Valentine’s Day greetings are a nice distraction from the cold, blustery weather of February. But do you know where these messages of love and friendship originated?
The earliest Valentine cards date back to the 1400s in Europe. Later, in the Victorian era, these love notes grew into large handmade, hand printed cards. Victorian cards like the one shown below were expensive to produce.
In 1847, Esther Howland from Worcester, MA developed the Valentine greeting industry here in the United States. She started with a small, homemade card business which she named The New England Valentine Company. Orders flooded in, Esther set up an assembly line, and she eventually earned revenues of $100,000 per year.
Whether you receive a mass-produced or handcrafted card, it’s still heartwarming to be remembered on Valentine’s Day.