Birthday Card

1972.21.0025

Object Image
Detailed Images

Basic Information

Artifact Identification Birthday Card   (1972.21.0025)
Classification/
Nomenclature
  1. Communication Artifacts
  2. :
  3. Documentary Artifacts
  4. :
  5. Other Documents
Artist/Maker Unknown
Geographic Location
Period N/A
Date 19th – 20th century CE
Culture Euro - American
Location Not on Exhibit

Physical Analysis

Dimension 1 (Height) 16.1 cm
Dimension 2 (Width) 11.7 cm
Dimension 3 (Depth) 0.2 cm
Weight 7 g
Measuring Remarks N/A
Materials Paper, Pigment--Ink
Manufacturing Processes Printed

Research Remarks

Description

Greeting cards for holidays other than Valentine’s Day and Christmas also used sentimental imagery and messages to attract consumers. Greeting card manufacturers of the 19th century generally incorporated wholesome imagery and morality to appeal to a wide consumer audience. The positivity and innocence of these ephemeral pieces became associated with greater profits and circulation, so many manufacturers chose to duplicate this style in their own cards. This card demonstrates the sentimental theme by featuring an ornate and floral border with a birthday poem in the interior. Such a design encourages warm and affectionate feelings from consumers.

Published Description N/A
Bibliography

American Antiquarian Society, “Making Valentines: A Tradition in America,” AAS Online
Exhibits, 2004, https://www.americanantiquarian.org/Exhibitions/Valentines/origins.htm.

Chase, Ernest D., The Romance of Greeting Cards, Rust Craft Publishers, 1956.

Comstock, Helen, ed. The Concise Encyclopedia of American Antiques, Hawthorn Books, Inc.,
1965.

Hix, Lisa, “All You Need Is Paper: Why Antique Valentines Still Melt Modern Hearts,”
Collectors Weekly, 2016, https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/all-you-need-is-paper-why-
antique-valentines-still-melt-modern-hearts/.

Hix, Lisa, “Happy Valentine’s Day, I Hate You,” Collectors Weekly, (February 5, 2013),
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/happy-valentines-day-i-hate-you/.

Lee McFarling, Usha, “Won’t You Be My Valentine?” Verso, The Huntington Library (February
13, 2019), https://huntington.org/verso/2019/02/wont-you-be-my-valentine.

Little, Becky, “Nothing Says ‘I Hate You’ Like a ‘Vinegar Valentine,’” Smithsonian Magazine
(February 10, 2017), https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/nothing-says-i-hate-you-vinegar-
valentine-180962109/.

Michelon, Christina, “Touching Sentiment: The Tactility Of Nineteenth-Century Valentines,”
Common Place: the journal of early American life, 2016,
https://commonplace.online/article/touching-sentiment/.

Rosin, Nancy, “Valentines – The Language of Love,” 2001,
http://www.victoriantreasury.com/languageoflove-ephsoc.html.

Shank, Barry, A Token of My Affection: Greeting Cards And American Business Culture,
Columbia University Press, 2004.

“The History of Greeting Cards: The history of greeting cards from their early Chinese and
Egyptian origins to Europe and the U.S.,” Greeting Card Association.

Webb Lee, Ruth, A History Of Valentines, Lee Publications, 1952.

Artifact History

Credit Line/Dedication Gift of Natalia M. Belting
Reproduction no

Contact

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