.
The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts
and quickly ran away.
Now were you but that Queen of Hearts
With tarts in fine array
I'd leave the tarts and steal your heat
and keep it dear, alway!

Card Hearts and Poem

Art Print

Cupid Chopping Heart with a Hatchet

2009-01-31T22:14:00.000-08:00

To My Valentine, Cupids Breaking Heart

This Vintage postcard image is available as an art print. Check here for availability.

Cupids Hugging

2009-01-29T22:13:00.000-08:00

To My Valentine, Cupids Hugging

Art Print

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My Heart is Yours, Boy in Winter Clothes

2009-01-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

What mother would send her son in the snow in short pants?

My Heart is Yours Boy in Snow

Art Print

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Flock of Doves

2009-01-25T22:10:00.000-08:00

To My Valentine, Doves with Letters

This vintage image is available as a reproduction print

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Bullfighter Valentine

2009-01-23T22:07:00.000-08:00

Valentine, Toreador and Senorita Cartoon

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Will You Be My Valentine? Swell Couple

2009-01-21T22:09:00.000-08:00

Will You Be My Valentine? Couple Amid Flowers

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I'm Just Mooning Over You

2009-01-19T22:06:00.000-08:00

I'm Just Mooning over You, My Valentine

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Patriotic Boy Valentine

2009-01-17T22:02:00.000-08:00

Valentine Greetings, Patriotic Child
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Quit Clowning and Be My Valentine

2009-01-15T22:01:00.000-08:00

Quit Clowning and Be My Valentine

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Puppy Valentine Card

2009-01-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

To My Valentine, Dog with Clown Ruff

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Biplane Valentine

2009-01-11T21:58:00.000-08:00

Come fly with me!

Come Fly with me, Couple in Vintage Biplane

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Pascall Versailles Chocolates

2009-01-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

Versailles Chocolates
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Queen of Hearts Valentine

2009-01-06T21:57:00.000-08:00

To My Valentine, Girl Surrounded by Heart Cards

A delightful vintage postcard image.

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Gay Nineties Valentine, Lady in a Mask

2009-01-04T21:55:00.000-08:00

A sweet masquerade! The perfect print for a powder room.

Happy Valentine's Day, Gay Nineties Lady
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Valentine Couple on Crescent Moon

2009-01-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

To My Valentine, Couple on Moon

Vintage Postcard Image

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Valentine Greetings, Victorian Lady with Hat

2009-01-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

Valentine Greeting, Lady with Hat

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Cupid Riding Dove

2009-01-01T21:51:00.000-08:00

To My Valentine, Cupid Riding Dove

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Woman Holds a Ladder So Cupid Can Dust Some Hearts

2008-09-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

To My Valentine, Lady Holding Ladder for Cupid

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Victorian Mother with Child as Cupid

2008-09-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

To My Valentine, Victorian Mother and Child as Cupid

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Cherub Sitting on Roses

2008-09-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

To My Valentine, Fishing Cupid in Roses

You can practically smell the roses on this one! It is available as an art print from here: Valentine Art.

Napoleon Cupid in a Heart-Shaped Bunker

2008-09-25T21:39:00.000-07:00

Dear, if I surrender will you take me in the fort?

To My Valentine, Napoleon-Cupid in Heart Bunker

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Cupid Repairs a Broken Heart

2008-09-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

To My Valentine, Cupid Repairing Heart

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Cupid with Candle on Head

2008-09-23T21:37:00.000-07:00

Valentine Greetings, Cupid with Candle on Head

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Cupid Riding a Dove

2008-09-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

To My Valentine, Cupid Riding Dove

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Vintage Valentine Art

Venus and Cupid by Lucas Cranach the Elder

2008-09-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Venus and Cupid

Giclee Print

Cranach the...

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Cupid Keeps a Secret

2008-09-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Cherubs, Cupids and Love VII

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Cupid Asleep

2008-09-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Cupid Asleep

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Allegory with Venus and Cupid, Agnolo Bronzino

2008-09-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

Allegory with Venus and Cupid

Art Print

Agnolo Bronzino

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Venus and Cupid by Guillaume Seignac

2008-09-17T21:27:00.000-07:00

Venus and Cupid

Guillaume Seignac

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Cupidon, William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1875

2008-09-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Cupidon, c.1875 (detail)

William Adolphe Bouguereau

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Butterfly Valentine, circa 1940s

2008-09-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Just a Butterfly? Fly my way, Valentine!
Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Black Americana Valentine, circa 1940

2008-09-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

I'm a little embarrased--but will you be my Valentine?

Be My Sweetheart, Black Americana Valentine

2008-09-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Be My Sweetheart. Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova, 1796

2008-09-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Cupid is one of the better-known figures of classical mythology. I thought I'd round out the rest of the month with images of cupid, as interpreted by famous and not-so-famous artists.

Cupid and Psyche, 1796

Antonio Canova

Click here for availability

A Darktown Trip, Black Americana Valentine

2008-09-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

A Darktown Trip
Oh come wid me in ma automobeel
We'll go whar de woodbines twine;
You kin make ma bed an kin cook ma meal,
An' be ma Valentine.

Valentine's Day History: Modern Times

2008-09-11T20:24:00.000-07:00

Modern times

The reinvention of Saint Valentine's Day in the 1840s has been traced by Leigh Eric Schmidt.[27] As a writer in Graham's American Monthly observed in 1849, "Saint Valentine's Day... is becoming, nay it has become, a national holyday."[28] In the United States, the first mass-produced valentines of embossed paper lace were produced and sold shortly after 1847 by Esther Howland (1828-1904) of Worcester, Massachusetts. Her father operated a large book and stationery store, but Howland took her inspiration from an English valentine she had received, so clearly the practice of sending Valentine's cards had existed in England before it became popular in North America. The English practice of sending Valentine's cards appears in Elizabeth Gaskell's Mr. Harrison's Confessions (published 1851). Since 2001, the Greeting Card Association has been giving an annual "Esther Howland Award for a Greeting Card Visionary." The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.[29] The mid-nineteenth century Valentine's Day trade was a harbinger of further commercialized holidays in the United States to follow.

In the second half of the twentieth century, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts in the United States, usually from a man to a woman.[31] Such gifts typically include roses and chocolates packed in a red satin, heart-shaped box. In the 1980s, the diamond industry began to promote Valentine's Day as an occasion for giving jewelry. The day has come to be associated with a generic platonic greeting of "Happy Valentine's Day." As a joke, Valentine's Day is also referred to as "Singles Awareness Day." In some North American elementary schools, children decorate classrooms, exchange cards, and eat sweets. The greeting cards of these students often mention what they appreciate about each other. Natalie Jones is the hostess and ChairPerson for the Valentines International Party - VIP headquarted in Washington D.C. The third annual VIP gala for FONsies (Friends Of Natalie) will be held in Washington D.C.on February 14, 2009.

A Whitney Valentine, 1887

2008-09-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

Whitney Valentine, 1887; Howland sold her New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company in 188

St. Valentine's Day in Hamlet

2008-09-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day is mentioned ruefully by Ophelia in Hamlet (1600-1601):

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I a maid at your window,
To be your Valentine.
Then up he rose, and donn'd his clothes,
And dupp'd the chamber-door;
Let in the maid, that out a maid
Never departed more.

(William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act IV, Scene 5)

Seascape Valentine, 19th Century

2008-09-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

A 19th century seascape Valentine; image courtesy Wikipedia.

Simpering Miss Vinegar Valentine

2008-09-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

The smile that on your face appears
Stretching your mouth to most your ears
You think, no doubt, as sweet as honey,
Whereas, dear girl, it's only funny.

St. Valentine's Day Not Always a Romantic Holiday

2008-09-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

Attested St. Valentine's Day Traditions (from Wikipedia)

Greek and Roman fertility festivals

Though popular modern sources link unspecified Greco-Roman February holidays alleged to be devoted to fertility and love to St Valentine's Day, Professor Jack Oruch of the University of Kansas argued that prior to Chaucer, no links between the Saints named Valentinus and romantic love existed. Thus, it is immaterial to the history of Valentine's Day whether or not in the ancient Athenian calendar the period between mid-January and mid-February was the month of Gamelion, dedicated to the sacred marriage of Zeus and Hera.

In Ancient Rome, February 15 was Lupercalia, an archaic rite connected to fertility, without overtones of romance. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning "Juno the purifier" or "the chaste Juno," was celebrated on February 13-14. Pope Gelasius I (492-496) abolished Lupercalia.

While it is a common opinion that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to christianize celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia, no connection has been demonstrated.

Chaucer's love birds

The first recorded association of Valentine's Day with romantic love is in Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.

This poem was written to honor the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. A treaty providing for a marriage was signed on May 2, 1381. (When they were married eight months later, he was 13 or 14, and she was 14.)

Readers have uncritically assumed that Chaucer was referring to February 14 as Valentine's Day; however, mid-February is an unlikely time for birds to be mating in England. Henry Ansgar Kelly has pointed out that in the liturgical calendar, May 2 is the saints' day for Valentine of Genoa. This St. Valentine was an early bishop of Genoa who died around AD 307.

Chaucer's Parliament of Foules is set in a fictional context of an old tradition, but in fact there was no such tradition before Chaucer. The speculative explanation of sentimental customs, posing as historical fact, had their origins among eighteenth-century antiquaries, notably Alban Butler, the author of Butler's Lives of Saints, and have been perpetuated even by respectable modern scholars. Most notably, "the idea that Valentine's Day customs perpetuated those of the Roman Lupercalia has been accepted uncritically and repeated, in various forms, up to the present".

A 19th Century Valentine

2008-09-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Valentine card, 1862: "My dearest Miss, I send thee a kiss." Image courtesy Wikipedia.

A 19th Century Comic Valentine

2008-09-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

Comic Valentine, mid-19th century: "R stands for rod, which can give a smart crack, And ought to be used For a day on your back."

A Historic St. Valentine?

2008-09-02T20:18:00.000-07:00

Saint Valentine

Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. Until 1969, the Catholic Church formally recognized eleven Valentine's Days. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae).

Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who suffered martyrdom about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland.

Valentine of Terni became bishop of Interamna (modern Terni) about AD 197 and is said to have been killed during the persecution of Emperor Aurelian. He is also buried on the Via Flaminia, but in a different location than Valentine of Rome. His relics are at the Basilica of Saint Valentine in Terni (Basilica di San Valentino).

The Catholic Encyclopedia also speaks of a third saint named Valentine who was mentioned in early martyrologies under date of February 14. He was martyred in Africa with a number of companions, but nothing more is known about him. Some sources say the Valentine linked to romance is Valentine of Rome, others say Valentine of Terni.[citation needed] Some scholars (such as the Bollandists[citation needed]) have concluded that the two were originally the same person.

No romantic elements are present in the original early medieval biographies of either of these martyrs. By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the fourteenth century, distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni were utterly lost.

In 1836, relics of St. Valentine of Rome were donated by Pope Gregory XVI to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. In the 1960s, the church was renovated and relics restored to prominence.

In the 1969 revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints, the feastday of Saint Valentine on February 14 was removed from the General Roman Calendar and relegated to particular (local or even national) calendars for the following reason: "Though the memorial of Saint Valentine is ancient, it is left to particular calendars, since, apart from his name, nothing is known of Saint Valentine except that he was buried on the Via Flaminia on February 14." The feast day is still celebrated in Balzan and in Malta where relics of the saint are claimed to be found, and also throughout the world by Traditionalist Catholics who follow the older, pre-Vatican II calendar.

The Early Medieval acta of either Saint Valentine were excerpted by Bede and briefly expounded in Legenda Aurea. According to that version, St Valentine was persecuted as a Christian and interrogated by Roman Emperor Claudius II in person. Claudius was impressed by Valentine and had a discussion with him, attempting to get him to convert to Roman paganism in order to save his life. Valentine refused and tried to convert Claudius to Christianity instead. Because of this, he was executed. Before his execution, he is reported to have performed a miracle by healing the blind daughter of his jailer.

Legenda Aurea still providing no connections whatsoever with sentimental love, appropriate lore has been embroidered in modern times to portray Valentine as a priest who refused an unattested law attributed to Roman Emperor Claudius II, allegedly ordering that young men remain single. The Emperor supposedly did this to grow his army, believing that married men did not make for good soldiers. The priest Valentine, however, secretly performed marriage ceremonies for young men. When Claudius found out about this, he had Valentine arrested and thrown in jail. In an embellishment to The Golden Legend, on the evening before Valentine was to be executed, he wrote the first "valentine" himself, addressed to a young girl variously identified as his beloved,[14] as the jailer's daughter whom he had befriended and healed, or both.[16] It was a note that read "From your Valentine."

In another apparently modern embellishment, while Valentine was imprisoned, people would leave him little notes, folded up and hidden in cracks in the rocks around his cell. He would find them and offer prayers for them

Esther Howland Valentine, circa 1850

2008-09-01T20:26:00.000-07:00

Esther Howland Valentine, circa 1850: "Weddings now are all the go, Will you marry me or no"

One Billion Valentines Sent a Year

2008-08-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

Valentine's Day Statistics from Wikipedia:

Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14. In the Americas and Europe, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of "valentines." Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines cards are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas. The association estimates that women purchase approximately 85 percent of all valentines.

I Will Love You Forever

2008-07-26T01:19:00.001-07:00

A woman holding a bunch of roses smiles provacatively from this lovely hand-colored postcard. It is available as an art print from: Te Amare.

A Young Woman and Her Lover, Pamela Hanson

2008-07-25T01:15:00.000-07:00

“Bis” by Pamela Hanson sensually depicts an intimate but unusual moment in a young woman’s boudoir like it is a fashion spread in a high-end magazine. Hanson started in fashion photography with “Elle,” “Per Lui” and “Marie Claire” and for the past two decades her work has been displayed in international high-fashion magazines as well as makeup and clothing ads. She has directed several European TV commercials, and published two books."" -->-->-->
This high-quality art print is expertly produced to capture the vivid color and exceptional detail of the original. It is available from: Lipstick Kiss.

A Pair of Spectacles U & I, Valentine, Life Magazine

2008-07-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

This antique Valentine is available as an art print from: Spectacles.

Friendship Valentine, circa 1870

2008-07-23T20:47:00.001-07:00

This valentine is available as an art print from: Friendship.

St. Valentine, Saturday Evening Post, 1924, Joseph Christian Leyendecker

2008-07-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Here, St. Valentine is depicted as a charming young cupid. This painting by Joseph Leyendecker graced the cover of the February 1924 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. It is available here as an art print: Leyendecker

German Shepherd Valentine

2008-07-16T22:13:00.001-07:00

Don't you just want to kiss his sweet little nose? This image is available as an art print from: Romantic German Shepherd.

Lady and the Tramp: A Recipe for Romance

2008-07-15T13:46:00.001-07:00

Who can resist the charm of Lady and the Tramp? I've always wanted to eat spaghetti like this with someone. The image, once used on a U.S. postage stamp, can be found here: Lady and the Tramp.

Cupid and Psyche by Francois Gerard

2008-07-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

A reproductions posters of Francois Gerard's classic Cupid and Psyche is available here.

Bee in Your Boudiour

2008-01-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

A charming collection of vintage romantic images set to an old tune Bee in Your Boudiour. How many old time Hollywood legends can you spot? To watch the video, click on the arrow in the middle of the image.

Put Your Heart Into Valentine's Day This Year

2008-01-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

(ARA) - Candy hearts, roses, chocolates? There’s got to be a more creative way to tell your honey that they’re the only one this Valentine’s Day and without emptying your bank account. Instead of dinner at an expensive restaurant or a night on the town, why not create your own romantic getaway in the comfort of your own home.

Alma Yoss, a New Hampshire-based interior designer, who teaches in the Interior Design program at The New England Institute of Art, says you don’t have to be an expert to create a romantic setting for the evening.

For complete article, go to Imperial Valley News

Robin's Valentine

2008-01-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

For all you fans of vintage valentines, here's a mini video filled with dozens of them. It is set to the song "Who Was It," sung by Robin Platts

Turtle Doves

2007-11-12T21:06:00.001-08:00

We shall be happy
as two turle doves
in the garden of eternal love
With cupid as guide
you can't decline
to come with me
my valentine.

With a Purple Bow

2007-11-02T11:02:00.001-07:00

I send to you this purple bow
A loyal one I ween
to pledge to you my vow
My love, my heart, my queen

With Love and Devotion

2007-10-31T20:33:00.000-07:00

With Love and Devotion to my Sweetheart.

Souvenir Heart

2007-10-30T06:51:00.001-07:00

Although my heart the lady has, I greatly fear
She wants to keep it only as a souvenir.

Love's Message, Clapsaddle

2007-10-28T16:35:00.001-07:00

Hello! Here's Cupid! Send to me
The choicest heart on hand still free
Regret, too late, left with a line
To great a dainty Valentine.

Poppies of Love

2007-10-27T13:37:00.001-07:00

I send thee poppies red
for I've often heard it said
that if you breathe its
perfume deep,
'twill cast o'er you
sweet sleep.
And perchance you'll
dream in time,
that you will be my Valentine.

Love's Token

2007-10-27T12:35:00.001-07:00

Valentine Greetings with Woman in Big Hat

2007-10-23T14:54:00.001-07:00

Say Yes!

2007-10-22T20:35:00.001-07:00

Cupid whispers in her ear, urging her to accept the proposal.

Cherubs Baiting Hooks with Hearts

2007-10-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

A Lesson in Love and Devotion

2007-10-21T16:28:00.001-07:00

My heart is small
but it is true
And I will offer it to you
No rival can compare with mine
Let me be your true Valentine

Flapper Girl Popping Champagne with Cupid

2007-10-21T16:26:00.001-07:00

This perky image of a flapper girl popping open a champagne bottle is available as a poster.

Valentine's Day Delights Cookbook

2007-10-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

More than any other time of the year, St. Valentine's Day fills our hearts and minds with special feelings of tenderness and appreciation for that special person in our lives. We enjoy doing something out of the ordinary that shows our loved one that we truly value them and are pleased with who they are. In Valentine's Day Delights Cookbook, author Karen Jean Matsko Hood presents her collection of more than 250 exciting Valentine's Day recipes and some charming ideas on the subject to titillate the romantic and creative imagination in us all. Inside, you will also find some fascinating reading regarding this special day s history, folklore, cultivation, and much more. With recipes using readily available ingredients, Valentine's Day Delights Cookbook will be a valued addition to any chef's bookshelf.

An Irish Valentine

2007-10-13T18:49:00.001-07:00

Anonymous Valentines

2007-10-08T23:59:00.001-07:00

Never sign a Valentine with your own name.

—Charles Dickens, from Pickwick Papers