The "Mother" of Valentines

Did you know that . . .

Esther Howland

The "Mother of American Valentines" was a pioneering New England businesswoman who, while she helped many others profess their romantic feelings, was never married. 

Esther Howland (1828–1904) popularized Valentine’s Day greeting cards in America. Valentines had been available in the U.S. for 50 years, but she was the first to commercialize them (cards in this post are "Internet copies" of her creations). But, this was the only online image available of Ms. Howland. She was described as having "an abundance of glossy chestnut hair, vibrant eyes, a high complexion, and exquisite dress." This photograph was taken in 1865 when she was 37. 

After graduating from Mount Holyoke Women's Seminary in 1847 she worked in her father’s business, S.A. Howland & Sons, the largest book and stationery store, in Worcester, MA. A vendor sent her an English valentine which included lace and cut-out flower decorations. It was much more impressive than American cards. Howland was sure that she could make a better card, and knew that the key was fancy paper. She asked her stationer father to import embossed and perforated lacy paper. In 1849, she made 12 sample valentines that her brother added to the inventory on his next sales trip. She hoped to get $200 in orders, and was overwhelmed when he returned with $5,000 in fancy valentine orders.

Determined to meet the demand, Howland recruited a group of all-female friends to work as "assemblers” and set up an assembly line of card makers in a third floor bedroom at her parents’ home (pre-dating Henry Ford’s assembly line by 50 years). She also distributed boxes of supplies with one finished sample as a guide to women who preferred to assemble valentines in their own homes, thus setting up an early cottage industry.

Early cards contained short four-line verses pasted inside similar to earlier English valentines. This set-up would eventually become standard for the valentine market.

In 1870, she incorporated as the New England Valentine Company and continued the home-based business until 1879 when it was moved to a rented building in downtown Worcester MA. Howland cards had an ‘H’ on the back in red ink with the price and letters "N.E.V. Co"  to distinguish them from rivals. 

 

Many of her innovations are still in use, such as the "lift-up" valentine which consists of several paper-lace motifs built upon one another in layers. Howland also introduced the layering of lace, thin-colored paper, 3-dimensional accordion effects, a bouquet in which flowers move to reveal a verse when pulled by a string, and the built-up shadow box that became popular in the latter part of her career.

Anticipating that customers might want to personalize cards they bought, she provided vendors with a 31-page book of different verses that could be inserted in most cards. Customers could choose from 131 verses printed in red, green, blue, and gold ink in three different sizes. The selected verse could be pasted over the original card verse.

Cards were offered for various budgets. A simple card sold for five cents. A card trimmed with ribbons or featuring intricate illustrations was much more, upwards of $50 (equal to the cost of a horse drawn buggy then). Very elaborate cards were highly decorated and had inner envelopes for insertion of a secret love message, lock of hair or even a ring. 

Howland cards were shipped countrywide and the business grossed over $100,000 per year, considerable for the time. She sold the business in 1881 to care for her ailing father.

The popularity of Valentine’s Day cards owes much to Esther Howland who popularized the lace valentine and made it into a major industry. Her creations of fantasy and romance have set a trend for more than 30 years. In 2001, the Greeting Card Association established the Esther Howland Award  given annually to a “greeting card visionary.”

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated 1 billion cards are sent annually making Feb. 14 the second largest card-sending holiday of the year after Christmas when an estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent. Over 50 percent of all Valentine's Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the holiday. Woman purchase about 85 percent of all valentines. Teachers receive the most valentines, then children, mothers, wives, sweethearts and pets.

My personal opinion is that a Valentine's Day card 💌 should be held to be most appreciated (an e-valentine doesn't do it for me). That's why Grenville and I will be exchanging several many cards today and a couple of sweet treats and watching our first-date film, French Kiss (1995). How about your plans?

Happy ❤️ Hearts Day to Everyone