It's almost Valentine's Day - a day of love. Sigh! I celebrate love every day. I honestly can say I love everyone I meet.
I have some cute pictures to share with you today. They are Valentine covers from Calling All Girls magazine. This magazine was popular in the 1950's and 1960's, and the illustrations often featured a dachshund on the front cover. How neat is that?!
This cover, from February 1960, shows a girl decorating a heart-shaped cake with the help of her dachshund. (I bet the doxie will get a piece of cake!)
The dachshund on the cover of this February 1961 magazine is taking a break from helping with a Valentine project. From the expression on the girl's face, I wonder if the dachshund may have helped a little too much.
At a Valentine's Day party, a girl is playing pin the tail on the dachshund. Of course, her loyal doxie is helping. This illustration is from February 1962.
This February 1963 Calling All Girls cover is all about perfume ... and since dachshunds are scent hounds, I bet the doxie will find a way to help.
Wishing you a happy Valentine's Day! I hope you enjoyed these vintage illustrations.
As always, I love to read your comments, as well as questions for future Dear Abby posts.
When I was a little girl, we made a Valentine box each year in school. They were usually made from a shoebox, decorated with wrapping paper or foil and trimmed with accents like ribbon, doilies, and sequins. On Valentine's Day, we would collect Valentines from our school friends in the box.
I remember shopping for Valentines. Sometimes they came in a cellophane wrapped package. Sometimes they were in a punch-out book. I would spend time looking at the cards and deciding which Valentines to send to different friends.
I still love Valentines today. I collect vintage dachshund Valentines, and also sell vintage Valentines in my online shop, Birdhouse Books. I really enjoy hunting for the cards and then listing them. Here are a few 1960's vintage Valentines for your enjoyment. These are all little die-cut cards for children.
I would love to hear your childhood Valentine memories in the comments, below. Do you remember making Valentine boxes for school? What type of cards did you enjoy giving and receiving?
Do you remember conversation hearts candy? I always loved this as a little girl. I can still remember the sweet, slightly chalky taste, and the pretty pastel colors. Each of these candy hearts has a short message, like "Be Mine" or "Kiss Me." This candy was invented in 1847 by Oliver R. Chase. These candy lozenges were originally unmarked. Oliver Chase's brother, Daniel, began putting sayings on the candy hearts in 1866. Sweethearts, the most popular conversation hearts, are made by Necco (New England Confectionery Company). More than 8 billion candy hearts are made by this company yearly.
In 2010, Sweethearts were modernized with mottos like "email me" and "tweet me." They also went all natural. However, the all natural candy didn't taste the same, and the company announced in 2011 that they were going back to the original recipe.
Sweethearts now come in many varieties, including Dazzled, En Espanol, Sugar Free, and Chocolate.
Unfortunately, this candy isn't vegetarian (it contains gelatin), so I haven't had it in many years! If anyone knows of another brand that is in fact vegetarian, I would love to hear from you.
Do you remember these cute conversation hearts from childhood? What were your favorite sayings?
Do you have a favorite love song? My favorite changes from time to time, but I always seem to come back to "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Paul McCartney. Paul McCartney wrote this song for his wife Linda just before the Beatles broke up. It's such an empassioned love song about how love can make you stronger and can fill you with a sense of wonder: "Maybe I'm amazed at the way you love me all the time Maybe I'm afraid of the way I love you Maybe I'm amazed at the the way you pulled me out of time And hung me on a line Maybe I'm amazed at the way I really need you" There were several versions of this song over the 1970's. The original was released as a music video in the U.K. in 1970. It is all music and photos of the McCartney family, and it is beautiful. Paul McCartney did not want to release "Maybe I'm Amazed" as a single, although it appeared on his McCartney album (1970) and also Wings Over America (1976). The single was released in 1977. Paul McCartney has said that this is the song he wants to be remembered for. Here is the original video. I hope you enjoy!
