Adorbs (as the kids today would say) Valentine's Day postcard from 1919

"Daddy — I started a letter to you tonight, but I am so sleepy" states the sweet message on this Valentine's Day postcard that's dated January 31, 1919. And that's it. No other information, identifying or otherwise, on this 99-year-old piece of ephemera.

The front of the card features a young girl sitting in bed with her doll, puppy and quilt and the message:

VALENTINE GREETING
The burden of my heart
Is this: I love you,
And life would empty be
If I lived without you
The postcard was printed in the U.S.A., but no publisher is listed. There don't appear to be any other copies of this card online, at least per Google's search.

To see more than a dozen previous Papergreat Valentine's Day posts, including some that might be a tad on the creepy side, click on the Valentines tab at the bottom of this post.

Valentine's postcard: "Nor will this fire that's burning ever wane"

Labor Day Weekend Postcard Blogathon #11

Sometimes I forget to post Valentine's Day ephemera during that special week in February. So here's a special Labor Day weekend post in honor of that hearts-and-Cupid-filled holiday.

This undated, never-used postcard was printed in England and is part of the Davidson Bros.' Real Photographic Series. The Davidson Brothers were only in business from 1901 to 1911, according to MetroPostcard.com, so that lets us know which decade this postcard is from.

The caption of this postcard featuring some way-too-young sweethearts states:

To My Dear Valentine
I am consumed by Love's most mighty flame.
Nor will this fire that's burning ever wane.
Somewhat amazingly, neither of those last two sentences return any results in a Google search. I figured they were from some run-of-the-mill 19th century poem or that, at the very least, some other website would have already documented this verse. No such luck.

And when I did a Google reverse image search for this postcard, the first result was an Ed Sheeran music video, so I think I'll just quit while I'm ahead.

If you have a hankering for more Valentine's Day posts, click on the label at the bottom of this post.

Ed Sheeran's appearance in this post courtesy of Atlantic Records

Enjoy this vintage "cubist" postcard for Valentine's Day

This cubist heart is sent to you
with a Valentine Greeting warm
and true
This old postcard looks like it would be right at home in Tetris or Super Mario Bros. I'm not enough of an art expert to say if this illustration would officially fall under the Cubism movement that began in the early 20th century, but it certainly seems that's the case.

There's no indication of the publisher or artist on the front of back. The only significant things pre-printed on the back are "MADE IN U.S.A." and "Series 514 B." Someone has written "E. Clap?" in pencil, indicating that they think the artist might be the famed and prolific Ellen Clapsaddle (1865-1934), but I can't find any way to confirm if that's true.

The postcard was never mailed, but it was addressed "From Lester Warner" to Howard Pollok in the village of Dansville, Michigan. Dansville is located in Ingham County, and I found a Howard Lewis Pollok of Ingham County who lived from 1909 to 1975. I think it's a good bet that he's the same Howard who received this Valentine. If he was a schoolboy at the time, that would date the postcard to sometime in the late 1910s or early 1920s, perhaps.

Vintage Valentine: Making the rounds with your accordion today?

This vintage Valentine postcard features a young boy, all bundled up, standing outside his sweetheart's window and playing her a song on an accordion. The caption states: "Oh hear me sing of a motive fine, Will you be my Valentine."

I wouldn't recommend this approach today in the Northeast U.S. It's currently 11° F, with a wind-chill temperature of 1° F. Your accordion would probably freeze solid. Plus, where did you get that accordion, anyway?

This card was postmarked in 1926 and mailed with a red two-cent George Washington stamp to Fannie Wentz of Spring Grove, Pennsylvania.

The Valentine sender wasn't much of a wordsmith. His entire note states "To Fannie, From Russell." We can only hope that she didn't know more than one Russell.

To check out all of the previous Papergreat Valentine's Day posts, featuring a couple dozen dandy vintage cards, click on the Valentines label at the bottom of this post.

Early 1900s Valentine wish: "And p'r'aps my spiders too"

Here's a great vintage Valentine that was posted by the @HarvardArchives Twitter account. It was, according to the tweet, sent to a Harvard professor of zoology in the early 1900s.

See all 10 of Papergreat's Valentine posts, full of vintage coolness.

Six dandy old valentines that students gave to their teachers

For Valentine's Day, here are some pretty awesome vintage cards that were delivered to teachers many decades ago.

1. A Valentine For Teacher

This heart-shaped card was given "To My Teacher" by Ruth Ramsey. The text on the inside states: "I couldn't speak before the others ... Couldn't tell you o'er the phone ... But I'd like to whisper softly ... Just for your ear alone— ... MY TEACHER is A-NUMBER 1."

2. I've The Nicest Teacher in the World

This heart-shaped, globe-themed valentine was for Miss Spott, from Fyetta.² There is no text beyond that. (As a minor aside, the depiction of North and South American on the globe is fairly poor, don't you think?)

3. To My Teacher

My, what rosy cheeks! This valentine was given to Mabel Spotts by Pearl Waterman.² The card opens up to give the following pre-printed message:

"Though I'm not big enough to say
Most anything the grown-up way
Of this I'm sure as sure can be
My teacher means a lot to me!"

4. A Valentine For My Teacher

This mathematics-intensive card was given to Miss Spotts by George M. The illustration of the desk folds out to the left, and an additional message states: "NORTH, SOUTH, EAST OR WEST ... OF ALL THE NICE TEACHERS MY TEACHER'S THE BEST."

5. You Pass All the Tests, Be My Valentine

This card, made in the United States, simply states "RONALD" on the back. I'm thinking the teacher's use of the bell was a bit antiquated, even for the decade that this card was produced. But I could be wrong.

6. You're My Valentine Today

Remember when school days didn't start until 9 a.m.? The front of the card states: "I May Be Late For School Today ... But Do Not Scold Me, Please." And the inside finishes: "I'll Never Be Too Late to Say that you're my Valentine today."

So, do we think the apple is sufficient to get her out of trouble? Will she still have to go bang out the erasers behind the schoolhouse?

The card was given to Mrs. Mabel Geiger by Margaret Ann.

See all of Papergreat's vintage valentines

Footnotes
1. Two other cards refer to her last name as Spotts, so we'll have to assume, though from a tiny sample size, that Spotts is correct.
2. Alas: "Your search - 'Mabel Spotts' 'Pearl Waterman' - did not match any documents."

This year's oddest vintage valentine

I have many questions...

What is this boy wearing?
What is he doing on the roof?
Is it even HIS roof?
Why is he grinning like that?
How is he going to get down?

This is the oddest vintage Valentine's Day card that I have to offer up this year. I'm not sure if it's as creepy as last year's postcard or as unsettling as the red-lipped cat from 2012, but it's certainly a contender.

Here's hoping you never have a kid like that on your roof.

Two adorable handmade valentines for Mrs. Geiger

I picked up these old handmade valentines, along with a bunch of others, last year at an antiques store in northcentral Pennsylvania. There's no date, so I would just guess 1930s or 1940s.

The first one, pictured at right, has the following text on the inside of the card, written in cursive and in pencil:

I'm always lonely.
I'm always blue.
I'm always longing.
Just for you.

The card was made for Mrs. Geiger, from Mary and Florence.

Do you think the sketch of the little girl with bows in her hair is traced? It looks to me like it might be. When I hold the card up to the light, I can see a watermark that reads "MODERN FORM" in bubble letters. The paper isn't transparent enough, though, for normal tracing. The student would have needed a light source underneath. If it wasn't traced, that's certainly a very good piece of artwork.

Here's the second of the two cards. The front has a circle cut out of the middle of the clock.

And here's the inside of the card.

The illustration of the little girl is quite similar to the one on the first card. And, in fact, this one is from Florence to Mrs. Geiger.

Handmade valentines took a lot more time and skill than just buying one of those jumbo packs of small, pre-printed valentines with a Care Bears or Batman theme.

Two old Valentine's Day postcards, circa 1907-08

Continuing with the Valentine's Day-themed ephemera, here are a pair of postcards that are more than a century old. It's interesting to see how pink, green and white were the predominant colors on these postcards. Now, that could just be a small sample size. But red is certainly not the overwhelming color in these illustrations, as it is today.

Above: The postmark is blurred on this To my Sweet Valentine postcard. It appears, however, to be from February 1907. The reverse side does not have a divided back and is for the address only, which fits in with early 1907. It wasn't until March 1, 1907, that the U.S. Post Office allowed messages on the back of a postcard. This postcard was mailed to Miss Mae McGinnis at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. It was produced by Raphael Tuck & Sons.¹

Above: This postcard features a Cupid-like figure, with some dangerous-looking arrows, on the front. It was postmarked at 7:30 p.m. on February 12, 1908, in Jersey City, New Jersey.² And it was mailed to Miss Naomi Snyder in Spry, Pennsylvania.³ The note simply states "FROM SAM." The postcard was printed in Germany.

Footnotes
1. Previous posts featuring Raphael Tuck & Sons:

• Very old Christmas card (and more) inside 1890's "Triumphant Songs"
• Saturday's postcard: Christmas card from Raphael Tuck & Sons
• The Shepherd's Home: Postcard mailed in 1918
• Cute vintage Christmas postcard, plus the famed Otto Christmas Cats

2. Also on February 12, 1908, French mathematician Jacques Herbrand was born. He would only live to age 23, as he died in a mountain-climbing accident in the French Alps, but he left an important legacy in his field.
3. Of minor interest: I found a Mary Naomi (Snyder) Smith Figdore, who is buried in Spry, on Find A Grave. But she lived from 1911 to 2010, which means she was born three years after this postcard was sent. Her mother's name was Dollie V. Snyder, so that's a dead end, too.

Three old Valentine's Day cards featuring cute animals

I have a bevy of vintage Valentine's Day cards that I'll be posting throughout the week. First up are these three animal-themed cards, featuring puppies, a cat and a hippopotamus standing upright.

Above: An undated A-MERI-CARD, which was made in the United States.

Above: This card was written to Mabel E. Spotts, from Robert.

Above: This card was made in Canada. It was given to John Wiser by John Clark.


Previous Valentine's Day posts

• A heartfelt gallery of vintage Valentine's Day cards
• Three vintage Valentine's Day cards
• Slightly creepy vintage Valentine's Day postcard

Slightly creepy vintage Valentine's Day postcard

All in the Otto Family are agreed that this postcard — with its little girl, lamb and anthropomorphic heart crying "Why wasn't I a little lamb" — is a little on the creepy side. What do you think?

It was originally postmarked 101 years ago in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on February 11, 1912. It was mailed to a woman named Mary on Sharon Mountain in Connecticut.

In an odd coincidence, we watched "Legend" last night, and I think the girl on the front of the card has a bit of a resemblance to actor David Bennent, who played Gump in that movie. Sarah, though, says she doesn't see the resemblance as much as I do. So there you have it. Happy Valentine's Day.

Three vintage Valentine's Day cards

People are already gearing up for Valentine's Day, which is less than two weeks away now. One way I know this: The top two search terms leading people to Papergreat in the past month have been "vintage valentine" and "vintage valentines cards."¹

So I wanted to give readers (and web surfers) more than just last year's Valentine post to check out as the holiday approaches. Here are some more vintage cards — small and perfect, not billboard-sized and covered with lace and foil, like the kind you find new in card stores today.

Here are three more from my modest collection:

Above: "All Steamed Up To Be Your Valentine." Made in U.S.A. Pencil inscription on the back states "To Thelma From Opal." This one is my favorite from today's lot.

Above: "Will You Be My Valentine." Printed in Germany. Only 1⅞ inches across. No inscription.

Above: "To one I love." Made in Germany. Pencil inscription on the back states "Wilma" and, under that, "Mrs. Putman."

Footnote
1. Other top recent search terms leading to Papergreat include:

• toledo spain
• map of poconos bushkill
• advertisement
• chickens
• envelope
• 1870 food trademark
• queen elizabeth
• young abraham lincoln pictures
• henry k wampole
• church bingo cards

A heartfelt gallery of vintage Valentine's Day cards

Happy Valentine's Day! As promised last week, here's a gallery of vintage Valentine's Day cards that I've been collecting during the past 12 months.

Above: This card, which was printed by Carrington Co., of Chicago, Illinois, has the following inscription in cursive on the back: "To Wilma from Max Myers and Leona"

Above: This card, which was printed in Germany, features a puppy, a girl and a boy with checkered pants, argyle socks and a saw. On the back is written: "To Mary Holstein, From Ruth Rhinehart"

Above: This "Come on and be My Valentine" card features no indication of its manufacturer or country of origin. I find it interesting that two of these first three valentines feature winter scenes. Valentine's Day is, by definition, always during the wintertime. But it seems to me that modern-era valentines rarely incorporate the snow and cold into their scenes and illustrations.

This one has some interesting writing on the back. The following is written in blue ink:

To my Dear Friend Mary Olivera
sending you my best wishes for on Valentine
From Your Friend Elvera Rodrigues [or Rodriques]
Santa Maria, Cal., P.O. #153

In the spot where "Mary Olivera" was originally written, the name "Lottie Fernandez" has been written over top of it, in dark pencil.

Above: This "MADE IN U.S.A." card, of comparatively more recent vintage than the other cards, is quite romantic with its pipe and tobacco, don't you think? The card has never been used. The pre-printed inscription inside states:

"A Valentine message, short and sweet
But full of zip and punch --
It comes to say that night and day
You are my honeybunch;
You are my heart's desire and, dear,
You make my life complete;
So let me say I hope this day
Brings joy that's hard to beat."

Above: Finally, here's another card that was made in Germany. The front states: "Come on Sweetie, raise the lid! Meow! Meow! I love you, kid." On the back, the inscription indicates that it's "To Wilma, From Billie Jean and John Alden."

And what happens when you raise the lid? Here you go!

My Valentine's Day wish to all of you: I hope you never, ever come across a cat in real life with lips like that.

If you do, run like hell.

Only six days until Valentine's Day!

In just six days, it will be Saint Valentine's Day. Are you ready?

I am! I've been hoarding vintage Valentine's Day cards over the past year, waiting to present them on the blog this month.¹

So look for a high Schmoopie² Ephemera Quotient (SEQ) next Tuesday.

In the meanwhile, here's a sneak preview.

It's an undated valentine that was printed in Germany. On the back, written in cursive, is "To Mary Holstine." Under that is the mysterious notation:
"From 10-5-3"
Someone wanted to remain anonymous in sharing their heartfelt sentiment. And anonymous he or she shall remain!

Footnotes
1. This is probably not the portion of my Valentine's Day preparations that my beautiful spouse is interested in.
2. How time flies! It's been 17 years since "schmoopie" made its modern-language debut in "The Soup Nazi" episode of "Seinfeld."