How to Collect Valentines

If you have an affinity for vintage bits and pieces of paper, are drawn to colorful lithographs and antique advertising pieces, think about collecting valentines. They contain all the color, delightful art, history and entertaining verses that one could possibly want. Who can resist: "Forget-me-not sweet Valentine, My hand and heart are ever thine." Here are ways to develop a vintage valentine collection.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• time to search antique shops and estate sales
• internet access for E-Bay
• an interest in colorful graphics and verse

1. It is an easy collection to start. Most antique shops have a stash of them. Possibly they are under the counter or in a shoe box or a photo album. Search for the colorful cards at estate sales and flea markets.
2. To start your collection inexpensively, ask older family members if they save cards and letters. Chances are some valentines are sprinkled in with other memorabilia tucked away in a box or drawer. They may be willing to part with the ones lacking major sentimental ties.
3. Contact retired school teachers and offer to buy their accumulation. A teacher probably receives a thousand valentines over the years. Some save them.
4. Check out online sources like E-Bay or ephemera dealers or auctions. Seach using keywords like "vintage valentines," or "ephemera."
5. You may find yourself drawn to certain categories of valentines such as the ones with moveable parts, ones with honeycombs that open, or the distinctive art of Ernest Nister (printed in Bavaria) cards. Some collectors focus on certain periods (1930s or 1940s) or humorous insult valentines. Others like valentine postcards or search out a specific design like cherubs or swans.
   After awhile you may develop an expensive taste for lacy cards from the 1800s. Once you find a category to specialize in, keep the focus on those to develop a finer collection.
6. Think about making your collection pay for itself. Trade or sell some of the items you are less attached to raise funds to indulge in top level cards.
7. By joining the national association, you get an informative newsletter and the opportunity to participate in their monthly valentine auctions.
   
   National Valentine Collectors' Association
   P.O. Box 1404
   Santa Anna, California 92702
   U.S.A.
8. Every February it is a treat to bring out the valentines and savor once again their unique designs. Share your collection with others by displaying them at a local museum or library. Avoid display areas near a window. Direct sunlight will fade and even warp the paper and cardboard pieces. Sometimes an individual viewing the display will offer to give you valentines they have saved.
9. To treat your valentines right, store them in acid free containers. These are more widely available now with the popularity of scrap booking. Look for the words, "acid free" or "archival quality" on the labels. Don't store them in a hot attic or garage or a damp basement. Besides the temperature issues, those areas might harbor silverfish that love to feast on old paper. They nibble little trails through your precious collection.

Tips & Warnings

• To learn more about collecting valentines, read: Valentines With Values - Katherine Kreider or One Hundred Years of Valentines - Katherine Kreider or Valentine Treasury: A Century of Valentine Cards - Robert Brenner. Your local library can find these books through interlibrary loan for you.