The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-02-19
A Valentine Factory.

A stroll through a valentine fac
tory Is somewhat disseminating. Tn
dainty, delicate missives, beautiful
as love, and fragrant as roses" witt
which the statiOners' windows burs
into radiance in the depth of winter
properly speaking, ought not to b'
manufactured at all. They ought t
be the creation Of some magic wand
or at least should be the work of fairy
hands, and should be imported from
a region of moon-lit groves, pal,
flowers, ,perfumed fountains, and aeria
Tyres.
This, however, Is not precisely thu
origin of valentines.
The inquisitive explorer who visit
the premises of q manufacturer o
these fancy goods just now, for the
purpose of seeing the process from
beginning to end, may perhaps bt
conducted in the first place into 8
barely furnished apartment, occupied
by five or six silent individuals, who
might as reasonably invoke the In
spiration of Venus as SOphoclcs might
that of MelpOmene.
These are the artists of the estab.
lishment, and this somewhat cheer.
less apartment is the fountain head
of pictorial sentiment.
They are not particularly senti-
mental-lOOking group, either. 1t Is,
of course, impossible to say what 81,
lent raptures may be trembling be-
meath those white blOuses of theirs ;
but viewed from the outside, these
artists have decidedly sedate and
matter of fact aspect, and apart from
special inspiration, might be supposed
to have Outlived the tender passion.
At least one of them clearly has done
so, and is devOting the experience OF
gray hairs to the castigatiOn of youth
full fOllies by means of burlesqucs.
He has u sheet of white paper and
Il stick of charcoal, and is engaged in
producing the rough draught of a
very large young lady with a very
small bonnet, crinOline, and an in
finitesimal dog.
Another is engaged upon u very
clever little water-cOlor sketch of an
amOrOus subject, whilea third has be-
fore him Il similar sketch which he Is
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS is, drawing with
ink or chalk on a slab of stone, pre-
paratory to its being printed by the
lithographic process.
In the next room this printing Is
being carried on. Brawny-armed
mechanics are turning out strange
medley of lovers and bowers, flowers,
birds, hearts, and arrows, bachelors
and pining spinsters.
Some of the sheets produced at the
presses in this room are now cut up
into sections, and handed over to the
superintendent of the valentine max
crs. Others have to be embossed.
For this purpose the engraving of u
steel plate is necessary, and this often
entails very serious expense. 1t Is
not by any means unusual for plate
no larger than sheet of note paper,
to cost twenty guineas. The parts of
the design to be brought out I'm relief
are engraved in soft steel, which is
then hardened, and thus fitted to sus-
tain pressure of several tuns.
In the next apartment these plates
are being used. An operative sits mt
a hole in the floor, beside very pow
erful screw press, worked by means
of a beam six or eight feet in length,
mt the end of which are globuldr
masses of iron, designed to increase
its momentum. The picture to be
embossed is laid upon the steel plate,
and embraced in the bed beneath the
screw, which is then brought down
with Il terrible thump. There are
several of these presses at work In
this room, one or two being engaged
in the embossing of lace paper, which
enters largely into the composition OF
valentines.
The lace paper, however, as 1t
leaves these presses, still requires to
be perforated, and the way in which
it is done is curious. The embOssing
plate is fixed upon a bench; sheet
of paper which has been impressed
by it, is laid upon it and carefully
though expeditiously adjusted, and Is
then subjected TO a vigorous raspine
with a large fiat file wrapped in sand.
paper. This rubs away every portion
OF the paper which is supported by
the projections i'm the plate beneath
and of course, when the sheet Is turn
ed over the parts of the design which
were merely depressions have become
holes.
Specimens of the entire productions
of printers, embosserS and perfOra
tors, together with foreign importa
tions, in the shape of ribbons, feath
ers, shells, and ornaments of various
other kinds, are now spread upon 6
table, presided over by one or two
clever young women, upon whom de-
wolves the duty of designing the val
entines.
The object they have to aim ut is
Of course, the production of TIN
greatest possible variety of striking
and pleasing effects by the cOmbina
ton of the materials before them
and the most successful are adopted
as patterns for the other hands.
Nothing, 1t Is said, can be more ca
PRECIOUS or whimsical than the selec
tions of the public in any matter o
taste, and In the case of valentine
this Is especially observable. Very
frequently the particular designs
which the most experienced of man
ufacturers would pronounce to be tri
uInp0S Ol dSte dnu OTlRlnaIlUy prOV'
utter failures In the market, and tn
great hit of the season may be SOM
production which barely escaped tn
waste-basket.
Only very rash and inexperience'
maker, therefore, will produce an,
great amount of stock until order
come In. Travellers and their sample
books are already abroad, however
and the production Of the goods nov
In order Is rapidly being proceede'
with. Here Is large room fitted n
with long benches, and occupied b,
some scores of girls of various ages
Each girl has on one side of her q pil
of incomplete valentines, and on tn
other a heap Of little objects of som
one kind, which it Is her duty to adj
little punches of flowers or glitter
| ing notices, or aching hearts, o
breaking hearts, or trusting hearts
or hearts transHxed by arrows, or
may be q heap of unfledged little Gu
pids. The audacious little god Is un
tremendously picked up on the poin
of a gum-brush, thrust into the bright