Valentine - Mechanical, pull tab bouquet 1870 - 1880

Curator: Well, this is charming! The "Valentine - Mechanical, pull tab bouquet," dates to between 1870 and 1880. Editor: It feels so delicate. All the details give off a very handcrafted aesthetic. It certainly doesn’t read as mass produced, despite being a print. Curator: It's a watercolor drawing reproduced as a print and housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The combination of media, particularly watercolor with its association to craft traditions and then being reproduced as a print suggests a wider audience for these artisanal aesthetics, beyond what was normally accessed. Editor: Precisely, and the way these were circulated tells an interesting story. Given the industrializing forces in that period, it hints at evolving modes of courtship and gift-giving. You know, considering the emerging middle class and how printed materials could make sentiments and intimacy broadly accessible. It’s such a democratized gesture. Curator: Right, with its floral bouquet centered in an oval frame with that text panel in German... “Herzlichen Glückwunsch,” roughly “heartfelt congratulations.” Editor: Which tells us that the use may not have been confined to just Valentine's Day. I’m also looking at the trim of gold and decorative-lace cut-outs—clearly labor-intensive finishing work there. I bet that part of the appeal to the recipient lay in the tangible evidence of meticulous production and skill invested in creating the object itself. Curator: Exactly! This card would not exist without the availability of this combination of the means and technologies of industrial image reproduction but the aesthetic is referencing fine-art painting. In terms of the history of valentines and cards in general, what’s your view on the messaging, implicit and explicit, in works such as this one? Editor: Well, beyond the sentimental expression and connection, they were clearly signifiers of social relationships. As an object meant for social exchange, this mechanical pull-tab bouquet demonstrates both the technology of print and the material investments associated with status and connection within that society. I find it utterly revealing as to cultural and historical dynamics! Curator: Agreed, the intersection between the commercial aspect and personalized message says quite a lot. A simple yet, beautiful thing when considered carefully. Editor: Absolutely. It’s both a memento and artifact, holding such resonant information in this deceptively simple card.