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| Cover of Harper's Magazine, 16 February 1861 |
Dear Friends,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day this past week. Because my research focus is in the mid-19th century, I thought it would be fun to look at the Valentine’s Day traditions in the years leading right up to the Civil War. I’ve been having a good time lately looking at how Marylanders — and especially those here in Frederick — celebrated St. Valentine as “the patron saint of sighing maids and love sick swains”
1. I know, fun, right?
(I should probably point out, for my friends who consider Valentine’s Day to be “a fake holiday manufactured by Hallmark’s marketing department, the “When you care enough to send the very best” company got its start in 1910, while the practice of sending Valentines predates that by centuries. In fact, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Valentine collection has pieces that date back to the 1600’s.2
We've all heard the story about Valentine's Day being the religious feast day of St. Valentine; by the mid-19th century, I haven't found evidence that the holiday retained its religious association. In 1861, an article in the Baltimore Sun mentioned a legend that birds would choose their mates on Valentine’s Day3, which some of the two-legged, non-feathered species that runs the earth apparently took as inspiration (I'm going to be so disappointed if no one points out that many species of birds don’t mate for life). And according to Saint Valentine’s Day, the story I posted about a week ago, traditionally the first guy a girl glanced at on Valentine’s Day would be her valentine for the day, and, if he was lucky and played his cards right, would eventually become her valentine for life. Since life is not a fairy tale and not everyone we like, likes us back, naturally there were shenanigans by some girls to avoid any resulting awkwardness of being connected to someone they didn’t like: “Young girls, in order to avoid the sight of a disagreeable suitor, would shut themselves up for the entire morning; others, by various strategems—peeping through little friendly holes in the window curtains; sitting with their eyes shut for hours, until they heard the wished-for step or well-beloved voice—endeavored to take in destiny, and cheat the fates!” 4 What isn’t clear is if that was a present-day tradition or an idealized time of days past.
What is clear is that in Frederick, people were exchanging Valentines. In 1858 Frederick’s News Depot advertised “the richest assortment ever seen in Frederick.” In 1859, A. Henderson’s store joined the News Depot joined the News Depot and also advertised valentines. In February 1861, the store run by C. J. Lewis advertised “COMIC and Sentimental VALENTINES for sale,”
5 and the Baltimore newspaper mentioned that valentines were decorating shop windows for a month.3
Unfortunately, the point of the Baltimore newspaper was to decry the practice of what would eventually become known as "vinegar valentines," the mid-19th century equivalent of the online bullying we deal with today. The senders were sending anonymous postcards that mocked the recipient, with emotions ranging from more light-hearted sarcasm to suggestions that the recipient kill themselves. Ouch. My suspicion is that the "Comic" valentines advertised by Lewis were these vinegar valentines, sometimes referred to as penny valentines.
In 1859, the Frederick Examiner ran an article that also called out these valentine senders: “What a pity, so harmless an amusement should deteriorate into the mischievous and malignant practice of sending grotesque, vulgar and insulting valentines, which gratify the worst feelings of the sender, and wound the self-respect of the recipient, under cover of cowardly anonymous letters. We speak of the practice as an odious one that public opinion may justly censure; and as a consolation all who are hurt by these tokens of unkindness, would beg them to remember that a sense of shame, if any such sentiment still has a place in the bosom of the sender prevents him from avowing his guiltiness of a base act.”1
Unfortunately, the point of the Baltimore newspaper was to decry the practice of what would eventually become known as "vinegar valentines," the mid-19th century equivalent of the online bullying we deal with today. The senders were sending anonymous postcards that mocked the recipient, with emotions ranging from more light-hearted sarcasm to suggestions that the recipient kill themselves. Ouch. My suspicion is that the "Comic" valentines advertised by Lewis were these vinegar valentines, sometimes referred to as penny valentines.
In 1859, the Frederick Examiner ran an article that also called out these valentine senders: “What a pity, so harmless an amusement should deteriorate into the mischievous and malignant practice of sending grotesque, vulgar and insulting valentines, which gratify the worst feelings of the sender, and wound the self-respect of the recipient, under cover of cowardly anonymous letters. We speak of the practice as an odious one that public opinion may justly censure; and as a consolation all who are hurt by these tokens of unkindness, would beg them to remember that a sense of shame, if any such sentiment still has a place in the bosom of the sender prevents him from avowing his guiltiness of a base act.”1
That article mentioned those valentines were often sent anonymously, which is in keeping with what’s described in Saint Valentine’s Day, a short story by Mary Moore and published in the February 1861 edition of Godey’s Lady’s Book.4 I mentioned a couple posts ago that mid-19th century literature tended to carry a strong morality thread, and authors used the “penny valentine” to continue that tradition. In fact, the Frederick Examiner reprinted a short story from Peterson’s Magazine that started with the “beautiful but on the inside” girl getting a vinegar valentine that devastated her, compared to her “beautiful on the outside” sisters who participated in the mocking, only to be called on by the guy they all wanted who had received his own vinegar valentine, valued and recognized the inner beauty and proposed to her.6 Had that story occurred in Frederick just a few years earlier, perhaps our hero could have taken her to the Firemen’s Ball
7, scheduled to occur on the night of February 14th:
FIREMEN’S BALL.—The Independent Hose Company will give their Seventh Annual Ball at Junior Hall, on the night of the 14th inst. (St. Valentine’s day,) and from the well-known public spirit of the members and the extensive preparations making, we can safely predict that it will be a brilliant and delightful occasion. We have heretofore taken notice of this coming event, and now on the eve of its occurrence recall particular attention to the advertisement and the praiseworthy object in view.
Or perhaps they would have stayed home and sang songs to commemorate the big day. I wouldn't necessarily have recommended the song that Godey's published that month; "My Heart No More in Rapture Swells" is more of the bittersweet "love ripped my still-beating heart out of my chest and stomped on it" variety.
Of course, by Valentine's Day, the March edition of the magazine was already being advertised in the Frederick Examiner as available9, and March's song-of-the-month, "I Am Dreaming of Thee, Dearest," would be a perfectly appropriate song to celebrate a couple's new-found love.
So we know that, leading up to the Civil War, the residents of Frederick were indulging their romantic hearts. Emotions were flying high in February of 1861 – Abraham Lincoln was the president-elect and would be sworn into office on March 4th, several states had already seceded, and Maryland was split down the middle while words like “treason,” and “traitor” were being thrown around in the pro-Union Frederick newspapers – but people were still living their lives and continuing their Valentine's Day traditions. This included sending and receiving Valentines, reading short stories in honor of the big day in the local newspapers and national magazines, and entertaining themselves with music and dance.
Love doesn't stop during a national crisis, and, at the Monocacy National Battlefield, we like to talk about a couple love stories that happened because of the battle that occurred here. I'm still doing some digging on those so I'll leave you with that little teaser until I learn more. In the meantime, when someone tells you that Valentine's Day is a fake holiday, feel free to set them straight. :-)
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| My Heart No More in Rapture Swells, by J. H. Mcnaughton 8 |
Of course, by Valentine's Day, the March edition of the magazine was already being advertised in the Frederick Examiner as available9, and March's song-of-the-month, "I Am Dreaming of Thee, Dearest," would be a perfectly appropriate song to celebrate a couple's new-found love.
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| I Am Dreaming of Thee, Dearest, by Edward Ambuhl 10 |
So we know that, leading up to the Civil War, the residents of Frederick were indulging their romantic hearts. Emotions were flying high in February of 1861 – Abraham Lincoln was the president-elect and would be sworn into office on March 4th, several states had already seceded, and Maryland was split down the middle while words like “treason,” and “traitor” were being thrown around in the pro-Union Frederick newspapers – but people were still living their lives and continuing their Valentine's Day traditions. This included sending and receiving Valentines, reading short stories in honor of the big day in the local newspapers and national magazines, and entertaining themselves with music and dance.
Love doesn't stop during a national crisis, and, at the Monocacy National Battlefield, we like to talk about a couple love stories that happened because of the battle that occurred here. I'm still doing some digging on those so I'll leave you with that little teaser until I learn more. In the meantime, when someone tells you that Valentine's Day is a fake holiday, feel free to set them straight. :-)
P.S. Fun tip: Read the Library of Congress' blog for a fun article on Esther Howland, who created a company in the late 1840s to manufacture and distribute the prized English-style valentines. She used an assembly-line method, pre-dating Henry Ford's adoption of the same method by more than half a century.
1 “St. Valentine’s Day” article, The Examiner (Frederick, Maryland), 09 Feb 1859, p2, col 3.
2 Rosin, Nancy, “Valentine’s Day and the Romance of Cobwebs, blog post, The Met, (http://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/now-at-the-met/2017/valentines-day-romance-of-cobwebs: accessed 18 Feb 2017), 10 Feb 2017.
3 "Local Matters: St. Valentine's Day," article, Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb 1861, p1, col 7.
4 Moore, Mary, “Saint Valentine’s Day,” Godey’s Lady’s Book 1861, [publishing page missing, but magazine known to have been published Philadelphia: Louis A. Godey], p119-122 corresponding to February 1861 edition of the magazine.
5 Valentines, Valentines” advertisement, The Examiner (Frederick, Maryland), 30 Jan 1861, p2, col 9.
6 Warner, Mrs. N. M. Lado, “Jane’s Valentine,” short story, The Examiner (Frederick, Maryland), 30 Jan 1861, p1, col 7; citing Peterson’s Magazine, February 1861. Also published in 25 Feb 1863 edition of the same newspaper.
7 “Firemen's Ball," advertisement, The Examiner (Frederick, Maryland), 09 Feb 1859, p2, col 2.
8 "My Heart No More in Rapture Swells," sheet music, Godey’s Lady’s Book 1861, [publishing page missing, but magazine known to have been published Philadelphia: Louis A. Godey], p98-99 corresponding to February 1861 edition of the magazine.
9 “Periodical: Godey’s Lady’s Book, for March,” advertisement,
The Examiner [Frederick, Maryland],
13 Feb 1861, p 2, col 2.
10 "I Am Dreaming of Thee, Dearest," sheet music, Godey’s Lady’s Book 1861, [publishing page missing, but magazine known to have been published Philadelphia: Louis A. Godey], p194-195 corresponding to March 1861 edition of the magazine.
