Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
97
In
later
times
the
drawing
of
a
lady's
name
for
a
Valentine
was
made
the
means
of
placing
the
drawer
under
the
obligation
to
make
a
present
to
the
lady.
The
celebrated
Miss
Stuart,
who
became
the
Duchess
of
Richmond,
received
from
the
Duke
of
York
on
one
occasion
a
jewel
worth
L800,
in
discharge
of
this
obligation;
and
Lord
Mandeville,
who
was
her
Valentine
at
another
time,
presented
her
with
a
ring
worth
some
L300.
The
term
Valentine
is
no
longer
used
in
its
more
general
application
to
denote
the
lady
to
whom
a
present
is
sent
on
the
14th
of
February,
but
the
thing
sent,
which
is
usually
a
more
or
less
artistic
print
or
painting,
surmounted
by
an
image
of
Cupid,
and
to
which
are
annexed
some
lines
of
loving
import.
Thirty
years
ago
Valentines
were
generally
inexpensive
articles,
printed
upon
paper
with
embossed
margins.
Their
style
gradually
improved
until
hand-painted
scenes
upon
satin
grounds
became
common;
and
Valentines
might
be
bought
at
any
price
from
a
halfpenny
to
five
pounds.
It
should
not
be
omitted
to
be
noted
that
for
many
years
Valentines
have
had
their
burlesques,
in
those
ridiculous
pictures
which
are
generally
sent
anonymously
on
Valentine's
Day,
and
which
were
often
observed
to
be
decked
out
in
extraordinary
guises,
and
having
affixed
to
them
such
things
as
spoons,
dolls,
toy
monkeys,
red
herrings,
rats,
mice,
and
the
like.
On
one
occasion
a
Valentine
was
seen
in
the
post
having
a
human
finger
attached
to
it.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
