The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1922-03-10
VALENTINES FIRST
MADE IN ENGLAND
CURIOUS COLLECTION CHI
\ CAGO INSTITUTION
Story Of Woman Whom Students
Mt. Holyoke College Toast
Every Year On February ID;
Miss Esther Rowland origina-
tor of Custom In America; Her
Work On Exhibition.

. Chicago, March S.--A curious col
lection Of old valentines which the
Arts club exhibited here recently re.
calls the story oil woman whom the
students OF Mt. Holyoke college toast
every year GA February IA. She was
dis Esther Rowland, who made the
urSt American valentines and the first
valentines in which printed verse
" as used. Her work is literally rep
presented in the collection. which is
mat OF Mrs. Emma Il. Hodge, and
which was loaned to the Arts club
Tor the purposes Of the exhibit by the
Art Institute OF Chicago.
Miss Rowland was graduated from
Mt. Holyoke in 1S47, when higher
education for women was an limo
walton. Valentines were first made IN
England and England had mono
poly Of their manufacture for many
years In TACT, valentine from Eng
land. the first which she had seen
save Miss Rowland the idea upon
which she based her work. 1t was
two years after her graduation when
she was at her home in Worcester,
Mass. The English valentine, which
is in Mrs Hodges collection has an
flowers pasted upon it, A tiny note
reposed IN a small pocket in the CEN
ter. Miss Howlands father, who was
a stationer, imported a few Of these
valentines and his daughter thought
she could improve them. She made
some from lace paper, colored paper
and paper flowers, and persuaded her
brother, who travelled for her rather,
to take them with him as samples
He returned to bewilder her with or
ders amounting to $4,000.
EnIiefed Aid If riendS
Miss Rowland enlisted the aid OF
her friends to fill these orders. The
following year she had double her
working force. Soon she found her
self with a valentine factory on her
hands, and was importing materials
from Germany. She made further
innovations, Including the use OF
silk. She originated the idea OF em
Dosing Autograph ornaments which
was utilized by q firm in Germany
Meanwhile the American or Wor-
cester Valentine became famous and
in a few years Miss Rowland was
sending out goods worth 800, 900.
The traditions with which Miss
Howiand's work was associated are
Rsncient as well as sentimental for OBJ
seryance of st. Valentines Day has
been held to be q revival of the Rom
an Lupercalia, and bears the name
of a Christian martyr Oh the lh+t
century. According to one story, the
martyr wrote q message OF love on
the day OF his execution, February IA
to his iailors daughter, and signed
1t. your Valentine" The day was
long observed with various customs
before commercial use was made OF
the sending on that day of amatory
messages
The verses on many of the valen.
tines in this collection express do
nestle ideals, and the wasp wasted
maidens depicted on them have
meekiy downcast eyes. Here and
there, however, there is an exception
In one case an outstanding amazon
calmly directs Cupid as he aims al
a languid youth, who glancing ur
from his book, notes the proceeding
with unconcern. In another a youne
woman places a wreath on the head
of a kneeling swain, and in the vers-
es below the sender (feminine) as
sures the recipient (masculine) thai
her hand will be his whenever ne
claims it explaining that on Valen
tines day a maiden may disclose af-
fections concealed at all other times