Vintage Valentine's Cards

It's February 14th - St Valentine's Day, so it seems fitting to feature some vintage Valentine's cards today.

St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration of one or more early Christian Saints named Valentinus. Several martyrdom stories were invented for the various Valentines that belonged to February 14th, and added to later martyr histories.

The day was first associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In C18th England it evolved into an occasion in which lovers expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, confectionary, and for sending greetings cards known as "Valentines". Symbols employed include heart shapes, doves, flowers and winged cupids, Since the C19th hand-written valentines have given way to mass-produced cards.

"A Token of Affection" 
embossing and die-cutting

"Accept this Tribute of my sincere Regard" 
embossing and die-cutting

"Accept This Tribute of my Love" 
embossing, die-cutting lace paper, floral coloured scraps, and silk flowers

"Affection" 
embossing and die-cutting

"Be my Valentine" 
postcard

"Believe I love thee my dear Valentine" 
lace paper

"Constancy" 
coloured scrap on lace paper, embossing and die-cutting

"Ever thine" 
coloured scraps, embossing and die-cutting

"Forsake Me Not - Give Me Thine Heart" 
coloured scraps, embossing and die-cutting

"Hope." 
coloured scraps, lace paper and die-cutting

"I love thee my sweetheart" 
coloured scrap and lace paper

"In Love I Hope to Conquer" 
gilded lace paper embossed with flower motifs and the words 
"True Love" silk flowers and netting

"Let Us Make a Pair" 
lace paper

"Let Us Strike a Match!" 
"Cupid's Patent Never Failing" 
embossed paper, burnt match and sandpaper heart

"Love's Message to my Valentine" 
postcard

"My Heart is Thine" 
"Oh! Let my love thy pity move for pity melts the mind to love" 
multi-coloured lace paper and embossing

"My Pretty Star" 
coloured scraps and embossed paper

"Our Guide to Happiness" 
printed card

"Ready for A Match with you dear. The Velocipedian." 
cut-out and stuck down

"Sincerer Wishes Shall Not Reach Thee Than The Ones I Send Today" 
"May St. Valentine Thus Teach Thee All I Have No Words to Say" 
triptych style card with lace paper

"St. Valentine's Day by Richard Doyle"

Richard "Dickie" Doyle (1824 - 1883) was a notable illustrator in the Victorian era. His work frequently appeared, amongst other places, in "Punch" magazine - he drew the cover of the first issue and designed the magazine's masthead, a design that was used for over a century.

"To my darling" 
coloured scraps, lace paper and embossing

"To my little love" 
coloured scrap and lace paper

"To my Love" 
postcard

"To my Valentine - Queen of my Heart" 
postcard

"To my Valentine" 
postcard

"To Thee I'll ever consecrate my heart" 
lace paper, embossing and  die-cutting

"Truly Thine" 
coloured scraps, embossing and die-cutting

"Truly Thine" 
three-dimensional card

"Well! You are a nice little Duck" 
lace paper

"Will you do me an occasional favor? A friend in need is a friend indeed" 
embossed paper, small booklet with blue ribbon, reveals button, needle and thread

"With Fond Remembrance"
postcard

"With Loving Greetings" 
die-cut heart

Coloured scraps, embossing and die-cutting

Gilded lace paper and die-cutting

Kate Greenaway card 

Kate Greenaway card
"Dear Child: This Valentine has come to-day from one who loves thee, and is far away."

Coloured scraps, lace paper and 'feather' embossing

Paul Cézanne - part 14

Paul Cézanne (1839 – 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19^th century conception of artistic endeavor to a new and radically different world of art in the 20^th century. Cézanne’s often repetitive, exploratory brushstrokes are highly characteristic and clearly recognizable. He used planes of colour and small brushstrokes that build up to form complex fields. The paintings convey Cézanne’s intense study of his subjects. Cézanne can be said to form a bridge between late 19^th century Impressionism and the early 20^th century’s new line of artistic enquiry, Cubism. Both Matisse and Picasso are said to have remarked that Cézanne “is the father of us all.”

For full biographical notes on Cézanne see part 1. For earlier works see parts 1 - 13 also. 

This is part 14 of a 14-part post on the works of Paul Cézanne:

Paul Cézanne 1902-06 Mont Sainte-Victoire 
pencil and watercolour on paper 42.5 x 54.3 cm 
Museum of Modern Art, New York

Paul Cézanne 1902-06 Mont Sainte-Victoire Seen from les Lauves 
oil on canvas 
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO

Paul Cézanne 1902-06 Still Life with Apples, a Bottle, and a Milk Pot 
watercolour 
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas

Paul Cézanne 1902-06 Still Life with Ginger Jar, Sugar Bowl, and Oranges 
oil on canvas 60.6 x 73.3 cm 
Museum of Modern Art, New York

Paul Cézanne 1902-06 Still Life with Pears and Apples, Covered Blue Jar, and a Bottle of Wine 
black chalk and watercolour on paper 47.6 x 61.7 cm 
The Morgan Library and Museum, New York

Paul Cézanne 1902-06 The Garden Terrace at Les Lauves 
graphite and watercolour 43 x 54 cm 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1902-06 The Three Skulls 
graphite, watercolour and gouache on ivory wove paper 48 x 62.8 cm 
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

Paul Cézanne 1902-06c Mont Sainte-Victoire 
oil on canvas 57.2 x 97.2 cm 
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Paul Cézanne 1902-06c Still Life with Green Melon 
pencil and watercolour on paper 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1902-06c Still Life with Teapot 
oil on canvas 61.4 x 74.3 cm 
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK

Paul Cézanne 1902c Mont Sainte-Victoire 
oil on canvas 83.8 x 65 cm 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1902c Young Girl with a Doll 
oil on canvas 92 x 73 cm 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1904 Mont Sainte-Victoire 
oil on canvas 70 x 92 cm 
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA

Paul Cézanne 1904-05 River Banks
 oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Apples, Bottle and Chair-back 
graphite and watercolour on wove paper 45.8 x 60.4 cm  
© The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Bend of the Road at the top of the Chemin Des Lauves 
oil on canvas 81 x 65 cm 
Beyeler Foundation, Riehen, Switzerland

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Blue Landscape 
oil on canvas 102 x 83 cm 
Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Houses on a Hill, Provence 
oil on canvas 81 x 65.7 cm 
The White House, Washington, DC

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Mont de Cengle 
oil on canvas 73 x 91 cm 
E. G. Bührle Collection, Zurich

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Mont Sainte-Victoire and Chateau Noir 
oil on canvas 64.1 x 81 cm 
Bridgestone Museum of Art, Tokyo

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Mont Sainte-Victoire 
oil on canvas 63.5 x 83 cm 
Kunsthaus Zurich

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Mont Sainte-Victoire Seen from Les Lauves 
oil on canvas 60 x 72 cm 
Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Mont Sainte-Victoire Seen from Les Lauves 
oil on canvas 60 x 73 cm 
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 Mont Sainte-Victoire Seen from Les Lauves 
oil on canvas 66 x 81.5 cm 
E.G. Buhrle Collection, Switzerland

Paul Cézanne 1904-06 The Bend in the Road Above the Chemin des Lauves 
oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm 
Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel

Paul Cézanne 1904-06c The Gardener Vallier 
oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm 
E. G. Bührle Collection, Zurich

Paul Cézanne 1904-6c The Gardener Vallier 
oil on canvas 65.4 x 54.9 cm 
Tate, London

Paul Cézanne 1904c Chateau Noir 
oil on canvas 73 x 92 cm 
Oskar Reinhart Collection, Winterthur, Switzerland

Paul Cézanne 1904c Mont Sainte-Victoire from the Route du Tholonet 
oil on canvas 73.3 x 92.1 cm 
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

Paul Cézanne 1904c Road with Trees on a Slope 
graphite and watercolour on paper 47.5 x 31 cm 
Beyeler Foundation, Riehen, Switzerland

Paul Cézanne 1904c Rocks near the Caves above the Chateau Noir 
oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Paul Cézanne 1904c The Park of the Chateau Noir with Well 
graphite and watercolour 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1905-06 Man Wearing a Straw Hat 
watercolour over graphite on white wove paper 47.9 x 31.5 cm 
Art Institute of Chicago, IL

Paul Cézanne 1905-06c Peasant 
oil on canvas 64.8 x 54.6 cm 
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid

Paul Cézanne 1905-6 Mont Sainte-Victoire 
watercolour 36.2 x 54.9 cm 
Tate, London

Paul Cézanne 1905c Chateau Noir 
oil on canvas 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1905c Turning Road 
oil on canvas 73 x 92 cm  
© The Samuel Courtauld Trust, The Courtauld Gallery, London

Paul Cézanne 1905c Still Life with Apples and Peaches 
oil on canvas 81 x 100.5 cm 
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Paul Cézanne 1906 Jourdan's Cottage 
pencil and watercolour 48 x 62.8 cm 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1906 The Cabanon of Jourdan 
oil on canvas 65 x 81 cm 
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome

Paul Cézanne 1906 Portrait of Vallier 
oil on canvas 65 x 54 cm 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1906 The Bridge of Trois-sautets 
watercolour 41 x 53 cm 
Cincinnati Art Museum, Ohio

Paul Cézanne 1906 The Gardener Vallier 
oil on canvas 107.4 x 74.5 cm 
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Paul Cézanne 1906 The Gardener Vallier 
oil on canvas 
Private Collection

Paul Cézanne 1906c Mont Sainte-Victoire 
oil on canvas 56.5 x 96.8 cm 
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Paul Cézanne 1906c Morning in Provence 
oil on canvas

Paul Cézanne 1906c The Garden at Les Lauves 
oil on canvas 65.4 x 80.9 cm 
Phillips Collection, Washington, DC