Erie's Hagen History Center captures love in a century in new Valentine's Day-themed exhibit
For the staff at the Hagen History Center, modern-day Valentine's Day cards pale in comparison to the ones stored in their archives.
For centuries, exchanging valentines has been a way to express affection between couples, friends and family members. Today, an estimated 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent each year, making Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday behind Christmas, according to the Greeting Card Association.
The Hagen History Center, 356 W. Sixth St. in Erie, is giving the public a look into the tradition of exchanging valentines with its new exhibit, called "100 Years of Love and Friendship."
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The display can be found on the second floor of the Watson-Curtze Mansion and will be up through the end of February.
"It just shows the progression of the commercialization of valentines," said Pauline Stanton, Hagen History Center's reference assistant for the library and archives. "Each of these reflects the wording of that particular era to express your love for somebody."
With the help of Amanda Rockwood, curatorial assistant, Stanton went through six boxes full of over 200 vintage valentines, picking out ones that had a "wow" factor. The majority of the stationery came from the Erie Art Museum and various donors throughout the years.
A walk through time
The display begins with valentines dating back to the 1830s, all of which were hand-painted with watercolors because color printing had not been invented yet, said Becky Weiser, curator. Some even include hand-written messages.
Moving by decades into the 1900s, the cards take on a more romantic style,boasting intricately cut layers that give them a 3D shape. These valentines, some depicting children and angels in carriages adorned with blue flowers, were considered high-end and typically unaffordable for the average sender, Stanton said.
The 1910s-1920s display also includes valentines that reflect issues of the time, like the valentine of a suffragette holding out a "Votes for Women" card from her "To My Valentine" bag.
"This was done when women didn’t have the right to vote, but women could still express love," Weiser said. "It was a big controversy back then. What’s going to happen if women get the right to vote? They’re going to be wearing pants and working in jobs and taking over men's roles, but no, they could still have love, they could still be women."
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The last case includes Rockwood's favorite valentines on display from the 1940s. While smaller in comparison to the three-dimensional 1920s cards, these take on more cartoon-like illustrations, giving non-human entities human-like characteristics.
On a brightly colored valentine of a ketchup bottle and a tomato, the cheesy pun, "I'm going to 'see red' if I can't 'ketchup' with you and be your Valentine!" is depicted. Another illustrates a head of lettuce with legs and says, "I'd like to 'bring things to a head' so 'lettuce' be Valentines."
"They’re just goofy sayings that show back in the 40s, they had a good sense of humor," she said.
It took Stanton several years to collect enough valentines to put together this display, but to her, it couldn't have come together at a better time.
"I think they’re just beautiful and we’re celebrating love," Stanton said. "In 2020 we were hunkered down and it’s great we can open our doors to the public for them to see these collections we don’t normally have out."
Baylee DeMuth can be reached at 814-450-3425 or bdemuth@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @BayleeDeMuth.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Vintage valentines exhibit at Hagen History Center in Erie showcases evolution of stationery
