Valentine 1845 - 1875

This Valentine card, a delicate work of paper lace, presents us with an allegorical tableau of love and innocence. At its heart, a young girl amidst flora holds a basket brimming with flowers, symbols of budding affection and beauty. The card's structure, with figures framed by ornate, symmetrical arbors, recalls classical motifs. Note the figures of a young boy and a woman, perhaps representing Cupid and Psyche, or idealized visions of youthful love. The surrounding cut-out patterns of entwined vines and flowers not only enhance the aesthetic appeal but also echo the themes of growth, connection, and the intertwining of lives. Such imagery is ancient, tracing back to the floral garlands of antiquity used in rites of passage. It surfaces in Renaissance paintings symbolizing fertility, and reappears here, adapted for the Victorian era’s sentimental language of flowers. Even today, flowers carry subconscious emotional weight, stirring feelings of nostalgia and tenderness, proving that these symbols continue to resonate, transformed yet familiar, in our collective memory.