Valentine 1850 - 1870

Curator: This charming piece is titled "Valentine," created sometime between 1850 and 1870. It's currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: Oh, my goodness! It's utterly delicate. I imagine it floating into the room on a sunbeam. So intricate and heartfelt—pure romance! What’s it made of? Curator: Primarily paper. The techniques employed—drawing, printmaking, and the incredible detail work—suggest this was a labour-intensive piece. We see how decorative arts and romantic folk traditions blur. These objects were painstakingly produced; they signified great sentiment because of the time invested. Editor: The cut-out patterns remind me of paper snowflakes or delicate lace. The little ship, the couple, it feels very narrative, as if plucked from a beloved story or romantic ballad. "I am grateful," it says so sweetly at the bottom! Curator: Precisely. These Valentine cards often included printed elements with hand-worked embellishments, revealing an interesting interplay between mass production and individual expression in 19th-century material culture. Consider the socio-economic status implied in affording such items and the labour to produce it. Editor: I love that thought! It's not just a pretty trinket; it reflects societal layers and artistic devotion. You see the hopes, the longing someone poured into its creation and gifting, centuries later it connects with the feelings they conveyed so tangibly. A time capsule made of paper, quite extraordinary. Curator: A valuable point. And that interplay between romantic gesture, material realities, and technical production underscores the layers embedded in what appears, on the surface, to be a simple declaration of love. Editor: Ultimately, its purpose stands outside all the considerations on craft and labor-- this object conveys one enduring concept and sensation: Love! Thank you, I found the intersection of those realities extremely powerful! Curator: My pleasure, to me is was crucial to see the bigger implications in terms of socio economics around labor and production.