Valentine's Day Symbols Part 4 - Types of Valentine Cards
By: Tippy & Alfred
Acrostic Valentines - had verses in which the first letter
of the lines spelled out the loved one's name.
Below is an example of an acrostic card using the name
Amanda.
A - Another moment without you is
M - more pain than I can bear.
A- And no other love will ever be
N - nearer to my heart than yours.
D - Days pass slowly until we shall meet
A -again and our lives forever share.
Cutout Valentines (which most children do in school today
also) were simply made by folding paper several times and
then cutting out small areas to make lacelike designs.
In Rebus Valentines tiny pictures took the place of some of
the words in the verses.
Puzzle Valentines - Had a puzzle to read and refold,
scattered among their many folds were verses that had to be
read in a certain order. Many of us remember making these in
school. They ended up like a pyramid in which you put your
index finger and thumb of both hands on both sides and moved
the puzzle valentine North to South and East To West
chanting some rhyme until you stopped and could choose a
flap to open and read the sentiment inside.
Pinprick Valentines were made by using a pin or needle to
prick tiny holes into decorative paper, creating a lovely
design when held against the light.
Theorem or Poonah style Valentines originated in the Orient
and had painted designs stenciled onto paper.
Fraktur Valentines - had ornamental lettering in the style
of illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages.
During the Civil War some of the Valentines were more like
paper dolls and were actually dressed with cloth (or paper)
to try to resemble the person who sent it.
And during the Roaring Twenties some valentines were
designed and shaped to look like tomatoes. At that time,
tomatoes were not eaten (They were thought to be poisonous
by many.) and were commonly called "love apples." (Makes you
wonder what they would have though of ketchup then!)
Valentine Lace
Quality Valentines today may have real lace, charms, silk or
dried flowers, and even be made with red velvet cloth rather
than paper. For thousands of years, certain "pretty things"
have often been associated with romance. In the days of old,
a knight often tied the scarf or ribbon of his lady love
around his arm or somewhere on him before he rode into
battle.
Lace, because of its delicate nature, has come to represent
something lovely to look at and thus representational of
love. So lace as long as 400 years ago because a popular
trimming for clothing...especially clothing associated with
love such as wedding dresses.
The first paper lace was created purely by accident. In 1834
Joseph Addenbrooke was working for a London paper when by
accident a file brushed over a sheet of paper that had been
embossed with a raised design. The high points of the
embossed design thus got filed off, leaving small holes and
giving a lacey look to the paper. This led to the business
of making paper lace and soon others followed --- some of
these paper laces are of museum quality today.
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All About The Holidays
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