This week I thought it would be fun to present a pictorial timeline of Valentines, from handwritten letters to Hallmark cards. (If you’d like to read about the history of Valentine’s Day or watch a short video click here.)

Timeline

The oldest known surviving valentine, held by the British Library, is a poem that Charles, Duke of Orleans, wrote to his wife in 1415 while he was imprisoned in England after the Battle of Agincourt.

The first valentine written in English is also held by the British Library. It’s a letter written by Margery Brews to her fiance in February 1477. It begins, “Unto my right well-beloved Valentine John Paston, squire, be this bill delivered.” You can read the transcript here.

The first Valentine’s Day cards were sent in the 18th century. They were handmade since pre-printed cards were not yet available.

The York Castle Museum holds what may be the first printed Valentine’s Day card. It was published in January 1797 by John Fairburn of 146, Minories, London. The verse around the border reads:
“Since on this ever Happy day,
All Nature’s full of Love and Play
Yet harmless still if my design,
‘Tis but to be your Valentine.”

The card was sent by Catherine Mossday with this handwritten message: “Mr Brown, As I have repeatedly requested you to come I think you must have some reason for not complying with my request, but as I have something particular to say to you I could wish you make it all agreeable to come on Sunday next without fail and in doing you will oblige your well wisher.”

Valentines were extremely popular during the Victorian era. According to cultural historian Anna Maria Barry, “It is estimated that by the mid 1820s, some 200,000 Valentines were circulated in London alone. …reports suggest that by the late 1840s the amount of cards being circulated doubled, doubling once again in the next two decades.” Cards were sometimes decorated with hearts, but Cupids, loveknots, and flowers were more common.

The Victorians also sent “vinegar valentines,” insulting cards for the romance-averse. (See many 20th century examples here.)

Below is what some consider the worst valentine ever, dating to 1900. It reads: “For the New Woman! With St Valentine’s Heartiest Greetings and Best Hopes that she will receive another (moustache) – With A Man Attached.”

The European tradition of sending valentines was brought to the United States by Esther Howland of Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1849 she began a small homemade card business using materials ordered from England. Friends helped make the cards, which she sold in her father’s stationery store. Her business grew into a flourishing enterprise called the New England Valentine Company, which she sold when she retired in 1881.

Hallmark began producing Valentine’s Day cards in 1913. Below you’ll find a sampling from different decades.

I hope you had as much fun viewing these historical valentines as I did compiling them. Here’s to a happy holiday weekend!

Sources

“Be Mine Over Time” by Hallmark staff
“A Brief History of Valentine’s Day Cards” by Anna Maria Barry
“Could this be worst Valentine’s card in history?” in The Yorkshire Post
“How Valentines Took Off in the U.S.” by Jennifer Viegas
“The Mother of the Valentine” on WBUR News
“Valentines” on the Worcester Historical Museum website
“Valentine’s Day Love Letter” in the British Library’s English Timeline
“When Valentines Were Really, Really Mean” by Rebecca Onion
“Who Sent the First Valentine’s Day Cards?” by Elizabeth Palermo
“World’s First Printed Valentine’s Card” via A History of the World