Scary Teddy Bear Valentine

Here's a 1930s card I found this year that fits nicely into my little collection of "Creepy Valentines." Just what is up with that teddy bear?! He's got "possessed eyes", he's kicked a hole in that heart, and he appears to be attacking that little boy. Does he not like Valentine's Day? Is he related to Chucky of "Child's Play" fame? Who knows..

Creepy Valentine Postcards

These circa 1906 German postcards  were some of the first antique valentines I purchased. I remember thinking how strange, even creepy, they seemed: just what the heck were those cupids doing?! They appeared to be chopping up hearts, painting them with something caustic, and shishkabobing them. Finally an artist acquaintance explained that the cupids were not fiends, but friends: they were repairing a a broken heart by smelting it back together, and "stirring the flames of love" by roasting two hearts over one flame. Whatever, I still think they look creepy.

Much-Loved Schuco Wind Up Mouse

Here's one of the most love-worn toys in my collection: an extremely tattered 1920s somersaulting mouse (actually an early, unlicensed Mickey Mouse knockoff made by Schuco). Originally this mouse, about the size of the real thing, would have had inset felt ears, felt hands and feet, and cloth covering his arms and legs, but it's all been loved away. I realize a lot of people would have passed over this item, but when I spotted him buried in a pile of rusty keys, chipped marbles, and broken lead soldiers in a dealer's junk case, he looked so forlorn, and I just couldn't leave him there! 

Here he is being chauffeured about in his tin toy car by his friend, a tiny 1920s Schuco teddy bear:

Cannibal, Snake Charmer, & Devil Valentines

Here's some iconography that would be hard to find in modern children's valentines: a snake charmer, a cannibal stewing a lady, and a devil (although devils still feature in adult valentines). These date to the 1950s.

"Vinegar Valentine": A Lady's Pipe Dream

Here's another "vinegar valentine" from my collection of these insulting postcards that were all the rage in the early 1900s. This one features a fantastic embossed scene of a lonely lady having a Valentine's Day "pipe dream." Dig the monocle and fancy mustaches!