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    • Vintage/Victorian Valentines, Due February 7, 2020

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    Vicki Z

    Addicted to ATCs
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    Swap Due Date: February 7, 2020
    Signup/Withdraw Date: February 7, 2020
    Number of ATCs: 3 for 3 or 6 for 6
    Number of Participants: Unlimited
    Medium: Any and all media and techniques are welcome
    Vintage/Victorian Valentines: Due February 7, 2020



    RETURNS MAILED 2/07



    I love the look and feel of lacy, gorgeous, Victorian Valentines; and silly, punny, funny, Vintage Valentines always make me smile.
    Many people don't know the difference in Valentines, plus the differences may be considered subtle, but the general definition is as follows:

    Greeting cards, particularly Valentine cards, are always a product of their time.....
    Victorian Valentines were popular during the reign of Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, from 20 June 1837 until her death 22 January 1901. The Victorian Valentines featured soft colors, embossing, cut outs, scallops, ribbon, lace, doilies, fussy embellishments, and often gold leaf edges. They were adorned with sentiments of love and affection, reflective the the love, affection, and fidelity of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, sentiments Queen Victoria promoted until the day Albert died.
    The early Victorian valentines were hand cut (NOT die cut), pressure embossed, had parts of the card that would slide or somehow moved. Many were 3-D, and had entire sections that popped up. They often were heavy, over-sized, and self standing so they formed table centerpieces, used every Valentine season year after year.

    Vintage Valentines were popular mostly in the 50's, the 60's, and the early 70's. Again, being reflective of their time, Vintage Valentines were less often devoted to sentiments of love and romance, but were more focused on the funny, silly, sarcastic, snarky, or downright strange. They reflected free speech, free love, and voiced put-down comments that could be considered funny, or nasty, or both. (There are Vintage Valentine sites on the internet devoted to the Weird, Wacky, and the "Unacceptable" Vintage Valentines.) Some Vintage Valentines portrayed local movie characters (Western Heroes), or depicted comic book heroes/heroines (Wonder Woman). The Vintage Valentines used poems, puns, and word play to get their silly, sassy, and sometimes "rude" message across.
    Fruits and Vegetables talked - "You're a PEACH", I "Yam" sweet on you, "I like you BERRY much".
    Birds and Bees had comments - "Owl always love you", "Bee" my honey.

    Since Vintage and Victorian are often confused with each other, I am lumping them together for this swap.
    Pick your era, choose your sentiment, and make your cards.
    Use doilies, lace, paper lace, washi tape, hearts, flowers.
    Use jokes, riddles, knock-knock jokes.

    Challenge yourself and make some valentines that move, slide, spin, or pop up.
    If you send in a valentine that moves, you will get back at least one return that moves, slides, spins, fans, or pops up,
    more, if possible, depending on how many cards that move are sent in.
    YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE ANY VALENTINES THAT MOVE, THIS IS ONLY A SUGGESTED CHALLENGE


    * This is a 3 for 3 or 6 for 6 card trade. Make 3 or 6 cards and receive the same number back.

    * ALL mediums and techniques are welcome.
    Please make sure you add some depth to your cards, whatever style you choose. Your mediums can include, but are not limited to: paper, tissue paper, crayon, acrylic, watercolor, gel pens, colored pencil, rubber stamping, ink, newspaper clippings, magazine clippings, etc. Please do not take a magazine image, cut it into a square, glue it onto some colored paper, and call it done. Make the ATC YOUR CREATION! I do ask that you send in your best work --- something you would not be disappointed in receiving if it was sent to you.

    *Please sign up by posting to this thread.
    * ONLY ATCs allowed. No APCs accepted.
    * All cards need to be standard ATC size: 2.5” x 3.5”
    * All cards need to be sent each in their own plastic sleeve. This is for their protection!
    * All cards need to be sturdy enough to earn the name “card” (no floppy or flimsy paper). If your ATC is drawn or otherwise created on a single sheet of paper, and "flimsy", please back your ATC with something stiffer, such as a cereal box. Just as important, check for cards that are too thick. Each card must still be capable of fitting into the standard ATC sleeve. If your ATC will not fit into an ATC sleeve, it is too bulky.
    * Please put the Swap name and your Username on the back of all cards. And please write clearly on everything!
    .....We can't give you itrades and/or You Rock! points if we don't know who you are.
    * Please confirm there is enough postage on the envelope.
    .....Please check both the envelope you send to me, and the envelope I need to send back to you.
    * If you are unsure about mailing ATCs, or just may want to pick up some good tips for shipping, here is a great link.
    http://atcsforall.com/forum/showthread.php?t=909

    * If you are inside the U.S., please include a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope 4 by 9 1/2 inches, with 55 cents postage, or one "Forever" stamp if trading 3 cards; or one forever and one 15 cent stamp (additional ounce postage) if trading 6 cards, OR if your cards are extra heavy or extra bulky (or 2 forever stamps if that is easier).

    * Canadian and other International participants, if you have U.S. funds, or U.S. postage, it is greatly appreciated. Please send $1.00 or 2 "Forever" stamps. However, since many of you do not have access to U.S. stamps, I will cover your postage. Please include a self addressed envelope 4 by 9 1/2 inches (10 x 28 cm), or if you do not have the correct size envelope, please include a large mailing label with your address and I will provide the envelope.

    * I apologize for being so demanding about the envelope size, but the postal rates in the US charge extra for thickness. When cards are stacked, or overlapped, in (a smaller) envelope, it almost always costs more to mail. If you send me a small envy, the cards get stacked. When I use the 4 inch by 9 1/2 inch business size envelopes, I can spread the cards over the area, making a THIN package, and only pay for basic (minimum) postage.

    * Cards are due to me by February 7, 2020. Please allow sufficient lead time for cards to get to me, particularly if you are an International participant. Returns will be mailed promptly. Late cards will be returned, as it is unfair to those participants who always have their cards in early or on time.

    * A hostie card in this theme is appreciated but not at all expected!

    * Thank you for considering this swap! If you have my address from previous swaps, it hasn't changed. If you are new, or have misplaced my address, please send me a PM.

    * Above all ~Have fun!!!


    Current Participants
    Vintage/Victorian Valentines, Due February 7, 2020

    *1. CiCiCreates -- Cards Received 1/16
    *2. An. M. Sudyka -- Cards Received 12/12
    rn3. Fandanie -- Cards Received 1/13
    *4. AngelJoy -- Cards Received 12/20
    *5. TrinaLD -- Cards Received 1/21
    *6. ksj1717 -- Cards Received 2/04
    */. Niseyg123 -- WITHDREW
    *7. SpottedCrow -- Cards Received 1/13
    8. Deb2015 -- Cards Received 12/16
    *9. Boots -- Cards Received 12/13
    *10. Laffqueen -- Cards Received 1/13
    *11. Sophie's mom -- Cards Received 1/16
    rn12. Suzi -- Cards Received 1/13
    *13. VickiZ -- Cards Received 12/13
    rn14. bluevioletz -- Cards Received 1/21
    *15. JenUrebel -- Cards Received 1/24
     
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    Please sign me up, I will be going for the Victorian kind, and I appreciate the clear definitions. Even more than the valentines themselves, what I really remember is all the students helping to create a beautifully decorated box with a slot in the top for all the valentines to be dropped into.
     
    CiCiCreates said:
    Please sign me up, I will be going for the Victorian kind, and I appreciate the clear definitions. Even more than the valentines themselves, what I really remember is all the students helping to create a beautifully decorated box with a slot in the top for all the valentines to be dropped into.
    Click to expand...


    What GREAT MEMORIES!!!!!
    Welcome
    I signed you up.
    You are Number ONE!!!!!:jiggy:


    Valentine Boxes at School

    In the 50's and the 60's Valentine exchanges were very popular.
    Do you remember your Valentine Exchanges?
    Students helped create a beautifully decorated box with a slot in the top, and kept at the teacher's desk, for all the valentines to be dropped into....In some schools, each student created their own individual box, kept at their desk, for others to drop valentines into, valentines meant specifically for that student.
    Many of the Valentines you received in grade school were probably "vintage", depending on how old you are.
    Do you remember any of the sentiments? the jokes? The Valentine images: Casper, Betty Boop, Wonder Woman?

    I notice Michael's has kits for sale to make it easy for kids to create their own Valentine box.
    Apparently all is alive and popular in Valentine exchanges.
     
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    Valentine History

    From Christianity to Chaucer to Shakespeare, Valentine’s Day can be traced back to Ancient Rome,
    but it is the Victorians who made it into the holiday we know today.

    In 1837, a government postal official named Rowland Hill published a seminal pamphlet: Post Office Reform; Its Importance and Practicability.
    Hill is credited with inventing the postage stamp and originating the modern postal service.
    He observed that postal charges were by distance and by the number of pages, rather than by weight.
    To send one sheet from London to Edinburgh cost 1s 1½d, which was more than a days wage for the working class, and almost 14 times the actual cost to the Post Office.

    On 10 January 1840, Great Britain introduced the Uniform Penny Post, meaning that Valentine cards could be mailed for just one penny. The mass produced Valentine card was born.
    Valentines were sent in such great numbers that postmen were given a special allowance for refreshments to help them through the extraordinary exertions of the two or three days leading up to February 14th.
    Just one year after the Uniform Penny Postage, 400,000 valentines were posted throughout England. By 1871, 1.2 million cards were processed by the General Post Office in London.

    A British Victorian Valentine in Victorian Times
    Victorian Valentine cards were flat paper sheets, often printed with colored illustrations and embossed borders. The sheets, when folded and sealed with wax, could be mailed.

    The Victorians appreciated beauty, but were also frugal.
    Snippets of trim and chromolith cut outs (a colored picture printed by lithography, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, used in high end advertising) from promotional cards, would be used as original (and sometimes odd or peculiar) Christmas ornaments, or centerpieces, or re-purposed Valentines, as Victorians industriously used their time.
     
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    At one time I intended to collect Victorian Valentines, but it never got past these three. I took a picture for some inspiration on this thread. These are authentic and from the late 1800s - early 1900s.
     
    In a cute little book I have, called "Tokens of Love", it says that many late nineteenth century valentines featured bird motifs, and that Valentine's Day was considered the day on which birds chose their mates. Thought that was interesting, I had never heard that one.
     
    CiCiCreates said:
    At one time I intended to collect Victorian Valentines, but it never got past these three. I took a picture for some inspiration on this thread. These are authentic and from the late 1800s - early 1900s.
    Click to expand...


    Those are GORGEOUS Valentines.
    Old (Original) Victorian Valentines increase in value every year.
    Collections of them have become quite valuable, and your three are spectacular!
    Thanks for the inspiration.


    CiCiCreates said:
    In a cute little book I have, called "Tokens of Love", it says that many late nineteenth century valentines featured bird motifs, and that Valentine's Day was considered the day on which birds chose their mates. Thought that was interesting, I had never heard that one.
    Click to expand...

    I have never heard that either
    Thanks for sharing.
     
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    Valentine History

    Comments compliments of CiCi:
    In a cute little book called "Tokens of Love", it says that many late nineteenth century valentines featured bird motifs, and that Valentine's Day was considered the day on which birds chose their mates.

    Commercial paper doilies were used in the Victorian era. The more open doilies were called paper lace and were obviously not laser-cut back then. Many doilies and paper lace were hand cut, as Valentines became popular, and also became more expensive. Making doilies and paper lace must have been very time consuming!
     
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    I got excited (did I mention how much I love Valentines!?) and I've made three so far: 1 Victorian and 2 Vintage. I will probably do the 6 for 6 option (plus a hostie for the incredible Vicki Z). Please let me know if these don't fall in line with what you're wanting for this swap.

    View attachment 212844
     
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