1940s Valentines Card
Chosen by Heritage and Museum Manager, Alex Andrijevic
Although the history of Valentine’s cards began with handwritten notes and poems in the Middle Ages, the tradition of sending Valentine’s cards became more popular among the English in 17th c., often accompanied by gifts like gloves.
Later, the tradition spread further with handmade “puzzle purses” that were folded paper origami often containing a small gift, such as a lock of hair. The traditional exchange of love tokens like this became popular in the 18th century. Colourful illustration with heart motifs and floral patterns were made of paper with a lace-paper edge and were common and widely available in the 1800s due to advances in printing techniques.
This example from the 1940’s is made by A.M.Davis and Co. Like many cards at this time it is made from lightweight paper in a ‘French fold’ style – due to paper shortages during and after the war. At the start of WW2 cards were banned to conserve paper but the ban was later overturned by the Minister for Supply. Lord Beaverbrook who declared; ‘greetings cards are considered essential to the war effort’.
See this and previous objects of the month on the first floor of the Bishop’s Stortford museum at South Mill Arts.
