For the love of books (and ephemera)

Celebrating Valentine's Day with vintage cards ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ [Logo]( [SHOP]( [SALES]( [10% OFF]( [ACCOUNT]( HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Where Saints Are Beheaded and Birds Mate [VINTAGE VALENTINE CARD]( During the Victorian era, the invention of postage stamps and other technological improvements significantly increased the rate at which lovers exchanged cards. While Valentine’s Day is as popular as ever, celebrating has moved away from cards. Yet, for the bibliophile in your life, nothing could touch their heart more than a carefully selected vintage card or a lovely edition of a book. [SEARCH FOR VINTAGE VALENTINES]( But going back to the roots of this festivity, the origin of St. Valentine’s Day is painted with much folklore and legend, starting over 1750 years ago when at least two Saint Valentines were beheaded: Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni, a priest and a bishop both associated with secret weddings and martyrdom. At the end of the 5th century, Pope Gelasius declared February 14th Saint Valentine’s Day in honor of the martyred Saints and maybe to put a stop to the Roman pagan holiday Lupercalia. Nevertheless, nothing was particularly romantic about Saint Valentine’s Day until English poet Geoffrey Chaucer tied it to mating. In his 14th-century poem “Parlement of Foules,” Chaucer wrote: “For this was on seynt Volantynys day. Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.” After that, European nobility took the bird-mating season as a time to send love notes. [Turn of the Century Valentine's Day Cards]( During the Victorian era (1820-1914), reduced postage rates, the invention of postage stamps, and the ability of printers to make “mechanical valentines” significantly increased the rate at which lovers exchanged cards. [FIND VICTORIAN VALENTINES]( In America, the holiday was slower to catch on, but the tradition of sending cards entered the mass market in the United States in the mid-1800s due, for the most part, to the designs of Esther Howland. Howland, whose father owned the largest stationery store in Worcester, Massachusetts, is credited with creating the first mass-market printed Valentines in the United States, selling over $100,000 in cards each year at the peak of her success. Inspired by the fancy cards imported from overseas (American Valentines at the time were cheap and much less elaborate), Howland’s Valentines are now a sought-after collector’s item. [edwardian valentine]( [Hand-colored Valentine]( [SEE MORE UNIQUE ITEMS!]( THE INTRICATE BEAUTY OF COBWEB VALENTINES In the early 19th century, more complex designs of Valentine’s Day cards came into play. The Cobweb Valentine is a moveable Valentine that, in its simplest form, consists of a piece of paper cut in an intricate connected pattern lifted with a string to reveal a hidden picture. [Cobweb Valentine]( [SEARCH FOR COBWEB VALENTINES]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [X.com]( This email was sent to {EMAIL} [why did I get this?]( [unsubscribe from this list]( [update subscription preferences]( Biblio.com · PO Box 1211 · Asheville, NC 28802 · USA