As lovers across the world celebrate Valentine’s Day Monday, the National Library of Scotland has turned the pages to share a clip of a Victorian Era gift. The elaborate paper greeting shared by the library would leave lovers yearning for one such Valentine’s Day gift.
Taking to Twitter, the National Library of Scotland shared a clip of a cobweb, also known as a beehive, flower cage, or birdcage, from February 1842. The movable valentine with a minimum of two layers of paper encloses a secret message to one’s lover. As one pulls up the paper cutting of concentric circles, an image or message which is painted, written or printed gets unveiled.
This is a Cobweb Valentine.#ValentinesDay2022 #ValentinesDay @nlsarchives pic.twitter.com/ya3K1dmUp3
— National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) February 14, 2022
“A web is cut from a piece of paper and a thread is attached so it can be gently pulled to reveal a secret message underneath. In this example the paper flower rises to reveal a reclining lady gazing wistfully at two hearts mounted on a pillar,” the library said in a series of tweets.
The cobweb in question was sent anonymously to George Moffat, an Edinburgh fish seller in Dundas Street in 1842. Moffat later married Eliza Lumsden, the daughter of a wood merchant of Gifford, in December of that year. However, it remains a mystery if the card was sent by Eliza or someone else, said the National Library of Scotland in one of its tweets.
In December 1842, George married Eliza Lumsden, daughter of James Lumsden, wood merchant of Gifford in the parish of Yester, East Lothian. It remains unknown if this card was sent by Eliza or *another* admirer.
— National Library of Scotland (@natlibscot) February 14, 2022
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints is an archive of valentines from Europe and the United States. Popular since the 17th century, these tokens of love were either handmade or commercially produced. The act of sending greeting cards and gifts on Saint Valentine’s Day was at its pinnacle around the mid-19th century. Development of printing and paper-making techniques and affordable postal delivery enhanced the expression of love, as per The Met website.
February 14 marks Saint Valentine’s Day every year, which many believe is a tradition traced back to a Roman fertility festival known as Lupercalia. In the modern world, couples across the globe celebrate the day through gifts, cards, chocolates and elaborate plans.