Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article

February 7, 1993
By Dorothy W. Jerse
Vigo County Historical Society

Valentines close to collector’s heart

“Collecting is a very personal thing for all of us. It has been written what one person sees as just an isolated object, the collector will instantly view as part of a greater whole.”

Most collectors will agree with these words of Evalene Pulati, editor of the National Valentine Collectors Bulletin, and quote them to explain why “one thing leads to another” in their collection.

Valentine collectors have a difficult time resisting the addition of heart-shaped china, glass and jewelry to their collections. They also are attracted to the “paper” in any shop where they might find cover pages of sheet music or February issues of magazines related to the traditional red and white days.

Social history is portrayed on many of these covers just as it is on valentine greeting cards. From them we can learn about the dress, the forms of transportation and communication, and the sentiment and humor of the decade in which they were published.

The cover of the February 1921 issue of “People’s Popular Monthly” shows a valentine gift tied with string, rather than with today’s ribbon or premade bow. The large hair bow on Mary, the boy’s cap and his knickers gathered below the knee bring back memories or give a feeling for this era in our history, depending on the reader’s age.

Unfortunately, the illustrated covers of magazines also have become a part of history except for the notable exception of “The New Yorker” and a few small publications. The rules of good marketing have prevailed and publishers now use photographs, sprinkling them with multiple titles as a way to entice the shopper to buy the issue.

Although the illustrated cover is the subject of the search, it is always a bonus to find the total magazine with the cover.

Looking inside the issue pictured here, we find the subscription price for one year was 35 cents. The first editorial dealt with farming and advised, “A little bit of nerve and cheerfulness is all that is needed to put farming as well as all other lines of business in this country back on a prosperous basis.”

Advertisements varied from one for a nose-shaper (early substitute for plastic surgery) to “The Louise” embroidered serge dress priced at $4.39.

A number of February issues are displayed in the Francis Vigo Room at the museum.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

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