Valentine 1880

This paper Valentine, with its intricate cutwork, was made by an anonymous artist. Valentines like this one were popular in the 19th-century United States, when the rise of industrialization and mass production made them more accessible to a wider public. The visual language of this Valentine tells us about the social rituals of courtship. The delicate, lace-like paper evokes ideas of purity and refinement. The floral motifs and the message "Be my guide" hint at the Victorian obsession with sentimental love and the importance of marriage as a social institution. This object circulated within a social system which was very different from our own. We can research this history further by looking at the archives of printmakers and stationers and by studying etiquette manuals and popular literature from the time. These sources help us understand how art and social norms were intertwined.