Vintage Valentines: A Picture Gallery

I have always loved vintage Valentines.  When I was a little girl, my family liked to antique together.  When we wandered through antique stores, I always looked at Valentines and holiday cards.   When I first heard of eBay, I browsed for vintage Dachshund Valentines.  And then I started selling.  I mostly sold vintage children's books at first, and then I added in vintage Valentines and vintage Christmas cards and ornaments.  I still love finding a big box of Valentines, scanning them, and listing them.  All of the cards pictured today are located in my stores:  eBay Valentines department, Etsy, and Bonanza. 

Here are a few of my latest vintage Valentines:

Three dogs in a barrel at sea.  This card is spectacular!  It is mechanical and the barrel rocks back and forth when you move it.

This heart-shaped card is 1920's vintage.  It features a little boy and girl under a big umbrella.  

 A sweet little bear has a plate of Valentine heart cookies.

Love this Mid-Century illustration of a girl in a fancy dress and hat.  "A Valentine for a Swell Sister."

Fun 1950's owl Valentine.  "Do I give a hoot for you, Valentine?"

Fun Mid-Century card for a husband -- includes several pages of illustrations:

 A cute kitten drinks an ice cream soda at a malt shop:

1920's or earlier card featuring a little girl with ringlets talking to a bird.  "I'm all of a twitter my Valentine."

This is an unusual mechanical Valentine!   The little girl's eyes open and close.  "Don't give me the shut-eye my Valentine."

A calico cat plays with yarn -- mechanical card.  (The cat's eyes move.)   "I love you and that's no yarn my Valentine!"

Fun Deco Valentine featuring a boy and girl fishing.  "If you're fishing for me use your heart as bait my Valentine."

This mechanical card features a dressed dog in a butcher shop chopping baloney.  The card is mechanical - his arm and the knife move.  "It's no baloney when I say I love you!"

I believe this older card is a Grace Drayton illustration.  It features a little girl with dumb bells who is exercising as her dog watches.  The card is mechanical -- the girl bends at the waist.  "I'm 'most reduced to tears, I'm so skeered I won't get the Valentine I want."

This mechanical card features a little girl in a flower hat that pulls up and down.  "Pansies tell what I can't conceal.  Look under my hat and see how I feel."

This is a fabulous mechanical card.  The little boy's arm and pig move back and forth.  "Tom, Tom the Piper's Son stole a pig one day - and as for you, your taking ways just steal my heart away!"

This is a lovely Charles Twelvetrees illustrated card.  It features a boy and girl on a toy horse:  "With your arms around me holding tight, we'll gallop on my hobby horse - 'cause love's in sight!  Be My Valentine."  The card has a honeycomb detail -- the horse's back folds out into a beautiful honeycomb.

Another Grace Drayton illustration.  (You will recognize her work from the Campbell soup kids.)   A boy and girl stand with an organ grinder and a monkey.  "Don't monkey with my heart - be my Valentine."  This is a mechanical card -- the boy's arm, the winding device, and the children's eyes all move.

An '80's Mixtape List, in Honor of Eleanor and Park

Here's what you need to know about Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.  It's a young adult novel set in the 1980's.  You will meet two bright, creative high school kids who find each other:  the bold and defiant Eleanor, who comes from a deeply troubled family, and the sweet and sensitive Park, who comes from a loving Korean-American family.  You will glimpse first love again from this book, with all the messy feelings and complications that come with it.  You will remember the 1980's.  You will think of mixtapes and the music of your own youth.

With all of this said, I made a mixtape list from my 1980's years: 

1. "Someday, Someway" (Marshall Crenshaw)
2. "Every Day I Write the Book" (Elvis Costello)
3. "Swan Swan H" (REM)
4. "Hounds of Love" (Kate Bush) 
5. Behind the Wall of Sleep" (The Smithereens)
6. "Tenderness" (General Public)
7. "True" (Spandau Ballet)
8. "Raspberry Beret" (Prince)
9. "You Spin Me Round" (Dead or Alive)
10. "Bizarre Love Triangle" (New Order)
11. "Tainted Love" (Soft Cell)
12. "Tempted" (Squeeze)
13. "Oh L'Amour" (Erasure)
14. "Here Comes the Rain Again" (Eurythmics)
15. "When U Were Mine" (Cyndi Lauper)
16. "Desperate But Not Serious" (Adam Ant)
17. "Let's Dance" (David Bowie)
18. "Under the Milky Way" (The Church)
19. "Time Clock of the Heart" (Culture Club)
20. "I Melt With You" (Modern English)

I would love to hear from you in the comments - thoughts on Eleanor and Park, thoughts about '80's music, about mixtapes ...

Downton Abbey: Season 5, Episode 6

What Happened (A Very Short Summary) 
The Dowager Countess visits the Prince with news that she hopes to find his wife;  he asks Violet to run away with him.  Back at home, Violet has problems with her new lady's maid.  Edith receives word that Michael Gregson is presumed dead in Munich.  She also learns that she has inherited Gregson's publishing company.  Bates discovers Mary's contraceptive device and book that Anna is keeping for Mary.  He assumes they belong to Anna and they quarrel.  Later he confesses to Anna that he chose not to harm Green.  Cora and Robert have it out about Simon Bricker, and she stands up to him;  he returns to their room.  Barrow is ill, and Baxter convinces him to see a doctor.  Dr. Clarkson assures him that he will be fine (he was taking saline) and is kind and reassuring.  Lady Mary bobs her hair.  When she unveils her new look at a family gathering (which includes Rose's new friend, Atticus), Mary and Edith have a fuss.  Tony Gillingham, Charles Blake, and Mabel Lane Fox arrive for the steeplechase.  Romantic sparks fly between Tony and Mabel.  Edith tells the truth to Mrs. Drew and leaves with baby Marigold.  Isobel tells Violet that she accepted Lord Merton's proposal.  Carson suggests to Mrs. Hughes that perhaps they should invest in a property together, for when they retire. 

Line of the Week
"All this endless thinking!  It's all very overrated."  -- the Dowager Countess
 
Character Of the Week 
Edith received the tragic confirmation of Michael Gregson's death, and mustered her wits to plan a life for herself -- and their child, Marigold.  I like Edith and have hoped she would find happiness.  I hope this is the beginning for her.

 Most Striking Visual 
 Mary's bobbed hair is a small sign of the way things are changing, moving toward modernity.

 "Oh My" Moment 
Bates' confession to Anna that he had the opportunity to pursue and harm Green, but chose not to, was quite a surprise.  I truly thought he had been involved in his death.

What I Hope Will Happen Next (All Speculation - No Spoilers!) 
I hope that things progress for Mary and Charles Blake and for Rose and Atticus.  I hope Edith and Marigold have a happy life together.   I hope Isis (who was not feeling well) is okay!

What did you think of tonight's episode?  What do you want to happen next week?

Book Blitz and Giveaway: Bricks by John Davidson

Bricks

by John Davidson 

Release Date: 02/03/15

Anaiah Press

Summary from Goodreads:

Sixteen-year old Cori Reigns learns that not all tornadoes take you to magical places. Some take your house, your school, and life as you knew it. Struggling to put the pieces of her life back together, Cori learns to rebuild what the storm destroyed by trusting family she didn't know she had and helping friends she never appreciated.

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Married to my bride for twenty-four years, I have an amazing son and a wonderful daughter.

Born and raised in central Oklahoma, I work in education, first as a teacher now in technology curriculum. I write. I read. And in the summer I make snow cones.

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Excerpt:

We found Leo in the third floor waiting room, just where Slim said he would be.

With just a cursory glance, it was easy to see he’d made the corner of the waiting area into his own private room. A blanket draped over one arm of the chair, with a pillow tucked beneath when it was needed. He had a cup of water and a box of fish crackers on the stand. The bags beneath his eyes looked like they’d been carved with a chisel as he stared at the TV with the sound off.

I marched over and fell around his neck. His hand rested on my back like an anchor while his breath warmed my neck. Letting go, I sat back on to the plain wooden coffee table, his hand still in mine.

“How are you?” I was tired of hearing it myself, but sometimes words are what they are no matter how fancy we try to dress them up.

He nodded, as I expected him to. I’d never known Leo to complain. He played an entire football game with a broken arm once. “Really?” I prodded. “It’s us, Leo. Talk to us.” Slim slid in beside me.

“I’m no worse than anybody else, you know? I’m alive. Dad’s alive, and he’s not getting worse.”

Ah, Leo’s optimistic way of saying his dad wasn’t getting better. I squeezed his hand. “I’m going to go look in on Sara. But when I get back, I want to get you out of here for a while.”

His eyes widened and he sat up and swallowed.

“Just a little while,” I assured him. “I promise. We’ll get something to eat. A snow cone, maybe.”

He settled back in his seat with a still frightened gaze.

“It’ll be fine,” I said. I let go of his hand, and it fell like a rock to his lap. Maybe Slim could perk him up while I was gone. As I made my way down the hall to the room the nurse had given me, I felt a little awkward since I didn’t have a gift to give her, but I brushed it aside. We saved Sara’s life. Considering our history, that’s a pretty big deal.

 
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Book Blitz and Giveaway: For Sure and Certain by Anya Monroe

For Sure & Certain

by Anya Monroe 

Release Date: 02/05/15

390 pages

Summary from Goodreads:

***She knits, cans jam, and lives in the city. He’s an Amish college student, breaking the rules. They're so right, it's wrong.***

Marigold, a recent high school graduate with a shady past, is looking to redefine herself. She doesn’t know what she wants exactly, but college isn’t it.

When she meets Abel, an Amish guy on Rumspringa, his ‘running around’ time, she doesn’t plan on falling for someone wearing a straw hat and suspenders. But she can't help it, Abel is the breath of fresh air she's been waiting for.

Abel, who’s moved to the city for a summer program at Jamestown, never imagined Marigold would be drawn to the life he was trying so hard to avoid. His family expects him to take over the family farm; college parties and dorm life don’t quite fit in with their plans for him.

Opposites attract, but nothing is easy with love. When they trade places for the summer they learn a life together isn’t as for sure and certain as they thought. 

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Excerpt:

“I’d like to take you out again, if you’ll have me. I know there are a lot of differences between us, ja? And maybe it’s a bad idea, knowing I’m here for just a summer before I’m supposed to go back home. But you make me feel at ease, it’s not like that with everyone. I don’t want to miss out on a good thing because of an unknown future.”

She looked down at his hands, realizing she’d already assumed there would be another date. More of these hands on hers, and maybe his mouth on hers, too. She pushed that thought away, realizing she was in no position to kiss someone so different than her.

As far as the future, she didn’t even know where she’d be by the end of summer. For now she’d find ways to be happy. Abel was one of them. She knew seeing him again wasn’t even a question. Of course she would.

“For sure and certain,” she said, remembering the Amish words he’d said before.

The simple words brought a huge grin on his face, and she matched his.

 

About the Author
Anya Monroe likes to write stories and paint words on her walls. She believes in love at first sight and fights for happily-ever-afters. As a wife and mom to six kids, she carves out time to write between carpool pick-ups and date nights because words are her heartbeat. She lives a ferry ride from Seattle and is a total Pacific Northwesterner who drinks chai lattes and wears Birkenstocks and has dreadlocks. She's a cliché, but doesn't mind it. Not even a little.

She documents her lovely-messy life on IG @anyamonroe. Find her there!

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