August 4, 2011

Vintage Moveable Review: There is no escape





Love is in the air around the studio so I thought I would feature another antique valentine. Like most mass-market valentine cards, this little guy speaks for itself. Which is a good thing, since I have no information on this piece. Measuring 3” wide by 5” tall this Valentine is a typical of the cards constructed in the early 1900’s. It is diecut out of one piece of stiff card and appears to be chromolithography. The mechanic is the standard single box layer, in this case of a creepy kid with a flower wreath bearing the label “Love’s Joy”. The child with the pageboy haircut and piercing eyes is kneeling before the viewer in front of what appears to be an arch or upside down horseshoe of hearts. Below the text reads, “There’s no escape my Valentine. I have your Heart and you have mine.”


A little spooky right? On the reverse we find that the pop-up has been patched but can still read the inscription: “To Margaret Munden. From Pearl Ganes.” Looks like Pearl practiced in pencil before moving to the blue fountain pen. I was excited to receive this card, but I always wondered how Margaret felt about the sentiment in this love token.


~Kyle

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