Tell them YOU LOVE THEM

Don't ever miss the chance to tell someone you love them. Time disappears like a whisper. It all passes too soon.

This vintage Valentine, mounted on black paper, is one from a series I purchased years ago that were part of a salesman's sample.

To see more Valentines click on the label "valentine" or "valentines" below.

VALENTINES From Parents to Their Daughter

This week I was given an old tattered scrapbook that belonged to a woman named Montez Lawton. She was an elementary school teacher in Northern California. The book is falling apart, the pages brittle. But inside are a few wonderful items including handwritten get well wishes from her young students.

These valentines are also inside, sent to her by her parents. I will take them from the album and put them in my archival albums where I keep all of the valentine's I've found. These are unusual to my collection because I tend to find and buy ones that were clearly for children. These are a bit more adult.

Click on any image to see it larger.

Published by Rust Craft.

Published by The Wishing Well (not affiliated with the company now using the name in the UK)

This one might as well be a get well card and indeed I imagine the image was used for a variety of cards. Nothing about it looks like a valentine.

Published by Hallmark.

To see some of my past posts about Valentines:

Valentine gamble

VALENTINE, VALENTINE, wherefore art thou? To see more about this book click on the link in the Amazon column to the left. The book sells used dirt cheap. It's full of fun images from old valentines.

Vintage CAT VALENTINE

There's a storm coming, actually a series of storms. If they're as bad as they say...and really, I rarely trust weather reports...I will probably lose my internet connection via satellite most of the week. So I'm rushing around trying to get work done, uploads, downloads, whatever load I can bear. And one of my priorities is getting items into my CafePress shop. So that's why I haven't been posting fun new odd items the past few days. I've started speaking like Dick and Jane, "Hurry! Hurry! Fast! Fast!"

I introduce to you the most recent item for sale at Tattered and Lost Ephemera Gift Shop. This is my take on a vintage early 20th-Century mechanical Valentine, originally made in Germany. Those who've been around here before might have seen this same cat posted last year as an animated file. The little cat rolls its eyes and sticks out its tongue. This year I've put it on a piece of lace that belonged to my grandmother.

The next items for sale will be a lot less romantic and a lot more snarky. Stay tuned.

VALENTINE gamble

I don't think children are required to give valentines to their classmates anymore. I hope not. What it taught you at an early age was who your friends were, who you wanted to be your friends, and who you just didn't care about. Sorting through the stack of cards the night before, deciding which were the very best (which of course would be given to your friends) and picking out the ones you thought were the ugliest to give to the children you thought fit that bill. You had to give a card to every single child in class. It was an emotional day for a lot of kids. There was the way a child would hand you the card. The body language was telling. And of course the little boys were just uncomfortable with all of it. I know the teachers set it up so no child would be left out, but ultimately a few were. They simply didn't get as many as the other kids and they'd sit quietly at their desk with their smaller stack. There are other ways this could have been handled. But that's in the past, just as these valentines are from the past.

All of these cards are ones I've collected the past few years. This one of the cat is my favorite because it was purchased just weeks before my kitty passed. It looks a lot like him so it makes me smile and at the same time a little sad.

Other than the lovely illustrations used on valentines there are the catchy silly phrases. The clever play on words. Try to imagine the mind of the person who had to write these. They had to be constantly looking for some word, some phrase, that they could put a little twist on to make a hit-it-out-of-the-park one liner that would have their boss giving them a thumbs up and a pay check. Then it was handed to the illustrator to put their take on it. A lot of work, a lot of input from a lot of people, went into putting these little pieces of paper together. Most were bought, given, then tossed.

And really, does anything more say "I Love You!" than pork in plaid? I think not.

VALENTINE, VALENTINE, wherefore art thou?

I also collect valentines. Well, I have a few dozen, nothing more. I have to draw the line somewhere. I still love looking at them. Wonderful illustrations meant to bring some sort of gut reaction. Usually they just make me smile. 

There's a wonderful book put out by Taschen entitled Valentines: Vintage Holiday Graphics which is nothing more than page after page of valentines. It really runs the gamut from romantic to pure silly. No information is given about any of the illustrators. I fear that information is long since gone. But I do find work in the book that is similar to some in my collection. I can imagine people searching and searching for one particular illustrator. Good luck with that. 

I've posted a link in the left column to the book at Amazon where you can read more about it. Don't be alarmed that it says French and German edition. This simply refers to the preface which is provided in English, French, and German. There's no text in the rest of the book. And the trim size is very nice. Makes a nice reference book or a wonderful gift for someone who loves valentines.