Episode #97: Be Mine: The World of Victorian Valentines
Who doesn’t like to get a valentine perhaps from a mysterious admirer? Well, the practice of sending valentines goes back centuries and as we will see, valentines could mean something spiritual, an expression of friendship and love, or even a proposal of marriage. Carl is joined by historian and collector Nancy Rosin whose own collection of over 12,000 valentines from the past 400 years has recently been archived at the Huntington Library.
Nancy takes us back to early Roman days, through the MIddle Ages and into the “golden age” of valentines in the early 19th century and of course into the extravagant Gilded Age. Nancy shares some of the most significant examples from her collection and leads us into very personal worlds of beauty and love from the 17th century to our modern day. (Images courtesy collection of Nancy Rosin)
Carl is joined by special guest:
Nancy Rosin, historian and collector
LISTEN NOW: Be Mine: The World of Victorian Valentines
Related Podcast:
Ladies’ Mile: and Gilded Age Shopping