Rowayton Historical Society opens its heart

Valentines became big business in the Victorian era, and love, craft and industry come together at Rowayton Historical Society's Valentine's Day Show.

RHS will hold an open house in the recently renovated Seely-Dibble-Pinkney house Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m . , offering a view of the show and wine and red refreshments. On display are vintage valentines from the Victorian era. Produced during their height of popularity from 1840 to 1860, these confections of paper, lace and ribbon, colored illustrations and expressions of affection, were Rowayton family keepsakes donated to RHS.

The show also tells the history of Esther Howland, an American entrepreneur who started the American mass-produced Valentine's Day card industry in 1865. Ornate paper Valentine's Day cards, embossed, gilded and decorated with finely cut paper lace, were popular in England. When Howland, a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College and classmate of Emily Dickenson's, received a Valentine's Day card from England, she was inspired. Her father, who owned a book and stationary store, imported paper from England for his daughter, and sold the cards she made in his shop.

Howland's Valentines were so popular that she set up an assembly line of friends at a long table, each adding a layer to the finished Valentine, which Howland inspected. The demand for her cards was so great that she also contracted with ladies who took boxes of supplies and made cards at home.

Today, Howland's cards, with their hearts, quivers, arrows and love birds, their overlays, flaps and shadow boxes, are collectors' items. But even in the mid-1800s, elaborate Valentine's Day cards cost a lot.

"People saved and saved to send an ornate Valentine. Some cost as much as $50. And in Rowayton in those times there wasn't a lot of wealth," said Wendell Livingston, president of RHS.

Among the objects in the show are two scrapbook filled with vintage Valentines. In doing research for the show, Livingston learned something else that surprised her: There was also a tradition of sending dark Valentines.

"Some of them had pictures of hearts dripping with blood," she said.

Sometimes ornate romantic Valentine's Day cards concealed trinkets in their layered depths. Or friends gave one another trinkets for Valentine's Day. The show includes a selection of silver trinkets, including a comb and a tiny purse.

The exhibit also offers a look at sailors' Valentines, antique souvenirs made in Barbados around 1830 -- 1890. Typically, a small shell-covered box covered with intricate designs, sailors brought these home as presents to their loved ones.

"They would use the tiniest shells --tiny starfish, little mussels -- in the most intricate design. They would say things like "Be Mine" or "Yours Forever," Livingston said.

The sailors' Valentines were probably made by local women, using imported shells. Many were sold at a shop in Bridgewater, an important port in Barbados. The shop was owned by English brothers B.H. and George Belgave. Sailors' Valentines became collectors' items in the 19th century, and still are today.

The RHS show also features contemporary sailors' Valentines created by Rowayton artist Anne Jason.

"She makes lovely, very beautiful flowers," Livingston said.

Some of Jason's boxes will be offered for sale at the show.

RHS celebrated the old-fashioned, non-commercial tradition of making your own Valentine's Day card last weekend at a mother-daughter Valentine's Card making event. Like so many budding Esther Howlands, they cut and glued red and pink paper, paper lace and ribbons.

"It was sweet," Livingston said.

The Historical Society is open by appointment only during the winter. The show will be up through February. For information, call (203) 831-0136.

(Due to the snowstorm, RHS's Valentine's Tea will be today at 9:30 a.m.)