VALENTINES!! Page 1 of 2

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February 14 is St. Valentine's Day. It is customary on this day to give one's sweetheart a symbol of one's high regard. These are handmade Victorian valentines, dating from the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. Delicate, colorful and beautiful, they make a thoughtful and inexpensive gift at any time of the year. For collectors, they are an ideal collectible, involving relatively small expense, taking up very little space and making a beautiful display.

Item# VAL701: EXCEPTIONAL VERTICAL-OPENING WHITNEY VALENTINE. This lovely Whitney valentine is large (6 1/2 inches, top to bottom), is quite layered and lacy, and opens at the bottom. There's a boy, a girl, and a dog under the lace. The front is adorned with a cupid and a bunch of flowers. Inside, a little girl with her doll sits on a bench and feeds a goose. The poem inside says, "To My Valentine: There's plenty of room on this bench for you, There's room in my heart as well, How I want you for my Valentine, I hardly dare to tell."Pencil inscription on inside and back. In pristine condition. Circa 1920s, USA. SOLD.

Item# VAL702: LITTLE PILOT VALENTINE. Young pilot in brown flight suit, waves from his valentine-adorned plane. It says, "In plane words, I'm up in the air my Valentine." Great choice for the airplane enthusiast in your life. 4 3/4 inches high, very colorful, with gold accents, with three dimensionsal wing. Easel on the back.Slight foxing on the back. Slight crease on the front - much less visible in person than in the magnified photo. Inscription on back. Made by the Carrington Co., Chicago, IL. Circa 1930s, made in USA. SOLD.

Item# VAL311: GIRL WITH BIG HEART MECHANICAL VALENTINE. This little girl with a bow in her hair and Mary Janes on her feet can be hidden completely behind the heart. The heart says, "Behind this heart that beats so true, You find a Valentine for you." 4 1/2 inches high, fully extended. Slight foxing on the back. Overall very good condition. Unused. Circa 1920. SOLD.

Item# VAL706: LACY TWO-LAYER VALENTINE. A young boy in knee britches presents a valentine to a girl in an oval lace dimensional frame, adorned with a bird and an artist's palette. All this is mounted on an embossed blue and silver background. Inside, a drawing of water lilies and a poem: "When first I saw thee, dearest one, Chief among the young and fair, Little did I think that then, Cupid's self was lurking there, Knew not till I felt the dart, Thou hads't borne away my heart!" Sigh. Send her this one and she's yours! 5 1/2 inches high, in excellent condition, unused. Americn, circa 1900. SOLD

Item# VAL238: VERY LARGE EMBOSSED PULLDOWN VALENTINE. . This is the "youngest" valentine on the site, but we included it because it is so lovely. Winged cupids hover at a golden windmill on this three-layer flower-bedecked card, with not one, but THREE pink honeycombs at the bottom. Here's a picture of it CLOSED. It's 9 1/2 inches high and 7 1/2 inches wide. Small amount of foxing here and there. Otherwise, excelllent condition. Signed "Charles 1968" on the back. A Hallmark card, made in USA . $10.00.

Item# VAL318: GENT WITH BOWLER AND MONOCLE STAND-UP VALENTINE. A monocled gentleman with striped pants, tail coat, bowler, walking stick, and watch fob, shows his heart-shaped vest. At his feet, a puppy with a heart in his mouth. The poem says, "I thought may be you would ask me to be your Valentine." The valentine stands up by means of a sliding easel in the back. The man winds up on the heart-shaped base.Unused. 4 inches high when standing up; 6 inches long when folded flat. One crease at thepoint of the base, otherwise in excellent condition. German. Circa 1900. SOLD.

Item# VAL317: LACY VICTORIAN VALENTINE. Lace layered over a pastoral scene, with a child's face and a butterfly on top, and a floral border. Inside, a sentimental poem. 6 1/2 inches high, 4 1/4 inches across. A few albun marks on back. Otherwise excellent. Pencil signature on back.Made in USA. Circa 1900. SOLD.

Item# VAL707: ONE BOY MARCHING BAND VALENTINE. This cute blue-eyed boy with a real feather in his hat plays the cymbals and beats the drum. Card says, "To My Valentine: Zing Bang Boom - There is only room in my hearts for you!". This is a large valentine - 8 1/2 inches high. A little dirt at the top and bottom edge, otherwise in excellent condition. Made in USA, circa 1940s. $7.00.

Item# VAL316: TWO VERY ADORABLE CHILDREN EMBOSSED STAND-UP VALENTINE. This is one of those valentines that stands up by means of the front layer being pulled forward, to form a rectangle at the base.. The sweetest little girl in flowered dress, bonnet red hat, and shoes adorned with hearts, faces a little boy with a bow tie. On the floor are a pair of heart-adorned Chinese lanterns. One of them reads, "To My Valentine". At the girl's feet it says, "To My Sweetheart." 4 1/4 inches high. It appears that the girl may have been holding long pole at one time; it is no longer there. Condition otherwise is pristine. Pencil signature on back. Printed in Germany circa 1900. $23.00.

Item# VAL313: WONDERFUL WHITNEY WITH LACE VALENTINE. This beautiful Whitney valentine has a cover of lace adorned with hearts, flowers and a butterfly. In the background is a little girl with a dolly dressed as a nurse.. Inside, the wonderful Whitney typeface with a little poem, and a black-and-white illustration of a little girl walking a dog with a big bow around its neck. 4 1/2 inches square. In excellent unused condition.Made in the USA circa 1920. $22.00.

Item# VAL233: WHITNEY EMBOSSED BASEBALL PLAYER VALENTINE. Embossed stained glass-type floral border with a boy in cap, striped shirt and tie, weilding a baseball bat, in center. He's wearing cufflinks! Indie, the poem reads, "To My Valentine, If all the trees were made into pens, And all the seas were ink, I could not write the words to tell, One half the love I think." They just don't write them like that anymore. A great valentine for the athlete in your life. 5 inches high. Signed on back. Whitney, made in USA, circa 1920. Excellent condition. SOLD.

Item# VAL705: WHITNEY LITTLE RADIO OPERATOR VALENTINE. This World War II-era valentine features a little girl at her post as a radio operator, framed in fancy grape and grapevine lace, with medallions containing lovebirds.The embossed backfround contains multi-colored flowers with gold accents as only Whitney could do them.Inside, a boy and girl sit on a crexcent moon and listen in on the radio line. The poem reads, "I breathed a message into the air. It fell to earth, I know not where. If you "listened in" then you'd know That you are my valentine, I love you so!" 5 1/2 inches square, tear at top (hidden in he busy pattern of the front, goes through to the back. Maade in USA, circa 1920s. $8.00.

Item# VAL237: EMBOSSED GERMAN NAUTICAL CONSTRUCTION PULL-DOWN VALENTINE. This one is either the most specific occupational valentine ever created, or it's the most interesting mix of metaphors ever. There's a dove with a letter in its mouth, a winged cherub with a basket of hearts that say "To my valentine", a golden construction crane full of forget-me-nots, an anchor, a hitching post and a red honeycomb. Three layers. The poem inside reads, "Just these few words from me, Wherever thou may be, Forget me not." Here's a picture of it CLOSED.7 1/2 inches high. Made in Germany c. 1890. In very good condition, with some wear to the fold. Know a construction worker? A sailor? A florist? This is the card! $58.00.

Item# VAL235: MECHANICAL BOY WITH GIRL IN WELL VALENTINE. Young boy in sailor suit pulls a string and brings up a red-ribboned girl in a bucket from the well. Of course, you can raise his arm and lower her back into the well. Perhaps this is the valentine to send to the person with whom you have a love-hate relationship. Or maybe it should go to the person to whom you are unable to commit. It says, "To Greet My Valentine." Go figure. 5 1/4 inches high. Pencil-signed on back. In very good condition, with a couple of creases to one of the well posts. Printed in USA circa 1900. $25.00.

Item# VAL234: VERY UNUSUAL DOUBLE-SIDED VALENTINE. We've photographed both the front and back of this one because it's so unusual. The front has blood-red lace, birds and flowers over a picture of a child in a yellow dress, holding a valentine. The back has a complicated mix of pink, purple, and blue flowers and hearts, with a girl in a bonnet in a heart at the center. Both sides have frames of gold. The inside contains a black-and-white picture of a boy and girl with the words, "There is no one else I ever knew, Who appealed to me the way you do.". Inscribed inside. 5 inches high. In excellent condition. Made in USA circa 1920. Possibly unsigned Whitney. $12.00.

Item# VAL232: GERMAN MECHANICAL LITTLE HANDYMAN VALENTINE . What a cutie! Little boy in checkered cap uses the tools from his cigar box to construct a valentine. When his arm is lifted to hit the nail, his eyes move too. You can see all the bent nails he discarded, lying on the floor. And we guess he missed a couple of times, because there's bandage on his finger. The two hearts he is trying to nail together are labeled "Yours" and "Mine". 5 3/4 inches high. In very good condition, with two tiny spots on the front. Printed in Germany circa 1924. Pencil signed and dated 1924 in back. SOLD .

Item# VAL230: EMBOSSED GERMAN SCRIBE VALENTINE. Here's one to send to your favorite office worker. A winged cupid turns away from his busy writing task to face the viewer. A sign on the wall says, "Feb 14 My Busy Day." Gold embossed hearts and red ribbons form the frame to the card, entitled, "To My Dearest." Cupid has been busy writing sentiments like, "My dear Valentine will you be mine?", and his work litters the floor. 3 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches. Postcard back. Printed in Germany 1910, inscribed 1912 on back. Excellent condition. SOLD .

Item# VAL226: MECHANICAL LITTLE CLOWN VALENTINE. How adorable! A little clown in blue hat and yellow costume, straddles a heart that says, "Take a chance and be my valentine." He's holding a mask in front of his face and, when his arm is moved, he plays "peek-a-boo" and reveals his face. 5 inches high, with fold-back easel. Inscribed on back. In excellent condition. Made in USA 1929. SOLD.

Item# VAL227: EMBOSSED BE-RIBBONED VALENTINE. This is one of those great "window" valentines. Tied with a pink ribbon, it's an ornate blue, silver and flower-embossed heart-shaped frame that displays two people walking near a country cottage. The front reads, "Valentine Greetings To The One I Love Best". Inside, the poem reads, "Some folks will send greetings to Sweethearts today, And some to their Pals, tried and true, But this valentine missive goes on its way to a Pal and a Sweetheart too." And that's the way it should be, don't you think? 8 inches high, in excellent condition. Unused. Made in USA circa 1910. SOLD .

Item# VAL223: EXTRA LARGE EMBOSSED LAYERS AND LACE VALENTINE. This one is very old and very big. Embossed layers of silver, pastel flowers, a lacy layer that includes doves and eggs in a nest, with embossed hearts, children, and even a little warrior. Inside, the message says, "I wish thee comfort, Joy and Peace, and Love In endless measure." along with a black-and-white stylized illustration. Pencil signed in back. 7 3/4 inches square. This one is for the serious collector. It's priced very low for what it is, because it has wear, and the back is stained, but you won't see many others like it. Probably made in Germany, circa 1880. SOLD.

Item# VAL231: EMBOSSED GIRL WITH DOLL AND PANSIES VALENTINE. A darling girl in a pink bonnet holds her dolly in one arm and a bunch of flowers in her other hand. She is standing in a frame of multicolored pansies, embossed and highlighted in gold. Inside, a poem entitled Think Of Me. "In after years, when you recall The days of pleasure past, And think of joyous hours, and all have flown away so fast; When some forgotten air you hear Brings back past scenes to thee, And gently claims your listening ear, -- Keep one kind thought for me." 4 3/4 inches by 6 1/4 inches. Small tear hidden in the decoration; overall very good condition. Signed in back. Printed in Germany circa 1910. SOLD.

Item# VAL709: MODEST WOMAN VALENTINE.She's very prim and proper on the outside, but the inside of the card depicts a heartthrob! Front says, "Some Valentines are mighty plain, And some are downright crummy...But all I gotta say for you...(inside) Yummy! Yummy! Yummy! The hot number inside is clutching a valentine. 5 inches high, in pristine condition, unused, made by Norcross, a company that's been out of business since the early 80s. Comes complete with the original envelope. Made in USA, circa 1940s.

Item# VAL888: WASTEBASKET OF LOVE VALENTINE.In their quest for originality, valentine copywriters sometimes crossed over into the absurd. Here's a wastepaper basket valentine with a removable heart. It says, "Love's Query: Who I am I shall not say, But I send you this bouquet, With this query Lady Mine, Will you be my valentine?" The pail, which is full of love notes, says, "Better Think It Over before you 'Scrap' It'". Approxiimately 5 inches tall with the heart in place. Unused. Small amount of foxing on the back of the heart. Everything else is perfect. American C. 1920. SOLD.

Item# VAL445: SLEEK MECHANICAL VALENTINE FOR THE GRAMMATICALLY CHALLENGED. A pair of elegant dancers in formal attire trip the light fantastic. He seems to be working very hard, and she seems to want to be somewhere else. A tab on the back raises and lowers their arms. Valentine reads "Hold MeTight, Your My Valentine ." We are not responsible for copy writers who don't know the difference between "your" and "you're"! It's a big one: about 7 1/2 inches high. in wonderful condition. American, C. 1920.SOLD.

Item# VAL288: RAPHAEL TUCK DUTCH CHILDREN VALENTINE. These two embracing Dutch kids look positively dreamy-eyed. They're a pair of blue-eyed blonde kids in brilliantly colored traditional Dutch costume. The card reads, "Dear little maid, so sweet and Dutch, I love you very, very much; Then won't you be my Valentine, and your heart exchange for mine?" Card has an easel on the back for standing up. 7 inches high. In excellent condition.By Rapahel Tuck & Sons. Printed in Germany circa 1890. $15.00.

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