Esther Howland's beautiful lace cards set the style for valentines for the next several decades, and even into the 20th century.  She was not the first American to make valentines, but was certainly responsible for the increased popularity of lace valentines, and her style of hand-assembled cards, utilizing paper lace and embossed die-cut chromolithographed "scraps," had an enormous influence on the young greeting card industry.  She is particularly credited with adding more color to lace valentines, which had been primarily white.  She is also said to have introduced the paper spring, small pieces of accordion-folded paper placed under each layer of the card to lift it up and create a three-dimensional design.  Figures 1 through 8 all show multi-layered designs that make use of the paper spring.  Figure 1 shows one of her later creations, in a style of card much imitated by her competitors.

McLoughlin Brothers of New York (figure 2) entered into the valentine business early, producing comic valentines as early as the 1840s.  Valentines, however, were only a small part of their printing business that specialized in children's books and games.  By 1870, they had the largest color printing factory in the country.  A portion of that printing was devoted to valentines, many of which were comparable in quality and design to those of Esther Howland.  The company continued to produce beautiful lace valentines through the early years of the 20th century, and also followed the new trends of incorporating parchment and celluloid onto easel-backed valentines. (See examples in the previous article.)

George C. Whitney (figures 3, 4, 5, and 6) was one of the most prolific producers of American valentines.  As a teenager, George had been employed by Esther Howland on her famous assembly line.  He left to fight in the Civil War, and returned to form his own valentine card company in Worcester, Massachusetts with his brother Edward.  In 1869, the brothers parted company.  Edward formed a stationery company, and George concentrated on making valentines.  In 1881, he bought Esther Howland's business.  By 1888, he was one of the largest valentine manufacturers in the country, with plants in three states.

George Whitney's success is often attributed to taking advantage of manufacturing innovations.  Until the 1880s, paper lace had been imported from England, and embossed papers and die-cut "scraps" were imported from Germany.  When Americans discovered how to make fine paper lace, Whitney installed lace-making machinery in his factory.  He also installed equipment to emboss paper and die-cuts.  No longer forced to rely on imported materials, Whitney's production increased and his company grew. 

Whitney's earliest valentines are almost undistinguishable from those of Esther Howland, utilizing multiple layers of lace and embossed paper separated by paper springs.  The company produced hundreds of thousands of lace valentines, all assembled by hand.  After the First World War, hand assembly became too expensive and lace valentines gave way to more simple printed cards made by machine.  Whitney was one of the first companies to capitalize on the trend of school children exchanging valentines, and produced hundreds of thousands of tiny cards for the purpose.  (See figure 10)  Whitney Company also became famous for the verses inside the cards, and employed freelance writers all over the country.  The company closed its doors in 1942.

Louis Prang (figure 9) is best known for his Christmas cards.  He began producing valentines in 1874, and they were generally of the layered lace variety made popular by Esther Howland and George C. Whitney.  Prang was primarily a printer and worked in chromolithography. By the turn of the century his valentines (and Christmas cards) featured fine printing that was not hidden beneath layers of lace.  Instead he used silken fringe, cords, and tassels that did not detract from the quality of the printing.  His methods were exacting and expensive, utilizing zinc plates rather than lithographic stone.  Ultimately, he could not compete with the inexpensive German printed cards that began to flood the market, and because he refused to compromise the quality of his printing, he ceased production shortly after 1890.

One of the things I like best about valentines from the late 19th and early 20th centuries is the fact that they were generally put together by hand.  The bits and pieces were machine made, but the assembly was a painstaking manual process.  I encourage you to click on each image to bring up a larger version so you can appreciate the details and the work that went into creating each individual card.

Lots more valentines below. Click on any image to open another window with a larger view .

Sources

Robert Brenner, Valentine Treasury; A Century of Valentine Cards, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1997.

Dan & Pauline Campanelli, Romantic Valentines, LW Publishing, 1996.

Roselynn Ederer, From Your Valentine, Thomastown Publishing, 2002.

Michele Karl, Greetings with Love: The Book of Valentines, 2003.

Katherine Kreider, One Hundred Years of Valentines, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, 1999.

Where would you like to go now?

The next stop on Candice's Collections Tour.

Visit the illustrated Regency Glossary.

Check out the list of Regency research links.

Visit the detailed Regency Timeline.

Join Candice on Facebook.

candicehern.com
Home • Bookshelf • E-Book Central • Coming Soon • Meet Candice • Candice on Facebook
For Reviewers & Booksellers • Candice's Collections • Regency World • Contest • FAQs • Contact • Site • Copyright