These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.
Download this imageCreative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.
Valentine card
Publisher: Dobbs, Henry
Large 8vo-size cream embossed paper with a hand-coloured pink edge. A hand-drawn and coloured design of a dove on a branch at upper centre, sprigs of forget-me-nots to left and right and stems of pink roses at lower centre. A puzzle purse is affixed at the centre and decorated with a hand-painted design of a garland of pink roses and purple thistles tied together with a pink bow and painted motto: 'LOVE'. The puzzle purse opens to reveal a hand-painted flower design cut into a 'cobweb' device with a thread to lift and reveal a hand-painted scene of white dove carrying flowers/hearts in its beak. Handwritten verses and numbers are written around the interior of the puzzle purse in (faded) ink. Embossed stamp at lower centre: DOBBS PATENT. The card has been folded several times. The backing paper is damaged and partially missing. Handwritten address in black ink on the verso: Miss Jane Shey / No. 77 Upper Smith Street / Northampton Square. Stamp in black ink: "T.P. [...]". Postmark in red ink: "7 NIGH[T] 7 / FE.14 / 1823". Watermark: W M SMITH & ALLNUT 1821. Similar in design to P.14385-R and P.14410-R-8, which are also Dobbs Patent puzzle purse cards. P.14392-R, P.14410-R-12, P.14414-R-23, also Dobbs Patent cards, have the same embossed border design and P.14410-R-12 and P.14414-R-23 also employ gold ink. In fact, a letter from Glaisher to Miss Catherine Parsons dated 28 July 1927 (Fitzwilliam Museum Archive, MS 1138-1985) reveals that this valentine along with P.14385-R, was sent to Glaisher by the dealer, J.C. Acton. (See Virag, _Valentines: Highlights from the Collection at the Fitzwilliam Museum_, 2017, no. 19, p.74 and figs. 35 and 36, pp.76-7. It was noted after the publication went to press that the captions for figs 35 and 36 had been printed below the wrong objects). This card was included in the exhibition of valentine cards, _For ever thine: the nineteenth century valentine_, held in the Charrington Print Room at the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1995, no. 24.
Bequeathed by Dr J. W. L. Glaisher, 1928
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr
19th Century
Production date:
AD 1823
Accession number: P.14386-R
Primary reference Number: 214551
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Paintings, Drawings and Prints
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
Mirador deep zoom
IIIF Manifest
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Valentine card" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/214551 Accessed: 2024-04-18 16:34:09
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/214551
|title=Valentine card
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-18 16:34:09|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-214551
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/663/592/large_P_14386_R_6_201704_amt49_mas.jpg"
alt="Valentine card"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Valentine card</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
Accession Number: P.14591-R
Accession Number: P.14583-R
Accession Number: P.14342-R-65
Accession Number: P.14349-R-2
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...
