Will You Be My Valentine? A Gallery of Greetings

Love Letter to Friendship Greeting

History's Earliest Valentines

3D Gallery

After 1900 the Valentine's Day postcard quickly took the place of the more expensive enclosed card. A wider Valentine's Day market was created, but the nature of the exchange abruptly changed. Declarations of love now became cryptic messages. For most people, the Valentine postcard was a way to send casual greetings to school chums, friends and relatives, with the added fun of a clever and colourful picture on the front. Possibly the appearance of lavish pop-up cards was an attempt to reclaim the attention of those who were diverted by the novelty of the postcard. Inevitably, the postcard fad of 1900–1925 gave way to the telephone. However, the postcard's legacy was a broader market for the exchange of Valentine greetings.

View the QTVR version of this valentine (1.8 Mb).

Love's greeting pop-up Valentine

Circa 1900. London. Raphael Tuck. Gift
of Mrs. Aubrey C. Bean. Doon Heritage Crossroads:
971.026.011.8.
9 x 1  x 20.8 cm.