History of the Valentine's Day Card: Why We Give the Gift of Written Love

Valentine's Day falls on February 14th in the United States. In addition to the U.S., Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, and Italy. Modern day customs include the sending of greeting cards, known as valentines, to loved ones. Hallmark estimated that as of 2006 over 190 million valentines are being exchanged yearly in the United States (this excludes pre-packaged kid's valentine's for classroom exchange), making Valentine's Day second only to Christmas in terms of greeting cards that are sent annually.

The history of Valentine's greetings goes back as far as the Middle Ages. During this time, lovers sung or recited verses to their sweetheart as a token of their adoration. Written valentines soon began to replace sung and spoken valentines during the 15th century. Several sources, including History.com, cite that one of the earliest known Valentine's greetings was sent in 1415 from Charles, the Duke of Orleans, to his wife, while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. This card, along with about 60 other penned verses by the Duke, are now on display in the British Museum as the oldest know Valentine's Day cards in existence. Over the next two centuries, valentines had gained much popularity, especially in England. In the 18th century, exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. As for the American Colonies, the popularity of Valentine's Day cards started to grow by this time due to the import from England of booklets, or "writers", that had "be my Valentine" verses and messages which could be copied into cards or letters.

In the United States, commercial Valentine's cards were first produced in the early 1800s and were initially very plain, painted with black and white pictures and left blank on the inside for the writer to pen their own message of love. It is widely known that in 1847, an American printer and artist, Ester Howland, became one of the first Valentine card manufacturers in the United States. Her fancy valentines were more decorative than that of her predecessors, being comprised of real lace, ribbons, and leaves. It is around this time that sending Valentine's Day cards really became popular in the United States. In the early 1900's, the card company Norcross became one of the first manufacturers of Valentine's Day cards. Hallmark, known initially as Hall Brothers, offered its first Valentine's Day card in 1913, and started producing commercial cards in 1916. According to the Greeting Card Association, the advent of the "penny post" (a one-penny postage stamp) made sending valentines more affordable and easier than ever, and the tradition took off from there.

Today, many manufacturers of greeting cards, such as Hallmark and American Greetings, offer thousands of different, colorful and unique Valentine's Day greeting cards. In addition to valentines, other items such as flowers, or roses, and chocolates have become popular to give to loved ones. Now, with the technological advances of email and the internet, American Greetings estimates that 10 million e-Valentine's will be sent this Valentine's Day. So this year, when giving your Valentine their card or sending out that Valentine's e-card, remember that there is a rich history behind the holiday and the Valentine's Day card! It's not just something the card companies invented out of thin air!

Sources

Hallmark Corporate Information - Valentine's Day, Hallmark Corporation Research

The History of Valentine's Day, The History Channel

Celebrating the Tradition of Greeting Cards, The Greeting Card Association

The Business of Valentine's Day, American Greetings Corporation