Halloweeny Valentines

Have a monstrously happy Valentine's Day!

 

Vintage valentines, circa the 1960s.

Vintage Valentine: Shouting Girl

Here's another odd valentine from my collection. Made in Germany in the 1920s-30s, this mechanical valentine features a girl with a die-cut open mouth. As the wheel hidden in her bow is turned, words pass through her mouth, making it appear she is shouting them out. They read: "It's your turn to love me, valentine!"

Vintage Valentines: Vegetable People

One of my favorite vintage toy lines is Mr. Potato Head, so it's probably not surprising that some of my favorite vintage valentines are those with similarly anthropomorphic characters. Here are my two most recent such finds, featuring friendly pea pod, lettuce, and carrot people.

Vintage Valentine: the Bubble Blower

One of the loveliest valentine postcards in my collection is this one, mailed from Chicago in 1911. The richly illustrated card features a beautiful woman blowing heart-shaped bubbles for a group of chubby cherubs. The woman's dress and one of the cherub's wraps are actually made of fabric, affixed to the card.

Vintage Valentine: Flowermobile

One of the most unusual valentine postcards I've found is this one, circa 1911. It features an antique automobile festooned with flowers done in raised relief and liberally sprinkled with mica glitter. A cute little sailor drives the flowermobile to its romantic destination.

Vintage Valentine: Difficult to Describe...

This antique valentine dates from 1903 and retains its original cord, which made it possible to hang it up as a decoration. It was illustrated by R. F. Outcault, the creator of The Yellow Kid comic strip and the Buster Brown advertising character. It's from a series Outcault did featuring these recurring characters of a rather scary bear and a scruffy little dog. Doesn't the bear look rather lascivious? Or hungry? Or both? And what the hell is the dog talking about?! Baffling, weird and kind of creepy!

Vintage Valentine: A Very Odd Gentleman

This is one of the oddest valentines I've ever found. If it wasn't for the caption printed on his shirt front, would you ever have guessed this was a valentine? Made in Germany in 1903, the monocled man's head can be spun upside down, changing his tufts of hair to whiskers. Either way, he's pretty creepy.

Vintage Valentine: Chalkboard Boy

Some of the "Other Stuff" I collect, besides toys, is vintage valentines. The variety of valentines produced over the past 200 years is incredible; I'm always surprised at what I find. For the next seven days, I'll share some of my latest discoveries.

First up: this mechanical card, circa the 1940s, which features a die cut "chalk board" window. As the wheel on the right is turned, the boy's arm moves across the window, appearing to write the words "I love you" on the board. Cleverly constructed, it's an ingenious little card.

Puzzle Book Valentine

This big, 8 1/4 inch tall, 1930s card was one of my most unique Valentine finds. It includes an attached 3 inch dot-to-dot game booklet, still intact. The aim was to complete the mystery pictures by drawing lines between the numbered dots. The clever caption reads, 'I've got a LINE on you to be my Valentine.'

Working Class Valentines

These two large, 5 1/2 inch tall movable valentines have some of the most unusual themes I've ever seen. Circa the 1950s, the American made cards feature busy factory workers. In the first, a girl spray paints a shiny, chromed automobile, while in the second, a boy prints kisses on a gigantic printing press.

A Kitty for Valentine's Day

Well, I guess the title gives it away, but in this movable 1930s valentine, a mailman delivers a little kitty to the lucky recipient:

A Doggie for Valentine's Day

I found this unusual 1930s valentine at a toy show recently. It's actually a booklet, with a story inside about a dog who moves to a town appropriately called Dogville. The outer cover features real glass eyes on the dog, very like those used on antique teddy bears at the time. The booklet is 6 1/2 inches tall.

Cupid Uses the Telegraph Lines

Dated 1908, this beautiful embossed postcard shows Cupid delivering his valentines along the telegraph lines:

Antique Airplane Valentine

This unusual valentine dates from the 1920s. Measuring a large 8 inches long, the beautifully lithographed airplane includes a pilot, whose love interest passenger appears when the tab at the bottom is moved.

Teddy Bear Valentine

This simple, 5 inch tall valentine, circa the 1930s, features a classic teddy bear, one of my favorite toys.

Home Appliance Valentines

Keeping with yesterday's anthropomorphic theme are these 1950s valentines, featuring a television and mixer with happy faces and punning sentiments. The television says, 'Tune in channel mine, Valentine!' and the mixer 'Let's get mixed up with each other, Valentine! Batter say yes!'

Anthropomorphic Hearts Valentine Postcard

I just found this 1911 valentine postcard a couple of days ago, and it instantly became one of my favorites. The anthropomorphic heart people include a sobbing lady and a smirking man. What's their story, I wonder? The man looks like a rakish character, and he has clearly broken this lady's heart. I hope she finds the strength to move on, and will some day find true love, like that of Mr. Carrot and Mrs. Bean from last year's valentine posts...

Freaky 1920s Movable Valentine

I found this big, 8 1/4 inch German made valentine at a toy show a couple of weeks ago. Circa the 1920s, it features a great caricature of a girl with a sleek bobbed hairdo and a freakishly gigantic ear. The ear slides up and down, making her tongue move, appearing to seal her valentine's envelope.

Romantic Sausages

While not technically a valentine, I thought this odd, 1911 postcard was romantically-themed enough to qualify. Definitely one of the strangest postcards I've ever found...

Goofy Girl Valentine

This vintage movable valentine is one of my favorites. Moving the goofy-looking girl's tongue makes her eyes move, revealing the words 'Be Mine'. American, 3 inches square, circa the 1930s-40s.