Valentine 1880

This Valentine card, an anonymous creation, features delicate paper lace and a central image, emblems ripe with cultural significance. The rose motif, prominent around the card's border, has been linked to love and beauty since antiquity, a connection we can see perpetuated from ancient Greece to the Renaissance. Even the wreath carries echoes of ancient victory wreaths but is here transformed into an emblem of affection. The gesture of giving flowers transcends time. The act is mirrored in countless works, each instance a rediscovery and reinterpretation of this primal offering. In the image, the little girl holding the flowers embodies the innocence and purity associated with new love, engaging viewers on a deep, subconscious level. Such symbols form a non-linear, cyclical progression, constantly resurfacing and evolving. Even today, these motifs persist, adapted and renewed, continuing to resonate with our shared human experience.