RetroGag: Valentines....

One of the most interesting parts of my job as a part-time historian is discovering what other people think is "historical and priceless.."

People bring stuff into the museum I work for all the time. They think it's a precious historical document that must be preserved. 3/4 of the time they are right...

Recently I was hit with an incredible historical cache.

The motherlode of awesomeness....a rare find!!

Boxes and boxes of crap/historical awesomeness. Ex: a bumper sticker that promoted LBJ for president, a clipping from the KC Star in April 1912 talking about the Titanic going down, a lady's ciggerette case from the 1920's, an invite to the Priests of Pallas Parade..

Incredible stuff...

The thing that really struck me was a collection of Valentines from about the 1930's... They are so fragile, intricate and amazing as pieces of artwork. Someone kept these for 70-80 years and they certainly aren't the cheap copy paper versions that I looked at in Target the other day that feature SpongeBob, Hannah Montana and My Little Ponies for Darling's 1st grade class.

I'm amazed at the thoughtfulness people once put into sending these pieces...

Back in the era of sending things via the post office, I think Valentines meant more...

I pondered this and today I ran across a collection of Valentines in one of my favorite blogs "Found in Mom's Basement". Nostaglia lovers, if you haven't found this blog yet, you're slacking...

In the true spirit of mocking things vintage, I've decided to feature some crazy vintage ads over the next couple of days...


Stay tuned, Constant Reader, and help me decipher these Odes to Love from Eras Past...