Tuesday, January 28, 2025

Dear Valentine, Part 1

The intro illustration.
    Lucy Ross beamed with pleasure as she came into the Antiques Show. Lucy loved old things. She always enjoyed going "antique-ing" with her mother, wandering through all the antique shops in town. But this show was like a hundred wonderful stores all rolled into one!
   "Lucy," her mother said, "this is a perfect place for your game of pretending."
   But Lucy was already in a dream world, imagining herself dressed in a hoop skirt and bonnet. As she walked along beside her mother, her eyes lit on a large four-poster bed with a bright yellow canopy. Tossed across it was a blue and red and yellow patchwork quilt. Lucy pretended that she was living in olden days and that this was her bedroom.
   She hardly heard her mother saying, ‚''I wish I could walk around with you. But I promised I'd take care of the refreshment stand this afternoon."
   "That's all right," Lucy said dreamily. ''I'll see everything." Suddenly her eyes lit up. "I might even find an idea for the class assembly program."
   "That would be wonderful," her mother said as she gave Lucy a big kiss. "My stand is right by the door if you need me."Goodby," Lucy smiled, returning the kiss.
   She floated on by herself, past a series of small booths. They were like little rooms with one wall missing. In one booth, gold bracelets, pins and rings sparkled on top of a long counter.
   Lucy did not stop.

A glass case filled with very old things.

   Farther down the hall she spied a real old-fashioned horse-carriage, painted shiny red and black. Only the horses were missing. Lucy hurried toward it, already imagining herself climbing up onto the seat. 

The old-fashioned horse-carriage.

The doll's tea party.
   "I wonder if anyone would mind," she thought.
   But, before she even reached the carriage, something else caught her eye! She stopped short and drew in her breath. "Oh, how lovely!" she gasped, looking into a charming little room.
   The booth was perfectly arranged to look like a small parlor. There was a little sofa and even a real piano. Best of all was the tea table, beautifully set with fine china and linens. Around the table sat almost life-sized dolls dressed in romantic old-fashioned costumes with big skirts and high waists.
   Lucy stared and stared, and suddenly her game of "pretending" brought them to life!
   "Do come in, Lucy," the hostess seemed to be saying. ''I'm so glad you've come to our our tea party."
   Enchanted, Lucy slid forward across the thick rug to the handsome mahogany tea table. Just as she was reaching toward a delicate china cup, a real voice sounded close to her ear. The proprietor of the booth appeared at her side.
   "I wouldn't touch that, if I were you," he said gently, pointing to a sign: "WHAT YOU BREAK YOU'VE BOUGHT"
    Lucy looked so sheepish, the man felt sorry for her. "Have you seen what's in here?" he asked, pointing to a gilt and glass curio cabinet in a corner of the room. Lucy scurried over to look.
   "What's this?" she asked, pointing to a lacy card in the cabinet.
   "That," the man said, solemnly lowering his voice, "is a very old valentine-very old." He got it out and held it importantly on the palm of his hand.
   It was a tiny, hand-painted religious picture surrounded by lace. "The nuns made it," he told her, putting it back in the cabinet.
   "Isn't it sweet?" Lucy said. "I do love valentines. I wonder when people started sending them?"
   The man rubbed his hands together. He seemed pleased that he knew the answer. "The custom began about five hundred years ago when the Duke of Orleans was captured in war and sent the first modern valentines from his prison cell."
   Lucy nodded, half listening, and squealed, "Isn't this one beautiful!" Carefully she lifted up a large glittering valentine from a lower shelf of the cabinet. She fingered its soft blue cloth forget-me-nots. They almost covered a red silk heart set in the center of silver-painted paper lace. When she opened the valentine she saw herself in a tiny mirror. Aloud, she read the poem below the mirror:

"Here's the face I'm glad I met
For you I never can forget.
How fine, how full of sweet delight
Our lives will be when our hearts unite."

   "That valentine is almost a hundred years old," the man said. "It's part of Mrs. Holly's collection."
   "Oh," asked Lucy, "who is she?"
Lucy reads the valentines.
   "Why, she collects valentines. That's her exhibit over there, near the grandfather clock." He pointed across the hall.
   Lucy thanked him and started eagerly down the aisle. She made a bee-line for Mrs. Holly's booth, at first, but it wasn't easy. There were too many attractive things to see. First a spinning wheel caught her eye, next a tinkling music box, and then a battered rocking horse. Of course, she had to get a closer look at each.   
   Without realizing it, Lucy had changed the direction in which she was headed. Suddenly she found she was in the wrong aisle. Nobody here had heard of the valentine exhibit. Lucy tried a different aisle. It seemed very crowded with people, but suddenly a merry peal of laughter made her turn around. Behind a long table stood a tall and lively lady with perky white bangs. She had a big lavender bow under her chin. A great many people were standing around her table, looking through albums of some sort, and at that moment one of them called the lady by name. She was none other than Mrs. Holly!
   Lucy edged in towards the table, and Mrs. Holly soon noticed her. ''Are you interested in valentines, little girl?" she asked. 
   "Oh, yes, Mrs. Holly," Lucy answered. To her delight, Mrs. Holly pushed a large album across the table to where Lucy stood.
   The album was open to a page headed, "VALENTINES FROM THE DAYS OF GEORGE WASHINGTON." The valentines were very simple, hand painted on yellowing paper. Tiny hearts and birds caught Lucy's eye. A rhymed note on one valentine asked for a lady's hand in marriage.
   Lucy turned the page, and here the valentines were very different. The colors were many and varied, and they were printed on pretty paper which itself had a raised design. There were even little embossed envelopes to match. Each of the small pictures was surrounded by white or gold lace. "VALENTINES FROM ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S DAY," read the typed heading.
   Suddenly Lucy was caught up in a marvelous new dream, a dream she felt could really come true. She imagined herself standing on the audi- torium platform with all her schoolmates in the audience. She was making a poetic speech about valentines and the whole school applauded her. Then she introduced Mrs. Holly and her collection! Wouldn't it be wonderful if Mrs. Holly would really come to the next school assembly?
More antiques in the shop... a spinning wheel, an old clock and a rocking horse.

   Right then and there she decided to ask her. Mrs. Holly was still busy chatting with several grownups, but Lucy decided that as soon as she could get Mrs. Holly's attention, she would invite her. Meantime, she turned to another page in the album marked LATE VICTORIAN."
   "Oh," she exclaimed, "these are the best!" These valentines were very fancy and very lacy. Lucy pulled a string on a paper rose and the paper sprang up like a spider web. She opened a paper door on another valentine to see what was behind it. As the door swung open, it revealed another, even lovelier valentine, covered with hearts and flowers.
   Just then Lucy looked up and, for a wonder, Mrs. Holly wasn't busy. She smiled at Lucy and walked over when Lucy called her.
   "Well, sweetheart, what can I do for you?" Mrs. Holly asked cheerfully.
   "I just love your valentines," Lucy said, ''and I was wondering if you could possibly come to my school and show your collection for the February assembly? Our class has to give the program," she added.
   Mrs. Holly beamed with pride. "Why, that might be fun," she said. "How would your teacher feel about it?"
   "I know Miss Chase would like it," Lucy assured her.
   "Well, I'd love to come and show my collection, but you'd better ask Miss Chase first." She fished in the pocket of her dress and came up with a small card. "Here's my address,'' she said, "And what's your name?"
   Lucy told her and thanked her and altogether was so excited that she hardly remembered to say goodby. 

Valentines from when President Washington lived.

Late Victorian Valentines.

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