Vegetable Patch Kids Valentines

These three tiny valentines are some of my favorites. They date from the 1930s, and feature little characters peeking out from behind various vegetables, with appropriate puns inside each card.

The corn says: "Here's an 'Earful' -- I Want You for My Valentine"; the potato: "I Have My 'Eyes' on You"; and the lettuce: "I've Lost My 'Head' Over You."

War Time Valentines

This group of World War II era valentines were received by their young owner at an event called "The Good Samaritan Class Party at the Church Feb. 5, 1945." No idea what church or where: it's quite intriguing!

Blonde China Head "Pet Name" Doll

For a break from all the valentine posts, here's a much-loved toy: a 14 inch china head doll with the rarer blonde hairdo. She's from a series of dolls made in Germany by Hertwig from the 1890s - early 1900s with their names factory-painted on their shoulderplates. This one is "Agnes," and, as can be seen from her raggedy body, she was much-loved by her young owner. Miraculously, her head has remained intact and lovely after all these years...

 

 

Antique Auto Valentine

Here's a really lovely 1930s valentine: an old roadster complete with a chauffeur transports two young lovers to their romantic destination.

Novelty Nose Valentine

This is one of the most unusual valentines in my collection: an actual pair of wire and cloth "funny nose glasses" adorn the odd lady on this 1960s card:

Mechanical Buzz Saw Valentine

Here's an odd, but fun, mechanical valentine, from the 1930s or 40s. You can actually spin the buzz saw around to torment the little man if you want.

Magician Valentine

My sweetie is a magician, which of course makes me very partial to magic themed valentines. This large mechanical card from the 1950s features a magician and his lovely assistant, who floats high above the stage.

Carnival Game Valentine

This is one of the largest vintage valentines in my collection, measuring about 9 inches tall, and probably from the 1950s. It has a great mechanical feature: by moving the winged heart in the upper right corner, the target animals spin by. And isn't the little sailor a cutie?

Homemade Cigar Box Doll Furniture

I was thinking that February, besides being the obvious month to showcase vintage valentines, is also a good time to highlight toys made with love, or toys that are now charmingly bedraggled by too much love from their young owners. So, if you're tired of the valentines, here's a change, although I guess it still is rather girly and schmaltzy. 

Anyway, here we have a fantastic set of lovingly homemade doll furniture. The bed, cradle, table, and small china head doll have been together since the set was assembled in 1914. I've added the larger china doll, because the little dolly clearly needed a mommy, and also the table accessories. For scale, the bed is 11 and a half inches long, and the littlest doll is just 6 and a half inches tall.

The furniture was made from cigar boxes, which I find just fascinating. Can you imagine a father today saying, "hey Susie, want me to make you some Barbie furniture from my Marlboro cartons?" Seriously though, I love finding repurposed items like this. It's as if it's been recycled twice: first by the parent who turned a discarded box into a beloved toy, and next by me, who bought it and kept it out of a landfill. (Go green!) Anyway, in the next photo you can see the cigar box markings clearly stamped into the underside of the little table.

The furniture also features handpainted faux wood grain, and the slats on the bed are actually numbered to show which order they go in (since, being handmade, the measurements are not quite standard).

And the neatest thing, which I've found on almost all the homemade doll furniture I've seen, is that the name of the little girl the set was made for is pencilled on the underside of the cradle, along with the date ("Marela, 1914"). I'm not sure why this was done so extensively, but toy collectors are certainly grateful for it now!

Anthropomorphic Valentines

I love anthropomorphic toys and images (vintage Mr. Potato Heads are one of my favorite things to collect). Every January, I start trolling the local antique shops and online dealers looking for vintage valentines, and I'm always especially excited to find an anthropomorphic one. I don't know why they appeal to me so much; maybe because they just look so friendly, like little friends in unexpected places. Here's a sampling from my collection, mostly dating to the 1950s.

Fortune Teller Valentine

This large 1930s mechanical fortune teller valentine is
a really fun piece.

By moving the heart tab at the top of the card,

the scene in the crystal ball changes.  

"I see smooching in your future..."

Novelty Stand-Up Valentine

This is one of my favorite valentines, in spite of the damage to the figure's neck and the unfortunate scotch tape that someone put over his face in an attempted repair. He's quite large, about 9 inches tall, and actually stands up thanks to his bendable pipe cleaner legs. Totally cute and unique, he dates from the 1930s.

Antique Valentine Rebus Postcard

This is one of the most unusual antique postcard valentines I have. Dating from the early 1900s, it's essentially a rebus, and plays to the old adage that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach...

Creepy Cat Valentine

One of my vintage valentine collection subsets is "Creepy Valentines." It's really quite amazing how many weird and disturbing historical valentines exist out there. The creepiness usually comes from iconography that is no longer readily meaningful to us, as we'll see later on with some German postcards. But sometimes it's just strange design, like this:

  

In this spectacular example of a Creepy Valentine, a giant cat with real blown glass eyes and a moveable head (for extra horror) appears to be about to devour the small child who is obliviously offering him a sweetie...Made in Germany in the 1920s-30s.

Valentine Paper Doll

This amazing valentine was sent by an "Aunt Etta" to her niece 

back in the 1930s. 

When opened, it reveals an itty bitty paper doll   

with even ittier bittier outfits tucked in a tiny envelope. 

Thanks Aunt Etta, whoever you were!

 

Valentine Veggies

I love old postcards, vintage valentines, and anthropomorphic objects, so this fantastic item was a perfect find: a 1900s Raphael Tuck valentine postcard featuring "Mr. Carrot" and "Miss Bean". If you look closely, you'll see that the "fourteen carat gold" engagement ring is, in fact, made of carrot.

Candy Kid Valentine

Here's one of the most unusual valentines in my collection.

Dating from the 1930s, it features an actual candy (Necco wafer-type) in a lithographed wrapper as the head of the figure. It's amazing to me that this survived so long without being eaten by either the original recipient or a little mousie.

Bone Button Valentine

Here's a really unusual valentine I found this year. Dating to the 1920s, it features a bone button made into a little happy face...actually, the more I look at it, the less "happy" it appears, verging instead on "creepy," but still, a unique valentine!

Housekeeping Dolly Valentine

This large mechanical 1930s valentine has some damage, but the scene was so charming, I decided to overlook it. What a great image of a little girl and her dolly, doing the laundry...and I love the anxious expression on the dolly's face: she looks like she just woke up after a bender, thinking, 
"Holy crap! Where are my clothes?"

Valentine Time

Yay: it's Valentine Time! 
Vintage and antique valentines are some of the other things I collect,
so I'll be showcasing some of my favorites this month.

Here are two of my dollies and teddies trading valentines 

in a display case at my library, 

and some highlights from the display.