This vintage Valentine’s Day card comes from the Grand Rapids Public Museum Collections. The card reads “This elephant is big and strong and remembers very long. I hope you still remember me. I’m strong for you as I can be.”
Valentine’s Day celebrations can be traced back to ancient Roman. The first Valentine’s Day cards were believed to have been sent in 15th Century France although it is generally regarded that the sending of Valentine’s Day cards because popular, especially in America, during the Victorian age. It is believed that the development of the postal service helped popularized the cards. It is estimated that more than 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in the United States — and this does not take into account the school Valentine’s Day card swapping — which makes Valentine’s Day the second-largest-card-sending holiday in the United States. The number one card-sending-holiday? Christmas, of course.
