Made by women, for women. This typical 19th Century Sailor’s Valentine is a two sided octagonal box housing shell mosaics reflecting yearning and love. Both sides were covered in glass providing protection on long sea voyages back home from a stop in Barbados, where making Sailor’s Valentines was a cottage industry.
There’s a new convenient option to expressing love on Valentine’s Day. AmericanGreetingsCorporation.com will now sign, stamp and mail your sweetheart an old fashioned paper card, trumping the electronic inbox message.
Akin to the on-line Valentine Card, the antique “Sailor’s Valentine” (1830-1890) was often made by someone other than Popeye. The notion of sailors crafting on deck after a day of beach combing was, and is, a romantic myth. Many of these delicate shell mosaics were assembled by women in Barbados, a popular trading port in the 19th century. Hearts, flowers and sayings were part of the designs, much like today’s greeting cards.
“Popeye The Sailor Man”…the original romantic.
Reading the words I Love You written in virgin ink, or painstakingly arranged in shells, is more likely to make your heart skip a beat than an outsourced electronic missive or mass produced keepsake. Feeling the hand of the maker, or believing he/she licked the stamp or dabbed the glue, lends a romantic edge that money can’t buy.
Since it’s “the thought that counts,” we should still thank 100 year old American Greetings Corporation for keeping up with the times and helping us spread the love with greater ease.
Happy Valentine’s Week!
Julie and Jennie
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