Paper valentines spanning three centuries of optimism about romance have been delivered to the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif.
The collection of about 12,000 cards was assembled over four decades by Nancy Rosin, a historian and collector in Franklin Lakes, N.J., whose family has donated it to the museum.
Their motifs, aside from the expected hearts and Cupids, can seem unsentimental. Images of battlefield tents represented spaces where soldiers could carve out time to write to their sweethearts, and depictions of caged mice may symbolize a desire to keep beloveds captive.
"Love was expressed in so many ways," said Rosin, who also catalogs valentines at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In an undated handout image, a satirical “vinegar” Valentine from America, circa 1855. The card is part of a collection of about 12,000 assembled by Nancy Rosin and donated to the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
In an undated handout image provided by the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, an Esther Howland Valentine’s Day card from about 1870. The card is part of a collection of about 12,000 assembled by Nancy Rosin and donated to the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif. (The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens via The New York Times) -- NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY HISTORIC VALENTINE BY EVE M. KAHN FOR FEB. 14, 2018. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED. -- (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
