The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-02-11
VALENTINES DAY
 BRINGS NOVELTIES Love Tokens of Original and
 Beautiful Design UNUSUALLY LARGE TRADE The oId-Time Comic Valentine No Longer In Vogue, But the senti-
 mental Sort In More De-
 mand Than Ever.
UNUSUALLY LARGE TRADE

St. Valentines day. when young man sends love tokens to his best girl, will be more httingly observed this year than ever before In Birmingham. Next Sat urday, February 14 Is the day and al- ready the windows of many downtown stores are filled with designs comic, sen- timental and artistic The aesthetic and sentimental are much more in vogue now than funny pictures. Seemingly the old burlesque stuff, which frequently border ed on the vulgar. has been discarded all together and in It's place are many beau tiful novelties.
 The idea of sending love messages and valentines on February IA Is supposed to have originated from some of Shake speare's lines, which refer to this festival as that on which doves commence to mate
 It is estimated that at least s10,000 will be spent for the pretty tokens in Bir- mingham this year. According to estl- mates stocks larger by 50 per cent than last year have been laid in by the mer- chants and the sale is going briskly on. Not only has the valentine custom in- creased. but the designs have also multi piled several times in price. Three years ago it rarely happened that a valentine cost over S2, but now there are many which cost as much as $1o, and even some go higher than this
 Mails Increased.
 The postoffice department estimates that 1t will have its local mails Increased at least per cent for Thursday ana 10 per cent for Friday and Saturday or this week. owing to the valentines to be sent out. These figures, they state, are conservative.
 H Baruch, who has charge of the val entine department of one of the large abartment stores, and who has made this business a study, said yesterday:
 "Three years ago I opened this depart ment as an experiment, and 1t succeeded so well that my stock the following year was more than 100 per cent better and larger. The third year I again increased 40 per cent in quality and quantity, and this year my stock is at least an improve ment of 50 per cent over last year.
 Cheap Valentine Thing of the Past.
 .'The cheap and vulgar valentine is al- most a thing of the past. It has been su- perseded by the original and dainty thing of today. Now my most ready sale Is for an article worth from g to 6, and l sell a large number at $l0. There are three large companies in the United States manufacturing valentines, and there is one firm which imports them from England. They are constantly on the lookout for new ideas, and the inn provement can be noticed. Every girl ex- poets a valentine, and not a cneap or vul- gar one.
 ''The most beautiful and original valen- tines are made of celuloid, ribbon and hand-painted satin. The latter are, or course, the most expensive There are also a number of novelties in smaller cards, ranging in price from to p cents. Birmingham is demanding only the best valentines and the stocks of the mer- chants are arranged accordingly l should say that between 5000 and $500 valentines costing more than 50 cents each will be sold this year.