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| Esther A. Howland; Mount Holyoke College |
February is here and romance is in the air. Heart-shaped
boxes of chocolate, dinner with your sweetheart and the ever-popular
Valentine’s Day card make for an exciting celebration. The day is not just for
adults. Children join in on the fun. Some have parties at school, where they feast
on cookies and small candies and create their own cards to give to their
parents. Teenagers celebrate by sending secret Valentine’s to their friends.
The chocolate we enjoy today originated with the cacao bean, which made its way
around the world and eventually came to the United States via Europe .
Cocoa powder was sold in small tins. Folks used the powder to make a warm,
tasty drink before devising methods to make chocolate cakes and candies. As for
the Valentine’s Day card that we know today, that originated in Europe , too.
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| courtesy of Wikipedia |
As early as the 1700’s, people gave Valentine’s Day cards to
their sweethearts. The cards were handwritten on plain paper. By the 1820’s,
paper specifically made for Valentine’s Day cards was marketed. Using this type
of paper became fashionable in both Britain and the United States . Britain adopted
commercial postal rates in the 1840’s and the use of commercially produced
Valentine’s Day cards grew. The cards were constructed of flat sheets of paper,
printed with colorful illustrations and embossed borders, folded and sealed
with wax. One such card made its way to Esther A. Howland in Worcester , Massachusetts
Esther’s father was a stationer. She approached him with the
card and an idea to make her own cards. Her father agreed and she made some
sample cards, sent them out with her brother with the notion if she received
orders for the cards, the amount ordered would be low, maybe two hundred cards.
She was wrong. The order she received was for five thousand cards. Creating an
assembly line on the third floor of her home, she hired her friends to help
produce and fill the order. Two years later, she went into business for
herself, opening the New England Valentine Company.
The sending of commercially produced Valentine’s Day cards
grew throughout the 1850’s. During the Civil War, the amount of cards sent
declined, but after the war, the amount escalated. Sending Valentine’s Cards
was turning into a big business.
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| courtesy of Worthpoint |
Ester kept her company flourishing for forty years. She
eventually sold her business to George C. Whitney in 1888. She never married
and today some of her cards are still in existence. Collectors are always on the
lookout for them. If found and in mint condition, collectors pay anywhere from
$300 to $400 for one. (and you thought roses were expensive, lol)
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| courtesy of Valentine Museum |
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| courtesy of amazing women in history |
3 comments:
What a delightful read, Julie. I've always loved the Victorian Valentine cards as they're so romantic. For years I bought a calendar composed of romantic Victorian pictures/paintings and couldn't throw them away at year's end. I haven't found any lately. What a wonderful success story for the lady from Massachusetts who followed her dream.
Hi Elizabeth: So glad you liked the blog. Her cards were gorgeous! I can't imagine the amount of time it took her to craft one--so much detail. Wish Hallmark made something similar, and with better verses inside. Hopefully, you'll happen upon another calendar. Hugs!
Hi, I enjoyed reading this article, it is so interesting and very informative. Thank you so much for sharing this very nice article . Have a Great rest of the week. God Bless you.
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