Mundane Object Valentines

These little 1920s cards are some of my very favorites, and comprise what I refer to as my "Mundane Objects" valentines. I've found these over a number of years from different sources, but they seem to make a set. Many of the messages inside are puns, and feature a lot of intriguing historical slang. 

The brick reads: "You're a Brick...I'm 'Building Up Great Hopes' That You Will Be My Valentine"; "the pie: "If I Only Had the Crust...I'd Ask You To Be My Valentine"; the cork: "Gee! But You're a Corker...That's Why I Want You For My Valentine"; the briefcase: "To Make It Brief...I Have an Awful 'Case' On You"; the glove: "Do You Glove Me?... Be My Valentine"; and the plum: "I'm Plum Crazy About You!...Will You Be My Valentine?".

Flip Book Valentine

One of the most unusual valentines in my collection is this comical flip book from the 1930s. By turning the pages, you can make different characters (each with a great '30s marcelled platinum 'do!). Below you can see the three primary characters; by flipping the head and body pages, you can make variations, like the head of the first girl on the body of the third.

 

Change-A-Face Mechanical Valentine

Here's one of my favorite valentines: a mechanical change-a-face card, dating to the 1930s. By pulling the tab at the bottom, the goofy-looking boy's expression changes. Just a really fun valentine!

Here's the first face:

 

And here's the second:

 

Little Airplane Valentine

Just a sweet little moveable valentine dating from the 1930s. 

You can make the wings waggle up and down.

Courtship Sequence Valentine Postcards

Here's a great set of 1907 sequence postcards: these were mailed by the sender one by one, with the complete set telling a little story. These postcards were sent by a woman in Washington state who traded similar sequenced sets with a friend in Michigan. The message on the back of the first card reads: "Kind friend, yours received yesterday, couldn't get the rest of that set, therefore I shall finish with this." Pretty cool that these were kept together and saved for over 100 years!