Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-02-03
When Sentiment And
Love Reign Supreme
Something About the History of ST. VaIen-
tines Day and Description of
Missives on Counters.
ITO my Valentine!"

self in his most taking style, the
words OF love indited on cards Oh
gold and rainbow hues, trimmed
with lace and ribbon and maze
sweet to smell. The government
will turn the services of it's mail
force over to st. Valentine on Thurs.
day. February IA.
st. Valentines Day is now almost
everywhere much degenerated fes-
| tival, but it is still observed by
| the exchange OF valentines In two
classes-the comic and the sentimen.
tai. The first of THE twentieth cen
tury display of embossed and be-gift
Toe tokens, ltrofusely displayed I'm
store windows, includes many pleas.
ing novelties.
In the early day period, when
printing was an unknown art and
colors were faithfully reproduced
only In nature, an equal number
| OF maids and bachelors got togeth.
er, each writing their true or some
| feigned name upon n separate billet,
which they would roll up and from
| them all draw by lot, the maids
| taking the mems missives and vice
versa, each of the young men call
Ing the girl whose name he Sc
| cured his valentine Fortune thus
divided the company into SO many
couples, each wearing the billets
several days on coat sleeve or hos
ON, and not infrequently the young
folk were thus mated for life.
The modern valentine" is an in
novation of comparatively recent
years, FOR as late as the middle of
the last century the custom of
drawing billets was observed in
Scotland. The comic valentine, how
ever was the burlesque on this,
custom, but of late years has become
in some cases the vehicle of petty
spite and I'll will. On the other
hand, the sentimental valentine. tse
advance agent of Hymen, has held
It's popularity ad continues to be
source of heart worrlment about
the middle OF February-populall
believed to be the pairing time of
birds.
Hundreds of Busy Valentine Makers.
Mans ingenuity and the deft An
gers Of many hundreds OF young
women are employed designing and
manufacturing enormous qualities of
valentines, but it remained for Amen.
can craftiness to bridge the chasm
between the comic and sentimental
valentine expression. The product
of this combination has met with
general approval from the public as
is shown by the increased demand
for the same. There has been a
corresponding decrease in sales of
the old pointless cards containing
verse of which the following Is n
fair sample:
Thy life he all sunshine
And loves purest ray
Shine over thy pathway
And guide thee today"
And the maid, after reading these
udbits OF love must pray cross
legged for good-luck and hang her
shoe laces outside of her window.
that the sender should appear The
American novelty on this custom
is shown in window scene, where
two lovers appear in each others
embrace. By a neat turn of the
cardboard the aged parent appears
in the near, and the billing and
cooling ends at that.
Designs of the Poster Order.
There is a youn woman in Phil
adelphia amaid of talent, who has
furnished local dealers with a large
quantity of Ihand-painted designs,
which are on the poster order, and
possess exceptional original meri;.
The designs are worked out on
dark background, and the presence
OF real theatre seat coupons pasted
in one corner, above the figure, at.
tracts the immediate attention OF a
prospective buyer. This young lady
designer is poet as well as an
artist. One couplet, dedicated. ITO
My Matinee Girl" reads:
IF she'd only love me
Instead OF the hero
She's just been to see
Who was 1t today,
Sothern, Olcott or Hackett?
I'd spend my last cent
And go off on a racket"