Valentine 1845 - 1875

This Valentine was made by Esther Howland, a pioneer in the mass production of these sentimental tokens. The prominent symbol here is, of course, Cupid, the Roman god of love. We find him at the top of the card, bow drawn and ready to strike. But consider how Cupid has morphed over time. In classical antiquity, Eros, the Greek counterpart, was often depicted as a young man, embodying the powerful, sometimes irrational, force of attraction. By the Renaissance, and certainly by Howland's time, he's become the chubby cherub we recognize today. This transformation speaks to a softening, perhaps even a sentimentalization, of love itself. The Victorians, with their emphasis on decorum and sentiment, embraced a domesticated version of this once formidable god. Cupid, in this form, is less about the wild passions of the ancients and more about the gentle stirrings of affection. This card, with its lace and delicate imagery, evokes an emotional landscape carefully curated and deeply felt.