Hearts and Lace: Selections from the Richard August Neubert Antique Valentine Collection

News item published on: 2015-02-10 15:01:39

Over the past two hundred years, people have created cards to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. These cards often depict sentimental themes relating to love and friendship. In the 1990s, the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at the University of Southern Mississippi received a donation of over 650 valentines produced between 1838 and 1980. These items came to the collection due to the generosity of James G. Irby.

The exhibit highlights the many types of valentines created over the past 170 years. These include mechanical cards from Germany, lift-the-flap and cobweb designs, decorated letter sheets, and large, single sheet, hand colored lithographs. In addition, the exhibit showcases a selection of vinegar valentines that feature caricatured figures accompanied by comically cruel poems.

Hearts and Lace: Selections from the Richard August Neubert Antique Valentine Collection is on exhibit in the Cook Library Exhibit Cases until February 27, 2015. If you have questions about the collection, please contact Ellen Ruffin at Ellen.Ruffin@usm.edu or 601.266.6543.